My kid: President for Underachiever Club?

Who are we kidding? Why did our parents ever tell us "You can be anything you want to when you grow up!" So many parents I speak with, hear from these days are all about homeschooling, private schooling or worse...killing themselves in a workplace to afford a better district. Then there is the likelihood of your kids getting playing time on the field or better yet making the team after years of paying thousands of dollars for select teams...reminds me of this:

I once was a guest lecturer for upperclassmen at University of Arizona and the topic was "leadership" broad, yes! I could go in any direction with this. The purpose was to get these students prepared to lead in the workplace and in their careers. The first slide on my powerpoint presentation read "There will always be someone BETTER than you..." You would be amazed from the response and discussion that followed that slide. After 16 years of education here was a lecture hall full of students who were NOT demeaned by the statement, but inspired. Grown men who wanted to sell themselves on how they would be the next CEO for the companies they were being recruited for changed their "sell" altogether. Another take on what success would look like for them...and NO ONE had offered that to them before as an inspirational outlook.

My point is who are we raising? What are we tolerating? What do we do about it? As parents what do we do? I don't want my child to view his test scores in relationship to his peer because when he is 35 and a father to a young child with questions about life and the world, what will his perception of the world be? Will those test scores encourage him to be the best? or the best he can be? Will he coach his child to be valedictorian? Give up a balanced life for scholarships?

Moms and dads...ponder this one for a parent's night out dinner conversation...is it wrong to raise an underachiever? An average child? What does it really mean to give your child a better life than "what you had?" When my baby boy was born 4 years ago I handed out announcements that read "Vote for me for President in 2048." Now he is already talking about NOT going away to college. We are discussing community college with a 4 year old. Psssst. Now you can finish your parent's night out conversation with " How can we spend all that college money we are saving?!!!?"