Why your son/daughter's university may owe you an apology. Here's the reason: if there is no international component, i.e., time spent studying or working overseas, chances are they won't be ready for the new economy.
After speaking with Joanne Douds, Vice President of Development and Global Markets Prominent Properties Sothebys International Realty, she feels strongly that a university education may be worthless if your son or daughter is not exposed to diversity and work or study in another country.
We can no longer 'protect' our children from regions of the world that we may not understand, know the language or culture. We cannot expect that our children will remain in the US and be as successful as we want and hope them to be.
The cost of university has become very expensive. It's well known that the average student loan bill is now 6-figure debt. Is this true for your son or daughter?
The time is now to adapt to the new economy, to insist that your children receive a complete education. We are laying out too much on the table for them not to have all the tools in their inbox to succeed.
You need to insist upon:
- Foreign Language (Spanish, Chinese, etc.) to near fluency;
- Overseas assignment, for a period of six-months or longer if possible;
- Some type of cultural immersion different from his or her own culture;
“We are all equal in the fact that we are all different. We are all the same in the fact that we will never be the same. We are united by the reality that all colours and all cultures are distinct & individual. We are harmonious in the reality that we are all held to this earth by the same gravity. We don't share blood, but we share the air that keeps us alive.
"I will not blind myself and say that my black brother is not different from me. I will not blind myself and say that my brown sister is not different from me. But my black brother is he as much as I am me. But my brown sister is she as much as I am me.”
― C. JoyBell C.
