This week, my thoughts are divided among many important parenting issues that impact all of our children, from toddlers to school-age kids all the way to collegiates. For starters — the safety and security of our kids can never be far from our minds and when we can’t trust Disney to have kid-appropriate digital content, we really have a lot to worry about. Their privacy is equally important so we need to take a hard look at kid-favorites Siri (Apple) and Alexa (Amazon) who may be collecting our children’s personal information. And every week, a steady stream of alarming climate change news reminds me that while our children are young, we must impress upon them a sense of responsibility to others and to their planet in peril. This week, I read about a Pennsylvania doctor who plans to spend his retirement fighting climate change and the world’s first Climate Change Certified school in Dubai.
When we think of our children’s future, we think of technology. Automation is inevitable and will change the working landscape for our kids in both positive and negative ways. While we don’t yet fully understand the impact automation will have on jobs, we do know it will render some positions obsolete. However, automation may also create a bumper crop of jobs, many of which will require “soft” skills (which I prefer to call “success” skills) such as a strong work ethic, self-motivation, and social and emotional intelligence and leadership skills. Most of these critically important skills are developed and honed with a liberal arts degree – great news for all of us who often wonder whether our children will be left behind if they do not pursue careers in technology.
And speaking of college, cheating by college students is nothing new but I was fascinated (*and horrified) to read about how technology and globalization have turned this into a lucrative work-for-hire business for people in developing countries. And, finally, are Millenials and Gen Zs turning their backs on the trifecta of American ideals, family, God and country?
Here are my top picks for parenting articles this week:
Disney Has a Huge Problem With Hulu Showing Inappropriate and Mature Content to ChildrenBeware of Disney-owned Hulu’s “kid-friendly programming” says one writer and Dad to six — because your kids may be exposed to rated-R and TV-MA content.
Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa could be next targets for child privacy laws
YouTube was fined $170 million by the Federal Trade Commission last week for violating online privacy laws for children. Regulators hinted that voice assistants like the Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa could be next.
Dubai now has “world’s first” fully climate change certified schoolAn Indian-curriculum school in Dubai has 30 senior leaders and all 300 teaching staff recognised as Climate Change Teachers by the UN, making the school the first of its kind.
The new Grail: Medicine in the age of climate changeRead one doctor and Dad’s reimagined retirement and shift in priorities in the wake of climate change.
The liberal arts degree is alive and well — and critically important to the future of techSoft skills like a strong work ethic, self-motivation, social, emotional and leadership skills often developed and honed in the course of a liberal arts degree will be highly valued in the age of automation.
Tomorrow’s Jobs: 7 Future Roles That Will Exist in the Age of Automation
Many fear the impact of automation on jobs, but what they may not know is that automation will also create new jobs, some that never existed before. Here, 7 future jobs for the age of automation.
Cheating, Inc.: How Writing Papers for American College Students Has Become a Lucrative Profession Overseas
Cheating in college is nothing new, but the internet now makes it possible on a global, industrial scale, giving rise to online business such as Ace-MyHomework and EssayShark which allows people across the world to bid on and complete American homework assignments.
Elite Failure Has Brought Americans to the Edge of an Existential Crisis
The nuclear family, God, and national pride are a holy trinity of the American identity. Are Millenials and Gen Z turning their backs on all three?