Turn Your Kids Into Einsteins Under 5

By Raghavan Sampathkumar

Raghavan "Ragha" Sampathkumar hails from a small rural town in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. Born in an ordinary middle-class orthodox family, he reluctantly admits to being a self-moulded personality with a mix of conservative and contemporary thinking. He also gratefully acknowledges the role of his family as his greatest support and source of encouragement. Equally, he admits with humility that he draws inspiration from every person he meets. Having studied in Tamil medium of instruction up to his grade 12, he struggled with English and failed in campus interviews because he could not form a complete sentence in English. But he did and continues to work on improving his vocabulary and communication skills as a life-long learner. Living life like a river is what he believes in and follows too. To him a fulfilling life is the one to have as many (of course, good) stories as possible to tell his grandchildren. As an Obsessive Compulsive Optimist (OCO), he appreciates the challenges in his life that made him tough and resilient; pitfalls in his path that remind him to be grateful; and moments of humiliation and disappointment that help him learn and keep his feet firmly on the ground.

Despite having bred in the treadmill like education system, his quest for freedom and learning for life constantly pushed him to seek more beyond text books. Probably that is why he has never been (in fact never aspired to be) the top student in the class and never stooped too low either. He was happy to be one among the 'Mediocre-Middle'. He is an omnivorous reader and it is his passion for creative writing that constantly drives him to read more of diverse subjects including science, philosophy, history etc to present his ideas in an interesting manner. In his blogs, he writes on a wide range of subjects from spirituality, politics, business, humour, short stories and also his failures and funniest personal experiences.

As a graduate in Agribusiness, he spent more than a decade working in the Corporate world. He regularly speaks at various educational institutes, delivers guest lectures and mentors young students. While this book is his maiden attempt, he is currently working on poetic presentation of Ramayana, one of the greatest Hindu epics, in his own style in Tamil.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pustaka Digital Media
• Release date: Feb 9, 2017
• ISBN: 6580515001868

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Turn Your Kids Into

Einsteins Under 5

Author:

Raghavan Sampathkumar

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Turn Your Kids Into

Einsteins Under 5

by robbing their

precious playful childhood

The pre-eminent UnGuide for parents and teachers

from

Rob Their Childhood Inc

Acknowledgment

Every single person I met.

Dedicated to

All the

nasty, pushy, lousy and sulking parents of the world…

and those who aspire to be so…

Disclaimer:

This is neither a self-development book nor a psychological guide on parenting. This is an addendum to our company’s marketing brochure. Read on at your own discretion and understand the value of the sarcasm used in this UnGuide.

This UnGuide is not for the faint-hearted and for those who cannot bear their conscience questioning them.

If anything in this UnGuide appears rude or offensive, it is intended to be so.

All the characters and incidents in this UnGuide are not fictional.

Author’s Note

Before we begin I must share with all of you, the infinite level of regard and admiration that I have for Albert Einstein as one of the world’s most iconic and preeminent leaders in modern science. This book does not and was never intended to make light of the life and work of this most humane and multi-faceted scientist. Many of you may not know that Einstein was not only an ace physicist but also a revered altruist who actively raised his voice against racism during his lifetime in addition to being an acclaimed violinist.

So when using the phrase Einsteins Under 5, what I intend to highlight is the most common yet glaring misunderstanding of the great scientist’s personality by most people in the world. Most of you may know him as a scientist and rather a brilliant one at that. But at the age of 5, even Einstein must have been no different from any ordinary kid - enjoying his childhood by spending time in playing and learning music. He certainly would not have become the acclaimed scientist with the level of intelligence as the world usually knows him. Among the several influences at different stages of his life, one can certainly say his unique childhood experiences helped him become a great scientist.

But in today’s unfair world of extreme expectations, parents tend to fall easily for quick-fix solutions and silver bullets aspiring to help their children reach that coveted level of intelligence and knowledge. They push the kids so hard into studies sometimes even at the cost of their health both physical and mental, creativity and basic life skills such as love, kindness and compassion.

Most people are aware of only Einstein’s scientific acumen. The fact that he possessed an extraordinary sense of humor, ardent love for music, courage and kindness is not so well known. Hence, this book is my attempt to enlighten readers to the reality that their kids can become as intelligent as Einstein and there is nothing wrong in expecting them to be so. What is important however is that all parents and teachers out there must also appreciate that there is more to life than intelligence, academic performance and accomplishments. Einstein serves as the inspiration for this book for he was such a well-rounded personality who vociferously encouraged a holistic and meaningful education for kids.

It also is my hope that kids, on learning about Einstein, should grow up to believe that being an intellectually superior person alone is insufficient. They should understand that it is equally important to be taught about love and kindness and to be compassionate and philanthropic.

This in fact was just how Einstein was and wished for everyone in the world to be.

In their pursuit to make their kids succeed, many parents, even if with good intentions push their children into constantly studying and literally rob their otherwise enjoyable childhood and small pleasures. Kids are put on a treadmill-like schedule and are getting pushed into the rat race just for the sake of high marks and GPAs.

And after 17 or 18 years of wasteful slogging, memorizing and replicating the texts in exams, these kids just end up with worthless sheets of paper called mark sheets, boasting of high scores sans the valuable knowledge, experience and essential skills needed to lead a satisfying, blissful and contented life.

It is also unfair and unnecessary to force the kids to become someone else. Constant comparisons and expectations unfairly force the children to let go of their real selves and become someone else. What if Einstein had wished to become someone else?

Einstein was a multi-faceted personality, celebrated worldwide for his extraordinary work in science but even he was not immune to the challenges of ordinary human life. He had his own fair share of issues in his family life with his spouse, and while raising his children.

So, our kids must become aware that they are unique in their own way and must learn to appreciate their self-identity, strengths and weaknesses. They must also learn appreciate the fact that no human can be perfect and free of shortcomings. This awareness, when taught early, will help them understand the need for love and kindness, and to be compassionate towards others. Hence, parents and teachers must create such an enabling environment and strive to be an inspiration not intrusion in their kids’ lives.

And though this book presents in a humorous and sarcastic way, all the wrongdoings of the current generation of young parents, I humbly request that all parents introspect and ask themselves if this indeed is the correct way forward for raising their kids.

Beneath all the satire in this book, its core messages are:

Let the children…

… enjoy their playful and precious childhood,

for they will never get this time again.

… be given the responsibility to become creators of their own destiny

… understand the good and bad that life may have to offer on their own terms by themselves

instead of pampering them

… learn beyond academic degrees, other important life-skills

such as kindness, love, compassion and empathy

… learn to appreciate life and to look beyond

money as their ultimate goal

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment

Dedicated to

Author’s Note

Glossary and Acronyms

About Us

Rob Their Childhood Inc

Corporate Philosophy

Vision

Our Ten Commandments

Our exhaustive range of solutions

Training Centers

Our Global Network

Expertise

e-Learning

Foreword

Today’s Materialistic Society

What’s Special about this DIY UnGuide?

Childhood 'Rob'botics – An Introduction

Why Childhood ‘Rob’botics?

The Best Way to Bring in the Benjamins

What’s really wrong with the old-schoolers?

Living For Your Resume

The Curious Case of Homo ‘Software’iens sp. Indica

A Shaken-up Job Market – How it all started?

The Most Valuable Commodities in the Marriage Market

Life = Degree

The Typical ‘Software’ Behavior

Departmental Stores Selling Software Degree

The Heydays and the Maydays

White-collar Slavery

Evolutionary Stages of Lousy Parenting

Different Parenting Styles

The Modern Asian Parent

Cultural Differences & Parenting

Metrics for Measuring and Monitoring Progress

Lousy Parenting Index

Nastiness Quotient

Overall Childhood