A recent article over on The Motely Fool, How to Make Your Child Globally Competitive, makes the case that in order for today's Gen Y students to be competitive in the global workforce, they'll need have to have more than just a college degree and technology skills.
So what's the real killer 21st Century skill? The ability to speak Chinese. Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Spoken Chinese to be exact.
"As Thomas Friedman outlined in his seminal work, "The World is Flat," technology has leveled the international playing field into one where the weakest fall by the wayside and only the brave, bold, and adaptable will survive.
Scary, huh? Until U.S. schools get their act together, it will be up to parents to ensure that their kids obtain the tools necessary to compete.
Fret not, moms and dads, you don't necessarily need to have these skills yourselves to help your children obtain them. Fortunately, we are living in an age where if you can't do something yourself, help is only a mouse click away.
So what's the first step for children with dreams of conquering the world?"
Why Chinese?
According to Goldman Sachs, by 2050 China is poised to be the leading global economy, passing the U.S., Japan, India and the European Union. Sounds like it's time to get those Gen Y kids speaking Chinese.
Or at least downloading the English-Chinese app onto their iPhone.
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