Thriving in the 21st Century

For the latest news....

2011-09-08T11:40:00.000-05:00

please go to http://www.thrivinginthe21stcentury.com/, which is where I'll be posting from now on.

Feel free to search this blog's archives for news and links from the past year.

Debt Ceiling Bill Adds to Student Loan Burden for Grad Students

2011-08-02T12:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the new debt ceiling deal, grad students will end up paying thousands of dollars more on their student loans in order to finance Pell Grants for low-income undergrad students.

Why does the federal government want to charge grad students for the tuition of undergrads? According to the article:

"Full funding for Pell Grants is absolutely essential to fulfilling the president's goal of the U.S. once again having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020," said Pauline Abernathy, vice president of the Institute for College Access & Success.

Why is it so important to have the most college grads in the world when the U.S. government has already predicted that over 80% of the fastest-growing and most-common occupations of the future will not require a bachelor's degree or higher?

New Review is Up

2011-07-25T12:13:00.001-05:00

A new review of Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality states:

"Rest assured this book is a really good resource for all parents."

Want specifics? Read the entire review HERE.

Why Your Kids Can't Find Summer Jobs

2011-07-18T13:09:00.001-05:00

Working a summer job is one of the best ways for teens to prepare for the future. Learning to work for others and developing a good work ethic are valuable skills that will help them throughout their lives. The pay is just a bonus.

But this summer, teens are having a terrible time finding jobs. The bad economy deserves a lot of blame, but there's another factor that deserves blame, too.

Across the Pond, Trades vs. McJobs vs. College is Discussed

2011-07-11T13:25:00.000-05:00

Just as in America, more British people are wondering how to prepare their kids for the future and where the best prospects for the future are likely to be found. This article describing how the CEO of McDonald's has suggested many kids should work at her company instead of going to college is interesting, but it's the discussion in the comments section that's really illuminating. It shows that the debate we need to have in this country is already going on in Great Britain.

iPads for Kids: a Necessity?

2011-07-04T13:52:00.000-05:00

The Chicago Public Schools recently spent $450,000 to provide nearly two dozen schools with 32 iPads each. Judging from this article, the kids aren't really doing anything with their iPads that couldn't be done with a teacher. But school administrators are hopeful that this will prepare kids for the future.

Do your kids need an iPad? I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Kids are very good at picking up computer skills whenever they're introduced to them. So if your kids don't get near an iPad until they're older, they won't have missed out on anything. But a 5-year-old who spends hours on an iPad every day is missing out on what 5-year-olds should be doing, like playing outside, making art and learning about the world around them. How about getting the basics (reading, writing, arithmetic) down before becoming addicted to technology? After all, technology is not the only topic our kids will need to be well-versed on.

Is College a Scam?

2011-06-27T15:52:00.000-05:00

The media has been slowly drawing attention to the problems with our system of colleges and universities, and the question of whether students are being educated or scammed. Here's a video from the National Inflation Association that does a good job of spelling out just what's going on in both higher education and our government. You might not agree with all of it but it will give you a lot of food for thought.

Thriving Through Mastery

2011-06-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

I'm not crazy about the title of this wonderful article by Gary North, "Time to Get Rich." I think it misleads the reader into thinking it's another of those smarmy get-rich-quick articles, and it's nothing like that. In fact, it explains the opposite: how young people can invest time in mastering certain skills so that they benefit throughout their lives. It's certainly worth your time if you're a parent who's concerned about raising children who will thrive in the new economy!

Can Your Kids Communicate?

2011-06-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

No, it’s not what you think. I’m sure your kids can talk, chatter, question, and occasionally demand (mine sure could!)…..the question is, can your kids communicate calmly and clearly so that they can be understood? So that they don’t come across as rude or demanding? So that they can get along with people and even defend their faith?

How about email? Can they write emails that will make sense, come across politely and not make them look bad? Many employers say most of their recent-college-grad employees have difficulty communicating properly. How can you teach your children to be the exceptions to that rule?

Learn more about effective communication for the 21st century in a podcast I recently recorded with JoJo Tabares of Art of Eloquence. JoJo is a whiz at explaining how to raise children who communicate well, and why it’s so important that you do so.

Has Outsourcing Come Full Circle?

2011-06-10T13:53:00.001-05:00

A recent study found that Indian companies have begun outsourcing call center work to another country: the U.S.

Apparently our high unemployment rate has resulted in a large pool of workers willing to work in call centers for $10-12 an hour, and India's dramatic growth has made hiring cheap overseas labor a necessity.

I think we'll see more of this as wages around the globe fall into alignment in the global economy.

Jobs Do Not Equal Security

2011-06-07T13:51:00.000-05:00

The U.S. job market continues to flounder; when we do have growth, it's very weak. While this article suggests that the Japanese tsunami and earthquake may be partly to blame, the fact is that this is an ongoing weakness and the hallmark of a shaky economy.

No one is predicting that this problem will be solved anytime soon. Some believe it's a systemic problem with no easy answers. So our children will likely enter adulthood in an economy where the phrase "job security" is an oxymoron.

What can we do? We can raise entrepreneurial children who understand how to develop a side income, and help them become financially savvy so that they know how to stretch the dollars they earn. I cover those subjects in great depth in Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality.

A Winning Combination: Children, Computers and Time

2011-06-05T12:52:00.000-05:00

(excerpted from Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality)

Ultimately, schools have enough on their plates teaching children the three R’s; adding a requirement for insuring that children become computer-literate can often overwhelm even the best schools. So if children don’t learn to use computers in school, where can they learn this vital skill?

My experience has been that children are very capable of teaching themselves to use a computer at home. We bought our first computer when our older children were 11 and 9. My husband used it each evening after work, learning the design software that would eventually allow him to start his own business. That’s why our children were only allowed on the computer during the day. I quickly learned that they would stay on there all day if I let them, so we established the 45-minutes-per-day rule, enforced by a kitchen timer on top of the monitor.

Before long, our older children had taught themselves all about how to use the computer. Once we began accessing the Internet, they designed their own Web sites. They soon needed more computer time than they were allowed, so each saved up and bought their own computer. Our daughter started a Web zine about music, attracting a following of kids who shared her interest. Our son ran a Web site about his favorite major league baseball player; his site was later written up in Baseball Weekly. They achieved this level of proficiency after only a few years of using the computer, and each was entirely self-taught. (They later took a few online courses to hone their computer skills.)

They (and, a few years later, their younger sister) quickly became more proficient in computer basics than I have yet to become after many years of computer use. Our fourth child, who has developmental disabilities, is not as computer-literate as the others were at his age (that is partly due to his limited reading ability), but he can find and start different educational games on our computer without assistance. My point here is that all four were given access to a basic computer and the time to experiment with it. Based on their success, I believe it’s up to parents and the kids themselves, not the schools, to produce computer-literate children. Parents should provide the computer and the time. Given that opportunity, the children will take over from there.

One reason children pick up the computer so quickly is that they’re more willing to explore the computer and press keys without worrying that they’ll mess up something. We adults are often hampered by that fear, so it may take us longer to learn how to use a computer. While we sit flipping through a tutorial book plotting our next move, they’ve already clicked back and forth between screens and figured out what to do (and what not to do).

Of course, they do make mistakes in the process, and sometimes lose information they had painstakingly put in there. But once they become more proficient than their parents, they realize that it’s up to them to solve the problem, and they learn to do so.

I think the fact that I couldn’t come running to my children’s rescue each time the computer “ate” something important forced them to figure things out for themselves; they learned pretty early on that I wasn’t going to be much help, no matter how good my intentions. They became fearless when it came to using the computer, which helped them become computer troubleshooters for the rest of the family.

Gardening is an Essential Skill for the Future

2011-06-01T17:50:00.000-05:00

If you're a gardener, by now your seedlings are likely in the ground and poised for growth. Did you include your children when you planted your seedlings? Teaching children how to garden is excellent preparation for adulthood in the new economy. Knowing how to grow and preserve your own food is a very valuable skill for people who are between jobs and limited on funds.

An added incentive is that many of our food sources are now questionable. We can't control how food is grown in other countries. Produce is often coated with chemicals and/or irradiated to prepare it for long-distance shipping. And in extreme cases like the current situation in Europe, imported food can kill you.

Growing your own food eliminates all those risks. Kids love to garden; why not teach yours how to do so?

Resources for Questions About College in the 21st Century

2011-05-24T13:48:00.001-05:00

If you have children who want to attend college, or children whom you want to attend college (there is a difference), you'll need to be as prepared as possible to navigate the increasingly complicated process of making the college decision. Economist Gary North has prepared a webpage with an assortment of very helpful and thought-provoking links. Check it out HERE.

Math is Important for Home-Grown Jobs

2011-05-20T14:48:00.000-05:00

You don't have to go far to find that many young people have few if any math skills. Try giving a young cashier $20.06 for a bill that's $14.56 so that you can get a fiver plus two quarters back. They'll usually give you a look like you came from Mars. They'll have no idea why you're doing what you're doing until they type in the amount tendered and receive instructions from the computerized cash register telling them how much change to give you.

That lack of math skills is why many people are calling for increased math study in American schools. But another good reason is that while there are some jobs available in our still-struggling manufacturing sector, they require workers who are good at math. These jobs are open, right now, and need smart young people to fill them. In most cases, no college degree is required. But you've got to be able to do math.

The Evidence Piles Up Against Attending College

2011-05-16T13:06:00.002-05:00

I'm not saying no one should go to college. Here's what I say in Thriving in the 21st Century:

You now know that the greatest amount of job growth is predicted in areas that don’t require college, that most kids who attend college don’t graduate in four years and many don’t graduate at all, that college is getting more expensive by the minute and that borrowing to pay those high college costs can have lifelong consequences. You also know now that having a college degree does not guarantee a high income…or any income at all.

Knowing these things, if you still think your child should go to college, please think hard about the following questions and whether you can answer “yes” to most of them:

• Is your child very intelligent and hardworking?

• Does your child have his/her heart set on a career that can only be accessed with a college diploma in hand?

• Of the careers that require at least some college education, is your child interested in one that offers the best return on the considerable college investment?

• Has your child thoroughly researched the chosen career, including talking to employers in the field to see what kind of education they require, and graduates in the chosen program to see if they’re a) employed and b) satisfied?

• Is your child’s choice of major/career one that’s likely to be in demand by employers? (Just because a college offers a major doesn’t necessarily mean that major is in demand by employers. There’s no correlation between number of majors and number of available jobs.)

• Is your child’s choice of major/career one that can be used in more than one industry? (Example: business administration)

• Is your child’s choice of major/career one that will be difficult or impossible to off-shore (as opposed to an area of study that’s currently being chosen by millions of smart young people from China and India)?

• Does your child’s chosen college or university have a reputation for academic excellence?

• Will your child be able to graduate debt-free? In an economy where wages are stagnating and periods of unemployment or time between careers is common, living debt-free will be a major asset as well as a source of emotional peace.

• If your child will need some student loan funding, does he or she plan to earn a degree that is likely to help them earn enough to pay back their debt within a few years (there are no guarantees)?

Regarding the last question, keep in mind that the debt will have to be paid back during a time when wages most likely will continue to stagnate. As a result, college loan repayments could eat up the lion’s share of your child’s future paychecks.

“Yes” answers to most of these questions indicate that you have a child who is motivated to go to college and willing to do what it takes to earn a degree in a field with good prospects for personal satisfaction as well as employment. If you don’t have enough money saved up for the entire four (or more) years, consider sending your child for two years of general education courses at a community college, after which your child can transfer to a four-year college. This is a time-honored plan, and for good reason: it saves a lot of money on tuition and room and board, plus you’ll send a more mature person off to college. Also, if your child’s chosen field of study will require graduate courses, the money you save by sending him/her to community college the first two years can help defray the cost of graduate studies later on.

If you can’t answer “yes” to most of the questions listed above, consider whether college is really the answer for your child. Try to ignore the common wisdom of the 20th century that was drummed into your head, the refrain that insisted that the only sure route to success requires a college diploma, because times have changed.

So I'm not against college, but I think it's clear that college is not for everyone or even for most people. Between its high cost and the questionable need for a degree for employment in areas of job growth, there's a lot of evidence on my side, and it's piling up:

More college grads are settling for low-wage jobs

More college grads are having trouble paying back their student loans

An economist argues that college is not a bubble, it's a "tax-subsidized failure"

See what I mean?

Accepting Reality

2011-05-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

I began writing Thriving in the 21st Century because I was trying to figure out what was going on as I watched the industry that my husband had worked in for 30 years move overseas, leaving him without work or an income. I also wanted to know how to prepare our children for this new economy we have found ourselves in.

Six years later, I'm ready for the future and I feel like my kids are prepared for it too. But I meet other parents who, once they start putting together the pieces of their own experiences and those of their friends and relatives, become pessimistic about what's going on and what it means for our children's future.

If that's how you feel, you need a dose of reality tinged with optimism. Check out Seth Godin's posts on this topic (Post 1 and Post 2) and you'll feel better.

The Supposed College Advantage, UK-Style

2011-05-09T13:28:00.000-05:00

Over in Great Britain, college is pushed as the way to make more money, just as it is here in the U.S. This article is typical of the hype. What's really interesting, however, are the comments. People are finally realizing that in the new global economy, not everyone will need a college degree, and most people can't afford one.

Teaching Children to be Frugal: A Necessary Skill for the 21st Century

2011-05-04T15:28:00.000-05:00

(excerpted from Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality)

‘Tis a Gift to Be Frugal

Good old Ben also praised frugality:

In short, the Way to Wealth, if you desire it, is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two Words, INDUSTRY and FRUGALITY: i.e. Waste neither Time nor Money, but make the best Use of both. He that gets all he can honestly, and saves all he gets (necessary Expences excepted) will certainly become RICH: If that Being who governs the World, to whom all should look for a Blessing on their honest Endeavors, doth not in his wise Providence otherwise determine.

You’ll give your children a great advantage by training them to be frugal. The word “frugal” has negative connotations for some people, but even 200 years ago, smart people like Benjamin Franklin knew that being frugal is an asset. Let’s clarify what frugal means: being careful with expenditures, not buying things you don’t really need, and taking care of what you do have. It doesn’t mean being cheap; in fact, people who only buy cheap goods usually end up spending more time and money replacing those cheap goods when they fall apart. A frugal person can recognize quality, and knows that a quality item lasts much longer than its “cheap” counterpart. (See “Teaching Children to Recognize and Appreciate Quality” on page 364.)

To be frugal is to be thrifty. Thrift was once considered a positive attribute, falling out of favor when America became a society of consumers in the mid-20th century. But there are still frugal people around; their thriftiness helped some of them become rich.

Billionaire investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton and his wife began married life by living very frugally. They cut expenses as low as possible, bought used furniture (items no one else bid on) at auctions, and only ate at restaurants when they could eat dinner for 50 cents (this was during the 1930s). They did these things in order to stick to their goal of saving 50% of their income. In The Templeton Plan, co-author James Ellison explains,

The fact is, however, that John Templeton was not poor even then. He had a good income and a solid investment portfolio that was steadily growing. Some acquaintances might have regarded his approach to money, housing and the conveniences of life as somewhat eccentric, if not socially unacceptable. After all, the circles that Templeton, the investment counselor, frequented were characterized by big money, big houses, big cars, and big consumer spending in general. But Templeton was not one to live by society’s more superficial values. He followed his own inner dictates and his developing religious beliefs. footnote

And so a radical philosophy of thrift became a deeply rooted part of Templeton’s way of life. He became convinced that success was closely connected to saving, a belief that he has never stopped practicing.

Templeton was not the only wealthy person whose fortune was due in part to thrift. In his ground-breaking books based on his study of American millionaires, Dr. Thomas J. Stanley wrote that despite the stereotype of the free-spending, luxurious millionaire lifestyle we see portrayed in movies and television shows, many millionaires are actually very careful about how they spend money. They also use strategies such as clipping coupons, refinishing and repairing possessions instead of buying everything new, and buying in bulk. In The Millionaire Mind, Dr. Stanley noted:

People in my audiences often ask why a millionaire would clip coupons. It’s not just to save fifty cents today—it’s how much can be saved and invested over a lifetime. The typical affluent family in America spends over $200 a week for food and household supplies. That’s more than $10,000 per year. During an adult lifetime in current dollars, it translates to between $400,000 and $600,000. If you cut off just 5 percent of this amount, between $20,000 and $30,000, and invest it in a top-ranked equity fund, given the rate of return during the past few years the amount earned would have been $500,000. (96)

I’m not suggesting that all or even many of our children will become wealthy by being frugal (though if you teach your child to be frugal and he grows up to be a millionaire, he’ll handle the money better than most would). But the frugal millionaires Stanley studied illustrate the wisdom of being frugal and investing the money saved by being that way.

Teaching frugality to our children will benefit them once they’re grown up and making their way in the global economy. They’ll learn to live simply, thus experiencing less financial stress in the future. In a world where they’ll often be between jobs, frugality could make the difference between financial stability and financial trouble. As writer Charles Jaffe once said, “It’s not your salary that makes you rich, it’s your spending habits.”

"The Economic Folly of a College Degree"

2011-04-22T13:55:00.000-05:00

Finally, more people are admitting that a college degree is not the guarantee for future success that so many people thought it was. Take this op-ed piece, for instance. The author explains that even citizens of other countries are seeing that a college degree does not make a person smart or hardworking. I'm glad to see that more writers are sharing this information because, as I explain in Thriving in the 21st Century, most of our children will not need a college degree in the new economy.

Book Site Up and Running

2011-04-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

Now that Thriving in the 21st Century has been published, you can read a couple of excerpts from the book, view the table of contents, and learn more about the book itself right here. Check it out!

Teens' Unemployment Rate Now 25%

2011-04-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

Working teens get an education that they could never receive at school or home. They learn a variety of skills in addition to working for someone besides their parents. The pay is just a bonus. All teens should work.

But it's getting harder for them to find jobs. A recent study found that 1/4 of today's teens ages 16-19 can't find work. This is a shame, as they're missing out on learning so many things that they'll need to know as adults.

If your teen can't find a job, encourage him or her to create a job by finding unmet needs in your neighborhood. Many a teen has made good money by washing cars, walking dogs or watering gardens.

Takers or Makers?

2011-04-12T13:58:00.002-05:00

In Thriving in the 21st Century, I ask the question, "Do you want your children to be producers or consumers?" This is a serious question. Given the changes in our economy, I think children trained to be producers will have the best chance of being able to support themselves as adults in the rapidly changing economy of the 21st century.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal makes the same point, but gets very specific about why this concept is so important, and how our economy has been negatively affected by the shift from production to consumption. Instead of referring to producers and consumers, the author refers to "takers" and "makers," but the basic concept is the same: an economy that primarily consists of consumers is doomed.

Now Available: Thriving in the 21st Century

2011-04-07T14:45:00.000-05:00

Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children for the New Economic Reality is now available in print for $13.95 at Amazon and Barnes and Noble, as well as bookstores everywhere.

Here's a look at the Table of Contents:

Introduction

Section 1
How the American World of Work Has Changed
Technological Advances
Off-shoring
A Renewed Global Economy and Changing Living Standards
Learning From the Past
America’s History of Self-Sufficiency
What About the Schools?
Before We Begin
Likely Future Trends in the World of Work
Preparing Our Children for This New Economic Reality

Section 2
The Seven Strengths Your Children Will Need to Thrive in the 21st Century
Strength #1: Creativity and Innovation
Strength #2: Entrepreneurial/Self-Starter
Strength #3: Computer-Literate
Strength #4: Communication Skills
Strength #5: Empathy and Concern for Others
Strength #6: Self-Sufficiency and Practical Skills
Strength #7: Money Smarts

Section 3
Giving Our Children the Advantages of the Seven Strengths

Section 4
Careers
College
Self-Employment and Family Businesses

Conclusion
What Schools Don’t Do
What Parents Should Do
What Parents Should Not Do
What Parents Can Do

Appendix A: It’s OK for Children to Get Bored…Really!
Appendix B: Teaching Children to Recognize and Appreciate Quality
Appendix C: President Obama vs. the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Notes
Index

Stay tuned for excerpts!

Entrepreneurial Kids Finding Success

2011-04-05T14:01:00.002-05:00

The high unemployment rate of the past few years has been particularly hard on teens, who are at the age where they're eager to get started on their working lives.

These teens decided to be proactive by starting their own businesses, and the results they've gotten will encourage your teens. Send them the article link; it may be just the inspiration needed to get going on a dream.

The Antidote to Unemployment

2011-04-01T13:52:00.002-05:00

Unemployment rates continue to rise in all the largest American cities; the worst areas seem to be those hit hardest by the bursting of the housing bubble.

One of the best ways to counteract the loss of income due to losing your job is having a side business. Even a small regular income can make life much easier.

Do you have a side business? If not, why not start one and get your kids involved in it? It's a great way to prepare them for survival in a rapidly changing economy.

Real Wages Are Down

2011-03-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

So we're off to a shaky start in 2011, with real wages down .5% last month. Actual wages remained the same, but thanks to inflation, higher consumer costs resulted in a decrease in real wages.

Two reminders here: wages are not increasing as they once were, and inflation is making it harder for people to stretch their dollars. This is why it's so important that we raise kids with money smarts. It's a life skill that's becoming more necessary all the time.

College Administrators Weigh In at Speech

2011-03-25T11:43:00.000-05:00

Last week I spoke to a group of 75 parents up in Green Bay regarding Thriving in the 21st Century. My favorite part, as always, was talking with everyone afterwards.

The event was held at a tech college; one of the administrators there told me how they tailor the certificates they offer to the skills that local employers are looking for. She said she tried to get her children to look into obtaining those certificates, but they chose to go off to college instead and now she has three adult children back home with her again.

Another parent who happens to be a vice president of a nearby private college took issue with some of my comments regarding the need for college degrees in the new economy, but after a pleasant discussion we discovered that we're on the same page about many things. He even told me that he recently expelled two students for their own good, since they weren't doing well despite their best efforts. I told him I wish all college personnel had his ethics, because in researching my book I found that many college administrations pursue students without concern for whether they can do the work. It's all about the money.

BTW my book is now at the printers and should be out in early April. Look for excerpts to be posted here soon.

It's All About Jobs

2011-03-22T14:02:00.000-05:00

The housing market has still not recovered. In fact, new home sales are at a 47-year low. Increasingly, the jobs situation is being blamed for the slow housing market. There are too many unemployed people; not only can they not buy houses, but their large numbers makes those who are employed afraid to buy houses, because they worry that they could be the next to lose their jobs.

This long stretch of unemployment is caused by more than just the poor economy. Many of the jobs have been lost to automation or off-shoring and aren't coming back. We can't tell our children to aim for a single career. They'll have to be versatile and self-reliant in order to support themselves.

Inspiration for Young Entrepreneurs

2011-03-18T13:57:00.000-05:00

It's one thing to encourage our children to have an entrepreneurial mindset. It's another to get them fired up about it.

Here are interviews with 25 young entrepreneurs who have already experienced success. Each shares the details of the business they created. Have your teens read some of these interviews. They'll gain ideas and enthusiasm for starting their own businesses.

The Jobs Situation Continues to Change

2011-03-15T13:21:00.001-05:00

One morning this week, I heard a radio news report announcing that the government announced there was an increase in new jobs last month. Just as I was thinking, "They'll adjust those numbers downward in a few weeks like they always do," I happened to see this online: "Announced U.S. Job Cuts Rose 20% From Year Ago, Challenger Says."

Our job situation in the U.S. is so tenuous these days, with jobs being created and disappearing at a faster pace than ever. It's not like the old days, where a person held a job for 40 years with one company and retired with a gold watch and a nice pension. Our kids will work in a much different world than their parents or grandparents did. And we need to prepare them for that reality.

A Young Man on the Right Track

2011-03-11T14:04:00.001-06:00

Here's a great story about a young man who, in addition to his studies, has developed a popular website using modern technology. He's proactive and is pursuing a personal interest while gaining skills that will serve him well in the future. He uses social media to find the information he needs to be a good source of information for others. With the skills he's developing, he could eventually excel in several different areas. At 16, he's on his way to thriving in the 21st century.

Communication Skills Are Key

2011-03-08T14:30:00.000-06:00

In Thriving in the 21st Century, I share a wide variety of resources for parents who want their children to be prepared for the 21st century world of work.

One excellent resource for teaching kids communications skills, which are so important, is Art of Eloquence. It offers speech and debate resources for all age groups. Check it out HERE.

Book Update

2011-03-02T13:10:00.000-06:00

Thriving in the 21st Century: Preparing Our Children For The New Economic Reality is at the printer; we're awaiting the delivery of proof copies this week. The book will be out in April!

Newbies to this site may not know that I began investigating the changes in the economy several years ago, when my husband's manufacturing-related business began slowing down due to increasing competition in his industry from China. Once I realized how much the economy was changing, I began to study how to prepare our children for a very different world of work than the one my generation had known; my study led me to write this book.

Here's the back cover copy for Thriving in the 21st Century:

Today’s children will reach adulthood in an economic environment unlike anything the world has ever seen. The 21st century global economy is powered by an increasing rate of technological change as well as growing foreign competition; both are contributing to the high U.S. unemployment rate and stagnating American wages. How can we as parents prepare our children for success in this growing maelstrom that many are now calling “the new normal”?

In Thriving in the 21st Century, Barbara Frank demonstrates that we must move beyond the common wisdom of the 20th century that emphasized a college diploma and lifelong employment with a large company as the only way to success. Instead, we need to set our children on a new path, one that will help them not just survive, but thrive in the 21st century.

In this book, you’ll learn:

The Seven Strengths your child will need to prosper in the 21st century, why they’re needed and how you can develop them in your children
The most efficient (and increasingly popular) way to give your child those Seven Strengths
Why public education has failed to prepare our children for the 21st century
How we can help our children become the lifelong learners needed in a rapidly changing global economy
The surprising truth about today’s colleges and universities
How economic change is affecting a variety of career areas, and which of them are projected to grow dramatically in the coming years.

This book is packed with ideas and resources for raising our children to become adults who respond proactively when faced with economic challenges, and who can prosper during times of great change. We can help our children reach young adulthood ready and able to tackle the future with all its challenges. And that, of course, is the key: we must prepare our children for the future…not the past.

I'll share more information as it becomes available. Keep an eye on this site!

Is Your Head in the Sand?

2011-02-25T14:15:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it's easier to ignore something than to face the reality of it.

For example, there are all sorts of changes going on in our economy (and in the world) right now that are going to dramatically change the world of work. Yet many people are in denial, and would prefer to think about which movie will win an Academy Award, or which celebrity is pregnant, than what's going on in the world and how they can prepare their children for it.

But look at a string of charts like this one and you can't deny that change is in the air. While the comments surrounding these charts may be a bit alarmist, the fact is that we're in very unstable economic weather right now.

Add to that the fact that the rate of technological change is increasing, and it becomes clear that our children will not work in the same kind of world we've known. We have to prepare them for an uncertain future.

Disappearing Jobs: What Will Happen Next?

2011-02-22T14:58:00.002-06:00

Writer Andy Kessler posed the question "Is Your Job an Endangered Species?" in last Thursday's Wall Street Journal. His article and the accompanying comments may not completely answer that question, but they certainly pose some interesting additional questions.

We cannot know for certain which jobs will survive in the future and what kinds of new jobs will be created. In fact, many of the industries our children will work in have not yet come into being. But if we raise our kids with certain skills and mindsets, they will thrive in whatever job they can find....they may even create their own.

A House for the Price of a Car----Say What?

2011-02-18T14:03:00.001-06:00

A recent article entitled "4 Bedrooms for the Price of 4 Wheels" is getting a lot of attention this week because it illustrates how low house prices have gotten in some areas of the country compared to the price of cars, which doesn't vary much geographically.

This story also illustrates the huge differences in how people in various parts of the country view this economy. If you live in an area where $40,000 is the going rate for a house, you've known about the economic difficulties we're having for quite some time. But if you live in an area where the average home price still tops $300,000, you may think of the recession as something that happened a few years ago and is long gone.

Nevertheless, the economic problems we have on a national level continue to cast a pall on our economic future. This is why it's so important to prepare your children for the new economy. Just because things are good where you live now doesn't mean they won't change, or that your children will stay in your area.

More Warnings About College

2011-02-15T14:04:00.000-06:00

Struggling with the idea of not sending your child to college? This writer makes a case for it by crunching numbers. And this writer, an economics professor, explains the current trouble with college very succinctly:

The diploma serves as a screening device that allows businesses to narrow down the applicant pool quickly and almost without cost to the employer, but with a huge financial cost to the individual earning the diploma (often at least $100,000), and to society at large in the form of public subsidies.

What to do? It's an extremely personal decision between you and your child. For starters, you can determine your child's interests and talents to see if college will even be useful to him or her. If so, you'll need to do a lot of research because there are many options. Thanks to the Internet, your child can get a college education for free through self-study, though no degree would be involved. You and your child will have to decide if a degree is worth the considerable expense of college.

More Part-Time Jobs Being Created in the U.S.

2011-02-11T14:55:00.000-06:00

Last week I posted about the low rate of full-time jobs being created in Britain; 97% of new jobs there are part-time.

Now a new study has found that 75% of the new jobs in the U.S. are part-time jobs. To make matters worse, only 5% of newly created jobs are considered high-wage ($17-$31 per hour) jobs. What does this mean for our kids? It means we had better prepare them for a world much different than the one we grew up in. My new book, Thriving in the 21st Century, explains just how to do that. Watch for it this spring!

Questioning the Need for a Degree

2011-02-08T14:28:00.001-06:00

Questioning the need for everyone to earn a college degree in the new economy has hit the mainstream, with Harvard University's Graduate School of Education issuing a report stating that the push for "college for all" may actually hurt young people.

This contrasts strongly with President Barack Obama's 2009 State of the Union address, where he said:

...this country needs and values the talents of every American. That is why we will provide the support necessary for you to complete college and meet a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

So who's right? Parents need to do their research and also determine if their children are college material. Given the high (and rising) cost of college, the decision is more crucial than ever.

Less Work for More People?

2011-02-04T21:28:00.000-06:00

Across the pond, 97% of recently created jobs were part-time jobs. Here in the U.S. we're seeing a decrease in working hours, too, although not that extreme. Not yet, anyway.

Some believe this is just the beginning. Years ago, Jeremy Rifkin's The End of Work predicted this would happen. No one knows for sure what the future holds, but playing it safe seems prudent. If we teach our kids to handle money wisely and carefully, they'll be able to handle life on a small salary better than those who aren't taught to stretch a buck.

What Do Your Kids Love to Do?

2011-02-01T15:18:00.003-06:00

What do your kids love to do? What are their interests, their passions? It's likely that doing the things they're good at could be the key to their future employment.

Sir Ken Robinson is a creativity expert who has studied successful, creative people. In his book The Element, he addresses the issue of helping kids find their talents and passions:

The only way to prepare for the future is to make the most out of ourselves on the assumption that doing so will make us as flexible and productive as possible…..

Many people set aside their passions to pursue things they don’t care about for the sake of financial security. The fact is, though, that the job you took because it “pays the bills” could easily move offshore in the coming decade. If you have never learned to think creatively and to explore your true capacity, what will you do then?

More specifically, what will our children do if we continue to prepare them for life using the old models of education? It’s very possible that our children will have multiple careers over the course of their working lives, not simply multiple jobs. Many of them will certainly have jobs we haven’t conceived yet. Isn’t it therefore our obligation to encourage them to explore as many avenues as possible with an eye toward discovering their true talents and their true passions?

How do we, as parents, encourage our children to develop their talents and passions? By helping them when they ask for it, and then getting out of their way. Given the opportunity, young people can find their passions on their own.

When Kids Use the Internet for Research

2011-01-28T15:29:00.000-06:00

Most kids know how to access Facebook, but do your kids know how to use the Internet for research? It's a skill that will help your children when they become adults, but it takes some knowledge and practice to do it well.

Kids may not learn this skill in school, but you can make sure your kids become knowledgeable by teaching them yourself. "When Kids Use the Internet for Research" is an article I wrote that includes the link to a wonderful website that will show your kids why it's so important to know how to do research on the Internet.

Are College Students Really Learning?

2011-01-26T14:34:00.001-06:00

A new study indicates that college students' academic skills don't show much improvement by the end of the sophomore year. The sociologists conducting the study found that the students they studied weren't asked to do the kind of intensive work (large amounts of weekly reading and writing) that were once the hallmark of a college education. That could explain the lack of learning.

Yet college tuition continues to rise each year. Why should parents pay more for less?

Living the Good Life

2011-01-24T15:07:00.000-06:00

Over the course of researching my new book, Thriving in the 21st Century, I sometimes got depressed when seeing all the indications that our kids will have to live very frugally in order to make it financially.

Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty frugal myself, but it's a choice I've made. I don't like to think my kids may be forced to live that way.

This interview with John Robbins is a great reminder that the attitude we take when we teach our kids to be money-smart is all important. Robbins' father was one of the original owners of Baskin-Robbins, and extremely wealthy. When he was a young man, Robbins chose to strike out on his own, renouncing his monetary inheritance and living very simply. He describes all the good things that happened because of that decision in his recent book, The New Good Life.

If we can raise our kids to live simply and be happy about it, we will have given them a great gift.

More College Grads are Looking for Work

2011-01-21T18:07:00.000-06:00

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate among college graduates is the highest it's been since 1970.

Traditionally, blue collar workers suffered most from layoffs and cutbacks during recessions. But this recession is different, and unemployed college grads are being blamed for driving the unemployment rate up higher than normal.

Some say our current situation is the new normal. Let's hope not. But unless you have pots of money or a highly motivated smart kid, you may want to rethink going along with the popular trend of "All kids must go to college."

Empathetic Workers are in Demand

2011-01-17T14:38:00.000-06:00

The graphic that accompanies this article clearly shows that all areas of employment have been in decline in this country except "Education and Health Services":

It's the only area that has had positive employment (green) throughout the past two years. This is also where most of the projected job growth of the future is expected. And one of the Seven Strengths detailed in my upcoming book Thriving in the 21st Century is required for those who want to work in education and health services: Empathy.

Empathetic people make great teachers because they put themselves in their students' shoes in order to relate to them and to present concepts to them in a meaningful way. Empathetic people make great healthcare workers because they treat patients the way they would want to be treated.

If you can raise your kids to be empathetic, you'll make them more employable in the only big job growth area we Americans have going for us now and in the near future.

How Not to Raise Self-Reliant Kids

2011-01-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

A Chinese-American mother (and Yale law professor) has written a book about her parenting philosophy that asserts that Western parenting is inferior to Chinese parenting. An excerpt from her book has created a stir on the Internet because her methods include browbeating her children to learn only what she wants them to learn. They have no autonomy; she calls the shots, even if it means keeping her 7-year-old up all night trying to master a piano-playing technique.

Regardless of what I think of her methods, my real concern is that she's raising kids who are accustomed to looking to her for orders instead of recognizing and pursuing their own interests. Self-reliance is a key survival skill for the 21st century; this woman is crippling her kids by forcing them to rely on her for everything.

Will Your Kids Earn Less Than You Do?

2011-01-12T19:24:00.000-06:00

As we American workers compete in a global economy, it's only logical that wages will go down. After all, if your job pays $25 an hour and your competition in China is paid 32 cents an hour, you're eventually going to meet somewhere in the middle, which for you means your hourly wage will go down. It's happening already. Many people have seen their pay decrease, sometimes dramatically, over the past few years.

This means there's a good chance that your kids will someday make less than you do now. I could be wrong. But if you teach them how to handle money wisely and how to stretch a buck, they'll be prepared to handle low wages; if I'm wrong and they end up making high wages, they'll be able to save up a nice nest egg to take care of you in your old age. :)

College Debt Slavery in America is On the Rise

2011-01-10T15:00:00.001-06:00

Now that the federal government is in charge of most college student loan debt, expect more of these sad stories. And don't expect the government to understand and forgive:

To collect on federal loans, the Education Department can seize borrowers’ paychecks, tax refunds and Social Security payments without a court order -- as much as 15 percent of a borrower’s disposable income.

The department is currently authorized to collect tax refunds and Social Security from 3.4 million borrowers. About 98,000 borrowers are having their wages garnisheed, the agency said.

In part because of those powers and the laws discouraging bankruptcy discharge, the department estimates it will collect 100 percent of the dollar value of all defaulted student loans.

The result? As one woman said, "I'm going to be in debt until I die."

Many college grads cannot find work. The days when a college degree guaranteed a job are over. Think hard before you send your children to college unless you can afford it without putting them in debt.

Multi-Generational Living is Back

2011-01-07T15:18:00.002-06:00

We're seeing more and more articles like this one describing how multiple generations of families are moving in together because they can no longer afford to live separately. It reminds me of the stories I heard from my grandparents about the Great Depression.

Even today, some multi-generation households are forming because of the current economic situation we're experiencing in the U.S. But this trend also reflects a cultural change that's the result of too many people spending money they didn't have by overloading their credit cards and borrowing against their homes to pay for goodies they really couldn't afford. Now the chickens have come home to roost.....Mom and Dad's home.

If you don't want to find yourself someday living with "boomerang" adult children, make sure your kids grow up knowing how to support themselves, how to handle money wisely, and how to earn a living and live within its limits.

They won't learn this through osmosis; it's up to you to teach them.

Are You Preparing Your Children to Work Around the World?

2011-01-05T15:29:00.001-06:00

These days, American companies are creating more jobs overseas than in the U.S. As a result, many of our young people will find themselves traveling around the world for their work.

That's why they should learn to speak a foreign language (or two) while they're young, when additional languages are easiest to learn. Even if foreign languages aren't taught at your children's school, there are plenty of ways to help them pick up a language on the side, even as part of their play.

In my upcoming book, Thriving in the 21st Century, you'll find ideas for raising bilingual children who can work outside the U.S. if necessary....and it's becoming clear that for some of our children, it will be necessary.

Why You've Got to Teach Your Kids About Money

2011-01-03T14:52:00.001-06:00

Money's tight for many people these days; even those who have good, well-paying jobs or businesses should be socking away money in case their fortunes change. This is a smart thing to do, and one reason why you'll want to teach your children to handle money wisely before they leave home.

Another good reason is that many companies are now running credit checks on their prospective employees. Some, like this woman, cannot find a job because, within a few months of losing her last job, she ran out of money to make her house payment and went into foreclosure. Now she can't save her house unless she gets a job, and she can't get a job because of her house.

Don't let your kids be caught in a Catch-22 situation like that someday.

Looking for Someone (Something) to Blame?

2010-12-23T15:44:00.001-06:00

One of the biggest reasons that finding a job has become harder is that we now automate many jobs that were once held by human beings. Check out this article about how robots ensure that catalog companies ship your holiday orders in time. Back in the day, humans picked those orders, and maybe even earned overtime during the busy holiday season. But not anymore.

NOTE: I'll be taking the next 10 days off to spend time with my family over the holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2011.

Making Sure Your Kids Develop Practical Skills

2010-12-20T16:44:00.000-06:00

With an iffy economy and an uncertain economic future, you can't go wrong teaching your kids practical skills. But if you don't have the time or the experience to do this, there's another way to make sure the job gets done. This blog post has the answers you need to raise kids with practical skills if you can't do it yourself.

Making Sure Our Kids Will Have Options...and Hope

2010-12-17T15:06:00.000-06:00

Just watched the heartbreaking PBS special "Close to Home" (watch free here), which describes what people are going through in this recession.

Especially striking is the fact that most of the people looking for work are looking to work for someone else, yet sending out hundred of resumes with no luck. The only person with some semblance of security (albeit reduced, thanks to the poor financial shape of her customers) is the person who is self-employed.

It's sad to see people without hope. When you rely on others (employers, the government), you have that sinking sense of having no control over your situation. Those who aren't afraid to try self-employment (admittedly a scary proposition after 20 or 30 years of working for others) are the ones who still have options, and hope. We need to plant the idea of self-employment in our kids' heads so they'll always understand that they have that option!

Even China Has Unemployed New College Grads

2010-12-15T15:11:00.001-06:00

That's right; we're not the only ones churning out college grads who can't find work. China has the same problem, and these young people are caught in a bind: they can't find work in the city, but they don't want to return to the country, where there is nothing for them.

The moral of the story? A college degree is no guarantee of work. It's a new world, and there are no automatic solutions to finding work that pays enough money to live comfortably....even in the world's biggest booming economy.

Young Entrepreneurs Finding Success

2010-12-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

Here's a great article you'll want to share with the young people in your life. It describes young adults who have decided to bypass the traditional (and currently bleak) world of working for someone else by starting their own businesses. Using today's technological tools, many are finding financial success, and all are learning to rely on themselves instead of an employer. Smart kids!

Just Because a College Offers a Certain Major....

2010-12-10T15:11:00.000-06:00

....doesn't mean the major provides a degree in an industry that offers any hope of growth, or a future job.

This article made me so sad because I was once a journalism student. While I don’t believe I was as idealistic as some of the students quoted, I enjoyed every bit of my journalism education, and looked forward to a career in journalism. A lousy economy at the time of my graduation ruined that dream for me back then.

Today, these kids are graduating into a lousy economy and a deteriorating journalism scene (the original version of this article included comments from recent journalism grads who can’t find work). The rise of the Internet and the clear bias of American media have resulted in newspapers dropping like flies. Yes, there are far more writing opportunities online than in print, but they pay less, too. It’s much harder to make a living as a journalist now than it was 30 years ago when I graduated during the Carter years.

Yet the professors quoted in the article let the students believe that “it’s all going to be ok” when they surely know better. Gotta keep those paychecks coming in, I guess. (Same reason so many colleges and universities inflate grades these days, but I digress….)

The moral of this story? Just because a college offers a specific major does not mean your child will be able to find work after obtaining that degree. Help your child make a wise career choice. Check out specific careers and their predicted futures at http://www.bls.gov/. Most of all, don’t believe the hype of colleges that need to keep a certain number of warm bodies coming through their departments in order to maintain their own employment.

College Grads and Unemployment: Will This Affect Them for Life?

2010-12-08T15:29:00.001-06:00

The rate of unemployment among recent college grads has doubled, and many of those who have jobs are not working in their chosen field, or even in a job that requires a degree. Will this experience scar them for life or make them stronger? You decide.

Our Kids’ Competition for Future Jobs

2010-12-06T15:29:00.000-06:00

When I hear that the unemployment rate is still going up, my immediate thought is for our kids and their future. We’ve been told that many of the jobs that were lost aren’t coming back due to technological change and offshoring. So how will our kids make a living? Will they have to deal with long periods of unemployment in their lives?

Those concerns are why I’ve written my new book, but talking to two of my children who are working adults has given me hope that things won’t be as bad as they seem. Both of them tell me that despite the high unemployment rate, it’s still hard to find good workers. They’ve expressed frustration with job applicants who barely speak during interviews and lazy new employees who spend their time texting instead of working. (These aren’t isolated incidences; they say it’s a pattern they see every day.)

These young employees have some ethical issues beyond laziness. One new employee borrowed a customer’s coupon during a transaction to get an additional discount on her own purchase. A self-identified Christian young man hired as a manager flunked his drug test.

As a result of experiences like these, my kids (who live in different states, by the way) think the high unemployment rate reflects a large number of incompetent people who can’t hold a job. That wouldn’t apply to several people over 40 I know who are among the long-term (2 years +) unemployed. But I think they’re having a hard time getting hired because they’re used to higher pay, and their age makes offering them health insurance a more expensive proposition. As for the younger people, maybe my kids are right.

In that case, we don’t have to worry as much about tough competition for our kids. If we raise them with moral character and a good work ethic along with the skills needed to compete in the 21st century, they should be ahead of most of their peers from the start.

Note: Simulposted at Barbara Frank Online.

Self-Reliance is Necessary Now

2010-11-29T19:51:00.000-06:00

This man submitted nearly 2,000 job applications but was never hired. So he wised up and started his own business, which is doing well. He used his personal experience to come up with the idea for his business. Smart! This is the kind of thinking that pays off in the new economy. It's how our children will need to think.

The Delicate Balance Between Tech-Savvy and Tech-Addiction

2010-11-22T19:59:00.000-06:00

One of the Seven Strengths for the 21st century that our kids will need is to be tech-savvy. This means they need to be very comfortable with computers and how they work.

Difficulties arise when kids go beyond tech-savvy to become tech-addicted, particularly to social media. This article does a great job of showing that too much time spend on computers and other tech toys is likely causing changes in kids' brains that make them very distractible. It also takes time away from other important activities that are vital to their development, particularly reading.

How do you maintain the delicate balance between tech-savvy and tech-addiction? You'll find out in early 2011 when Thriving in the 21st Century is published. Stay tuned!

Help Your Teen Understand the Enormous Federal Debt

2010-11-19T17:21:00.000-06:00

Most of us don’t understand the extent of our government’s indebtedness, but we do know that we’re saddling our kids and grandchildren with a ton of debt. No one’s happy about that, but what can we do?

Here’s an interesting interactive graphic that will help you and your teen get a handle on exactly what can be done to reduce deficits. It’ll get you both talking about where cuts should be made and/or taxes should be increased. Each decision you make reduces the debt….but also has repercussions.

Try it and see what I mean. It will help your teen (and you) understand what kind of tough decisions need to be made to get us back on track.

Why Jobs are Disappearing

2010-11-17T17:50:00.000-06:00

Here's a short but informative video that explains why jobs are disappearing. Note how few people are needed to build a car these days. The location of the factory is another red flag. Automation and off-shoring are changing the U.S. employment situation.

We need to be aware of things like this. No, it's not good for American jobs. But it's better to prepare our children for the future as we see it, instead of the past that we were prepared for. Telling our kids what we were told ("Get good grades and a college diploma and you'll always have a job") isn't going to be very helpful.

Best and Worst U.S. Industries

2010-11-15T20:30:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting post that lists best and worst industries in the U.S. in terms of revenue growth or lack of it. When combined with my post last week regarding career areas that are growing (or not), you should get a clearer picture of job areas that are worth considering for your older children who will face the world of work in the next decade.

Which Career Areas are Growing?

2010-11-12T16:35:00.002-06:00

Here's an excellent resource: a spreadsheet that shows the change in the number of jobs in a variety of careers; stats are for the time period May 2008 to May 2009.

The first page shows general career areas; click on the link "all job catagories(sic)" to see specific jobs. Note that frequently off-shored jobs are italicized. Numbers are from the BLS.

Paints a bleak picture, doesn't it? But some areas are doing better than others, which gives you an idea of where the least affected areas are, i.e. those to encourage your kids to look into for future employment.

Here's Your Diploma....and Your Bill for $24K

2010-11-10T16:13:00.000-06:00

According to a recent survey, the average new college grad owes $24,000 in student loan debt at a time when the unemployment rate for college grads has set a record by jumping from 5.8% to 8.7%....in one year!

Keep in mind that the lower-than-average unemployment rate of college grads is partly due to them taking jobs that don't require a college degree because they need something to help pay back the loans that come due within a year after graduation. That explains why there are an awful lot of college-educated truck drivers and burger flippers at work these days.

Entrepreneurism vs. College

2010-11-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

The writer of this article makes the case that increased entrepreneurism is what our country will need in the future, and that a college education is highly overrated when it comes to preparing people to fix what ails us economically.

There are many interesting points in this article, and some thought-provoking comments after it, adding up to more evidence that we need to be raising entrepreneurial kids!

Public Schools are Old School

2010-11-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

The public school system was designed to train children for the 20th century world of work in factories and offices. Those days are gone, but the school system just keeps doing things the way they've always been done.

To truly prepare our children for the 21st century, public school is not the answer. But maybe you've already wondered about this. You might be interested in reading "Ten Signs That You Need to Find a Different Kind of Education for Your Child."

Underemployed College Grads: There are LOTS of Them

2010-11-03T21:18:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since most people went to college solely for the purpose of expanding their minds. In recent years, it's been all about getting that degree so you can get a good job. Colleges and universities didn't disagree with this view; in fact, many emphasized it by bragging on each graduating class's employment rate.

But the stakes are higher now: students graduate with tens of thousands of dollars of debt, and they expect a way to pay it back so they can get on with their lives----and with earning a decent living.

That's why this article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, "Why Did 17 Million Students Go To College?" is so striking. The author points out that, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are 17 million college grads employed in jobs that don't require a college degree. Hmm, how are they going to pay back all that student debt on a lower salary than they'd planned to earn?

Are Schools Killing Our Children's Creativity?

2010-11-01T19:50:00.000-05:00

In a rapidly changing economic environment, thinking creatively can help people make good decisions when faced with challenging problems. Our children will need to be creative in order to make a living in the 21st century. But are schools crippling their creativity? This video makes the case that they are.

What do you think?

Learning a Foreign Language (or Two)

2010-10-29T16:21:00.001-05:00

Our 19-year-old wants to be a police officer and was recently told by our local police that the way to move to the top of the new hires list is to be able to speak Spanish.

Many employers now look for bilingual employees, and Spanish isn't the only language they seek. Chinese is becoming increasingly important in the new economy, and other languages are also considered an asset. In a world where employment is not always easy to come by, our children will need the advantage of knowing a foreign language.

Young children pick up foreign languages quickly. Why not let them learn another language with some of the great products now available?

Our Children Will Need to Be Good Communicators

2010-10-27T16:08:00.000-05:00

It's vital that our children grow up learning how to communicate effectively through writing. In an era of texting and chatspeak, this isn't always easy to manage.

But employers will always value workers who can get across a point clearly and concisely. It's an advantage for the self-employed, too, because being able to write your own website copy and do it well is a real money-saver.

Schoolchildren aren't always taught to write well. But we parents can make sure our children learn this important skill. This report (PDF), while written for homeschooling parents, offers plenty of tips and ideas for all parents who want their children to become good writers.

The Truth About Unemployment

2010-10-25T20:00:00.000-05:00

According to government statistics and recent polling, the U.S. unemployment rate currently hovers at around 10%.

But economist John Williams includes both the short-term and long-term discouraged workers in his statistics, and estimates the current unemployment rate to be over 20%. Who's right? It doesn't matter; 20%+ is awful, but 10% is nothing to brag about.

Many pundits tell us this is "the new normal." If they're right, we'd better get started teaching our kids how to stretch a buck so that they can get through bouts of unemployment without going hungry.

Americans are Catching On

2010-10-22T22:16:00.000-05:00

More and more people are realizing that the economy of the 21st century isn't going to get better any time soon. This is why we need to prepare our children carefully for the future: preparing them the way we were prepared makes no sense, because getting a college degree is no longer a guarantee of anything except a big expense.

It's not that none of our children will need to go to college. But all of our children will need to develop the specific strengths that will get them ready to thrive in the 21st century.

Kids and Internet Safety

2010-10-20T21:35:00.000-05:00

Our kids will need to be computer-literate and Internet-savvy by the time they reach adulthood. Many of today's kids are skilled at texting and using Facebook, but those things take up time that could be better used learning to safely surf the Internet.

Of course, parents are concerned (with good reason) about their children's safety when using the Internet. Here's a guide from the FBI about keeping your kids safe on the Internet that you may find useful.

Raising Entrepreneurial Teens

2010-10-18T20:23:00.000-05:00

A recent survey by Junior Achievement found that there are two deciding factors in teens wanting their own business(es): their environment and having strong entrepreneurial role models.

While participating in groups like JA will help our teens develop the entrepreneurial mindset, we parents can have the greatest effect by encouraging our young people to try starting small businesses, and even by starting our own businesses so they can witness it firsthand.

Having your own business, even a side business, can help you through hard times caused by low-paying jobs or worse, unemployment. Giving our kids a head-start on thinking entrepreneurially can only help them in the 21st century economy.

Even on Wall Street....

2010-10-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

....salaries are shrinking. Learning to stretch a dollar is going to become a very popular pastime. Will your kids know how to live simply and stretch a buck?

At Least Somebody's Teaching Kids These Skills

2010-10-13T15:53:00.000-05:00

Over in England, a chain of hardware stores has begun offering classes to teach children basic survival skills, since their parents either don't have the time or the ability to do so.

Glad to hear that some young people are going to learn these skills. Wonder when they'll start teaching basic skills on this side of the pond?

How Did This Happen?

2010-10-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

You may wonder how our economy got to the point where it is now. I think Charles Hugh Smith summarizes it pretty well.

The middle class filled the growing gap between stagnant earnings and steep increases in living costs, healthcare (a.k.a. sickcare), education, and housing with a second income (Mom, aunty, sister and Grandma all entered the workforce en masse) during the 1970s, and then they filled the still-widening gap in the 80s, 90s and 2000s with ever-expanding debt.

The dot-com bubble provided the illusion that permanently rising equities would painlessly fill the gap (pension plans were happy to join in the mass delusion). When that fantasy imploded, it was quickly replaced with the exact same fantasy, only this time based on housing.

Hence our current economic troubles. The bottom line? Our children's future will be much different from the world we've been accustomed to for the past 30 years. It will be harder for many people to earn money. Our kids are going to need a variety of skills, not just a sheepskin.

Modern Day Debt Slaves

2010-10-08T20:26:00.000-05:00

This dad was so convinced that his children had to go to college that he co-signed student loans for ALL FOUR of them.....yikes! He and his wife lost their jobs, they've lost their home to foreclosure and are about to become homeless, and they can't shake off the tremendous student loan debt (one loan is for $108,000) through bankruptcy.

Proposed legislation may help them out by making student loans dischargeable in bankruptcy, but the lesson here is clear: don't get into student loan debt unless you're sure it will result in employment that pays so well you can repay the loans and still have money to live on. Not too many careers fall into that category these days.

Incomes Headed Down

2010-10-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

New demographic data shows that U.S. median income dropped nearly 3% from 2008 to 2009. Given the rise in unemployment since then, it's likely that the 2009-2010 change will be at least the same and maybe higher.

Incomes are headed down. Finding any job, much less a higher-paying one, is not easy these days. It's a helpless feeling, but we're not helpless. We do have the power to manage our money wisely and stretch every dollar we earn.

We must also teach our children to do the same. It's their best bet for surviving economic difficulties in their lives someday.

"A Generation of Nincompoops": Something Easily Avoided

2010-10-04T15:17:00.000-05:00

The woman quoted in this article has a teenage daughter who doesn't know how to use a can opener, so Mom's written a book about reducing her children's reliance on technology. I guess she thinks they were too busy texting to learn how to make a can of soup for dinner.

I'm kind of surprised she admits that she fell down on the job when it came to teaching very basic skills to her children. It's really not that hard. But it does require a parent to value basic skills enough to teach them to their children. Maybe she should read Back to Basics!

College Grads are Moving Back Home

2010-09-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

The economy takes its toll as college grads find that high unemployment and low wages has them taking refuge in their old rooms.

This isn't such a bad thing in and of itself; living with your family until marriage was once the norm. But it's very telling when we consider whether or not the economy is improving, as some say it is.

The Whole Picture

2010-09-28T21:58:00.000-05:00

Here and there I'll see news articles about what's going on in our country and I'll share the links here. But this link is a stunner. The writer has assembled a group of articles about what's going on, and seeing them together really brings home the fact that we are not in good shape at all. The shrinkage of our manufacturing base has resulted in some real problems.

It's my hope that we resume manufacturing again. That's why our kids will need to know how to work with their hands: so they can help rebuild this country's economy.

The Questionable Monetary Value of a College Degree

2010-09-24T17:30:00.002-05:00

I see they haven't enabled comments on this new article crowing over the supposed financial advantage of a college degree. No wonder.....there are an awful lot of unemployed and under-employed college grads these days. Their comments can be seen on articles about the economy, and believe me, most of them are not happy.

Note that:

This study was done by the College Board. Not exactly unbiased! In fact, this article reads more like a PR piece than a news article.
It states that college grads make more money than high school grads. Since many college grads are working retail jobs, thus taking them away from high school grads, I guess that's true, but it's sure not a reason to go into enormous student loan debt.
The unemployment rate for college grads is half that of high school grads, but again, that makes sense when the college grads take the jobs the high school grads once had, selling books and making coffee drinks.

These articles seem to be popping up more frequently. Seems like the colleges are getting a bit panicky because word is getting out that not all college degrees will guarantee jobs after graduation. In the future, this will be even more true.

Raising Entrepreneurial Kids

2010-09-22T20:30:00.000-05:00

Is it true that entrepreneurs are made, not born? No one knows for sure, but giving your kids opportunities to work for themselves is a great way to prepare them for the 21st century economy. Having their own business (even if it's just a side business) will be a good way to stay afloat financially.

Today's New York Times has an interesting article called "How to Raise a Business Owner." It's written by a self-employed mom. Check it out HERE.

Courting Financial Disaster to Create College Grads

2010-09-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

According to a new study (ironically initiated in part by Sallie Mae, the government entity that holds most student loans), parents are at risk of impoverishing themselves in order to make sure they send their students to college.

It's not until the end of this long article highlighting the survey's results that the reporter states the obvious:

Although most students believe they need a college degree to earn more money and work in their chosen field, some are beginning to question whether an education is worth the hefty price tag. Only a slight majority -- 53 percent -- of those surveyed in 2010 feel college is worth the cost; 62 percent thought a degree was worth it in 2008.

At least some students are starting to catch on.

Teaching Children to Recognize and Appreciate Quality, Part 2

2010-09-17T16:07:00.002-05:00

PART 1 (in case you missed it)

Exposure to Quality

Giving our children opportunities to create things is key, but we also need to expose them to the creations of others. Seeing what others have done inspires our children, and also helps them to recognize greatness in the work of others.

Art museums are one place our children can become acquainted with high-quality, aesthetically pleasing works.

Historical museums expose our children to the great inventions of the past, and help them understand why it’s important to make things that last.

Art and craft shows give children an up-close look at art and the artists who create it.

Quilt shows highlight the creativity of those who work with cloth. Be on the lookout for special exhibits of antique quilts; before cloth was affordable or readily available, women of the past used fabric scraps, worn-out clothes and feed sacks to fashion quilts of beauty that were used to keep their families warm. Such quilts are the ultimate examples of good stewardship of materials.

Of course, the best place to expose our children to well-made and high quality items is in our own homes. There are high-quality items out in the marketplace, but they tend to cost quite a bit more than we might want to pay. In many cases, they’re downright unaffordable. Many people just don’t have the money to fill their homes with such expensive things.

However, there is a way to find affordable items for our homes, and that’s at estate sales, garage sales and rummage sales. Amidst the warped fiberboard entertainment centers and rickety kitchen chairs of the recent past you can find sturdy wooden furniture, high-quality pre-1990s towels and linens (some with the price tags still attached!) and small appliances made with metal gears (much longer-lasting than today’s products with plastic gears).

My husband and I began shopping in such places when we were poor newlyweds. We still use some of our purchases from back then; a few are now considered antiques that would sell for quite a bit more than we paid for them, IF we were willing to part with them.

The high quality of goods made in the past really hit home with me several years ago, when I helped my daughter find supplies for her first apartment by scouring local estate and rummage sales. She especially likes the look of the 1970s (to her, it’s very retro; I, however, lived through it the first time!). In finding various items of that vintage for her such as glassware, utensils and linens, I was struck by the sturdiness of the items compared to much new versions of the same things in our home. The plastic utensils were stronger and heavier. The glasses were also heavier, and the paint on them had held up almost perfectly; quite a difference from the glassware we use that’s not very old but already has faded a good deal.

The difference in linens is especially noticeable. The sheets I found for her are not as tightly woven as those you can buy nowadays, nor are the towels as thick and soft as today’s towels, but both are made of better-quality textiles. I can tell this because they continue to wear well despite frequent washings. In contrast, today’s sheets and towels seem luxurious when you buy them, but after a few washings they begin to deteriorate quickly.

These differences need to be pointed out to our children so that they can learn to recognize quality. In fact, just living with and using well-made goods on a day-to-day basis will have a subliminal effect on them; when you’re used to quality, anything “cheap” really becomes noticeable.

But we have to make an effort to “buy quality” in order to have it in our homes. If we can’t afford to buy new, buying older, used items is the way to do it. If you have a problem with doing that, just remember, every one of those expensive antiques you see on television’s “Antiques Roadshow” is a used item.

A Resurgence of Quality

Artists put a lot of time into their creations. In the new age of increasing productivity (the faster a product can be made, the better) and throwaway products, we have to ask if the creation of high-quality items is really worth the time it takes. Does it make sense to encourage our children to recognize quality and to develop their artistic talents so that they can create items of quality when the rest of the world seems to have forsaken quality for low prices and the convenience of disposability?

I think it does. Beyond the pleasure creation brings, and the joy of working with good materials, is the likelihood that eventually, people will tire of having to buy new goods all the time. There are many reasons for this:

• It takes time to keep buying replacements, and we’re increasingly short on time.

• It’s very frustrating when things keep breaking or falling apart.

• The novelty of each season’s “hot” new items wears off after a while; we get bored with them.

• It’s expensive to keep replacing the items we use in our daily lives; this is especially important during economic downturns like the one we’re in now.

• As people age, they lose interest in continual consumption, and learn to appreciate what they have (or maybe they just get tired of all that shopping!)

• In rapidly changing times, people find security in the possessions that have meaning to them.

This last point is especially intriguing. In a throwaway society, which items will become the eventual heirlooms we leave to our children and their children? Will the museums of the future have anything in them to represent the early 21st century, or will it all have fallen apart?

I think today’s “it’s cheaper to buy a new one” mentality will eventually lead to a resurgence of the appreciation of quality. It will always have its place, even among an avalanche of cheap imported goods. In the world of job insecurity and changes that we’ve entered, it’s human nature to want some security, some things that don’t change. Possessions that have stood up over time and even have special significance for us are greatly appreciated.

In our home sits a sturdy old rocking chair that we inherited after the death of my husband’s great-grandmother. She received it as a wedding gift, so it’s over 100 years old. I rocked my babies in it; when my children were small, they climbed in it and all over it. It has held up very well, and holds many memories for us.

It’s one of many chairs we’ve owned; many of the others are no longer in our house. Having been made more recently, they fell apart from the daily use of six people. They were replaced by even newer and not-inexpensive chairs. While my husband tries to keep them in good repair, it is a constant job. It’s true, they just don’t make things like they used to make them. Yet that rocking chair remains in good shape. You can’t beat quality.

NOTE: Excerpted from Thriving in the 21st Century, now available in print and eBook.

Teaching Children to Recognize and Appreciate Quality, Part 1

2010-09-15T16:01:00.003-05:00

NOTE: Excerpted from Thriving in the 21st Century, now available in print and eBook.

The paint is coming off of the buttons of my cell phone, which I don’t use very often (it’s a prepaid). It’s only a year old.

The nonstick surface of the pans in my kitchen is flaking off; the pans are, at most, five years old.

Towels I bought only a few years ago fade and become stiff, while those received as wedding gifts over 30 years ago continue to hold up. The elastic stretches out in fitted sheets just a few years old, while sheets I bought for my now-young-adult children, much used over the years, are still in good shape.

These are more examples of the decreasing quality of goods we buy today. Our stores are overflowing with wonderful, exciting new products, but most aren’t made to last. The hope of those who make them is that they’ll have to be replaced before long, thus requiring yet another trip to the store, and so more profits in the manufacturers’ pockets. Increasing global competition is teaching manufacturers to produce goods with low costs and a low profit margin, which they can then sell in large quantities at modest prices, thus making up the profit in volume.

The combination of innovative new products, mass marketing and planned obsolescence (making a product with a limited lifespan so it will have to be replaced) has brought us this avalanche of goods that don’t last. As soon as they hit our stores, they’re aggressively marketed so that we’ll buy them. Those that don’t sell right away are deep-discounted so that we’ll buy them on sale because of their irresistible prices. Anything left over is then marked down for clearance so that there will be room for the coming season’s “must-have” items, and the cycle begins again.

This sequence has trained American consumers to expect low-price, low-quality goods, and develops in us an attitude of “it’s cheaper to replace it than to fix it.” Compare that to the mindset required of our grandparents and great-grandparents who raised families during the Great Depression. A common expression of the 1930s was “Use it up, make it do or do without.” Most people didn’t have the money to buy new goods or replace old items all the time. So they learned to take care of their belongings to make them last, and to fix those that could be fixed.

Cultivating such an attitude helped them stretch their money as far as possible, which was a necessity during tough financial times. We need to teach our children that same attitude; it will be very helpful to them during those times ahead when they’re between jobs, or when they need to tighten their belts in order to keep their business afloat.

That won’t always be easy in our disposable society. We parents have been trained to pitch what doesn’t work. One example of how we’ve come to think that way is the videocassette recorder (VCR). When VCRs first became available to the consumer market over 30 years ago, the cheapest models cost over $1,000. After investing that kind of money, almost anyone with a VCR took it in to be repaired when it broke down.

But over the years the price of VCRs declined, and so did their quality. When you can find them, you can buy a multi-featured VCR for $50. When it breaks down, and it will, it won’t be worth investing at least as much as you paid for it in repairing it, when you can go right out and buy another for $50. And that’s what Americans do. We just keep buying more products to replace those that break down or fall apart. By doing so, we kept the economy going for a long time.

But this process creates a mindset of increasing consumption. It’s the last thing we want to teach our children, but that’s what we’re doing by our examples. We parents need to get our heads straight about what and why we buy things before we try to teach our children.

It can be done. By learning to recognize and appreciate quality, we and our children can keep a lid on our expenses by not having to replace things all the time. The choices we make as consumers will have an effect on what’s being offered in the market place. Just think, if everyone were to refuse to buy inferior goods, manufacturers and marketers would have no choice but to offer better quality goods.

That’s a nice thought, but the reality of the present is that it takes some work to find high-quality goods, things that will hold up for a while. We have to take the time and make the effort to buy well-made items, and to teach our children how to do so. If they learn to appreciate quality now, they’ll grow up looking for it in the things they buy. It will be worth their effort to take care of those things, and to fix them when they need to be fixed. Such an attitude will be very helpful in the financially uncertain times ahead.

Learning to Recognize Quality

Not long ago, I was shopping in a local discount department store when I noticed a display of baby clothes. Thinking how adorable they were, and how creatively they had been designed, I went up for a closer look.

What I found was disappointing. The tiny shirts were made of very poorly made fabric that would certainly not hold up for more than a few washings. The matching corduroy overalls turned out not to be corduroy at all, but a cheap fabric with ridges stamped into it to make it look like corduroy.

As a mom who has had four babies, if there’s one thing I know it’s that baby clothes get washed a lot. They need to be sturdy to hold up to hours of spinning in the washer and being heated in the dryer. And hopefully, they’ll last so they can be handed down to the next baby. These clothes, as cute as they were, would not likely hold together for one baby, much less four.

I can recognize poor quality in clothes because I sew. I learned to sew at age 11, and as a teen, made many of my own clothes. Sewing teaches you proper clothing construction. Once you learn that, you come to expect it in the clothes you buy as well as the clothes you make.

Sewing also teaches you to recognize and appreciate high-quality fabric, because the last thing you want to do is put a lot of work into an item made out of cheap fabric. It will eventually fade, or the fabric will come apart, and all your hard work will be wasted.

I taught my girls to sew, and it has brought them great enjoyment as well as an appreciation for quality. When we’re out shopping and my younger daughter spots a piece of clothing she likes, I show her how it’s made. If it’s made of poor quality fabric (and increasingly, it is) I show her how thin the fabric is, and how loosely it’s woven. These are signs that it won’t last long with normal use. Each time I show her something like this, and each time she sews something, she learns to recognize quality. This will serve her well in adulthood.

Sewing, however, is just one way to teach about quality. There are many skills that we can teach our children (or learn alongside them, if we don’t already have the skill), so that they can recognize quality. Any skill that requires you to work with your hands and to select good materials to work with is worth learning in order to recognize quality. For example:

Woodworking helps children learn about furniture construction and types of wood. The child who can work with wood will someday be able to recognize and buy high-quality furniture, reject low-quality furniture, and even make his or her own furniture.

Cooking and baking helps children learn to enjoy healthy, high-quality food, and to reject inferior food. The child who is accustomed to home-baked cookies doesn’t find packaged cookies as appealing; a frozen pizza is no match for one made with fresh ingredients and love.

Knitting and other types of handwork (quilting, crocheting, and needlepoint are just a few examples) give children the opportunity to make things of beauty that will last and can be handed down to their own children someday. Compare a hand-knitted sweater to the sweaters you find in the store these days (ill-fitting, and made of inferior yarn that begins to pill on the first wearing); there’s a definite difference in quality that even an older child can see and feel.

The creation of art (painting, sculpture, metalwork) lets children experience how much work goes into translating something from a concept to a finished item. It gives them the opportunity to use paint, chalk, stone and metal to make something tangible while expressing themselves. The child who is an artist will be more likely to appreciate the work of others, including the great artists of history.

These creative activities are just some areas we can use to teach our children to recognize quality. All of them help our children to develop an appreciation for the work that has gone into something. Children who understand this will appreciate heirlooms and other family treasures for what they are as well as what they represent. They’ll also be able to recognize shoddy work and reject it, which is a good ability to have in a world where inferior goods are increasingly common.

Learning to recognize and appreciate quality through such activities as those listed has other benefits:

• Recognizing quality brings pleasure; the feel of fine fabric, the aroma of home-baked goods, the patina of exotic wood.

• Making something with one’s hands is satisfying, and gives a goal to work toward that, once reached, provides great satisfaction.

• Creating something teaches you not to waste materials, but to put them to good use.

• The creative person knows how and prefers to fix things instead of replacing them.

This last point is an integral part of being a good steward. Taking good care of what you’ve been blessed with is a Christian principle. The child who recognizes and appreciates quality will be a good steward of resources. In the financial ups-and-downs likely to characterize the new economy, that ability will be a great asset.

PART 2

About This Blog

2010-09-13T15:54:00.001-05:00

In March 2001, something happened to our family. As abruptly as the slamming of a door, my husband’s work stopped coming in.

For 25 years before that, my husband had been a designer of plastic molds and the sole financial support of our family. Since 1995, he had been a self-employed designer. From the first day he started out on his own, he had more business than he could handle. In fact, there was never a single day that he didn’t have work to do for someone……until that March day when he finished a mold and realized he had no other jobs waiting for him.

By then, America was in a recession that had been building for some time. But as the spring and then the summer passed by, the phone remained quiet. When he checked with them, my husband’s clients expressed concern at how little, if any, work they were being hired to do. We began to realize that something was different from the previous recessions we’d been through. As one of the many families whose living came from the manufacturing segment of our economy, we were accustomed to slowdowns; we were well-equipped to deal with less work. But to have no work? It had never happened before.

Finally in September 2001, the work started to trickle in, though much more slowly than before. But then came the national tragedy now infamously known as 9/11, and the entire American economy shuddered for months afterward. We felt it as much as anyone else.

As the mother and homemaker in our family of six, my immediate job was to stretch the dollars as well as I could, which I did. But as a freelance writer and former reporter, my reaction to difficulties has always been research. (Somebody’s sick? I’ll find out everything I can about the disease.) When our youngest son was born with Down syndrome, it took only a few months before I had amassed my own mini-library of Down syndrome books. This is how I cope with uncertainty: I research the heck out of it.

So I began to search for answers to the questions that were spinning around in my head:

What’s causing this loss of work?

Is it true our manufacturing base is evaporating?

Why is so much work going to other countries when people here are unemployed?

How does China manage to wipe out so many of our factories?

Is it time for my husband to bail out of plastics and find a new line of work?

My research confirmed my suspicion that we’re in the midst of an enormous shift in this country. Those of us who grew up expecting the long-term jobs and resulting financial rewards (not to mention company-paid health insurance and pensions for our old age) that our parents had are in for a nasty surprise. Those kind of jobs are evaporating quickly, and in many cases are being replaced by temporary jobs and outsourcing. The more I read, the more I realized the old way of doing things was not coming back any time soon.

This brought a new concern to the forefront. As difficult as it was for my husband and me to determine what to do next, it was even harder to think about how it would affect our children. How could we prepare them for this new and rapidly changing economy, where entire industries disappear? What kind of skills and abilities would be needed to work in an economy that’s dramatically different from the one to which we’d been accustomed?

Once we figure out the answers to those questions, how do we teach those things to our children? And is it possible that we can prepare them so that they won’t just survive, but thrive? Everything I’ve learned since I started asking those questions suggests that it is most definitely possible.

What I’ve learned over the past nine years led me to the conclusions I’ll share in this blog and in my upcoming book, Thriving in the 21st Century. As parents, we’re completely responsible for our children. It’s our job to prepare them to become hard-working, independent adults. Even though many of the assumptions and rules we grew up with have changed, our responsibility to guide our children has not. So to every parent who’s concerned about preparing their child for the new economy we find ourselves in, this blog and my upcoming book are for you.

The Primary Area of Job Growth is........

2010-09-10T17:14:00.000-05:00

....quite visible on this chart.

Yes, health care continues to be the only job area with any kind of decent growth in our economy. This growth is likely to continue, as the massive group of Baby Boomers age and require more health care than ever.

This is a great career area for your children. But the very best health care workers have an ability that helps them excel in their work: they're empathetic people. Empathy is one of the Seven Strengths you can develop in your children right now so they'll be ready to Thrive in the 21st Century.

Will Your Kids Be Able to Live on Less Than $50K a Year?

2010-09-09T17:07:00.001-05:00

This article asks if it's possible to live on an average income of $50,000 a year. Considering that wages have been stagnating for years (when you consider inflation) and are now dropping, it's possible our kids will have to live on less than $50,000 annually.

Will your kids be able to do it? Have you taught them to handle money wisely? If not, why not?

A Professor in Favor of Teaching Practical Skills and Hands-On Work

2010-09-08T16:59:00.001-05:00

Joining the chorus of those saying our kids need to know how to work with their hands is college professor Camille Paglia, who states:

Jobs, jobs, jobs: We need a sweeping revalorization of the trades. The pressuring of middle-class young people into officebound, paper-pushing jobs is cruelly shortsighted. Concrete manual skills, once gained through the master-apprentice alliance in guilds, build a secure identity. Our present educational system defers credentialing and maturity for too long.

While I'm not sure I agree with Ms. Paglia about college being the place where young people should be taught to work with their hands, she's right on the money about the uselessness of many current college majors, and the need for more career guidance regarding the trades.

It's More Important Than a College Degree

2010-09-07T16:59:00.000-05:00

Parents spend amazing amounts of effort and money to get their children into college. But times have changed. A college degree is not for everyone, and may not monetarily benefit most people....not anymore.

But there's another commodity, one that I list in my upcoming book Thriving in the 21st Century as being one of the Seven Strengths our kids will need as adults, that parents should encourage. It's creativity: see what John Taylor Gatto has to say about this issue here.

Many Service Jobs are in Big Cities

2010-09-06T19:11:00.000-05:00

As many manufacturing jobs left the U.S., service jobs have taken over, particularly in the large cities. The BLS predicts major growth in several decent-paying service jobs, including these five career areas.

Keep in mind, however, that the BLS uses the past to predict the future. Since we're going through such a dramatic economic change, read anything that quotes the BLS with a grain of salt, realizing that the need for different jobs varies geographically, too.

Working With Your Hands: A Needed Attribute

2010-09-03T18:04:00.000-05:00

For years, parents and teachers have pushed kids toward college. President Obama has actually said it's our kids' duty to go to college.

But the push for college has kept many kids from taking classes that teach them to work with their hands. In fact, classes like the ones we called "Industrial Arts" were dropped from high schools long ago because of a lack of student interest.

Now American companies are looking for people who can work with their hands, and they're willing to pay them well. It's time to teach our kids to make things!

Help for Learning Foreign Languages

2010-09-02T16:31:00.000-05:00

We live in a global economy now, and it's important that our children be able to speak more than one language in order to communicate with their coworkers and customers some day.

Here's a site that's a portal to all sorts of free online help in learning a foreign language. Why not expose your children to a new language and stretch their minds? Kids pick up languages more quickly than adults do....they may end up teaching you!

The Return of the American Call Center?

2010-09-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Finally, the tide has turned in offshoring: the call center is returning to America!

No, this probably isn't the job you dream of for your child's future career. But in our current situation, the return of any jobs is a good thing. And for stay-at-home parents and those with disabilities that limit their choice of jobs, a call center job that allows you to work from home can be a wonderful thing.

Let's face it, there's little to celebrate in our economy right now, so let's applaud this little bit of good news.