Brain Drain.. not in this country

The other night Miss P's 5th grade language arts assignment was to interview someone in her family on the topic, "What was the bravest thing you have ever done and what did you learn from it?"

We sat around the dinner table trying to figure out if Hubby or I had anything to contribute. JJ pipes up, "Mom, you can tell the story of how you went snorkling in the ocean in Mexico and almost drowned." (True, that. It was only my second time and I stupidly didn't wear a life vest. But I did manage to see an awesome sea turtle before getting a life preserver thrown to me from a nearby tourist boat.)

"Let's figure out something Daddy has done," I suggest.

JJ pipes in again -- "He was brave when he married you." (Hubby LOL.)

Miss P decides to interview her grandfather (my dad) who tells the story of how he left India in the 1960s to come to America to practice medicine. Originally he was denied a visa by the Indian government, who at the time feared Brain Drain. He ended up taking his case to the High Court and with the help of his barrister father-in-law (my grandfather) made the argument that it is in the Indian Constitution that every Indian has the freedom to travel.

Speaking of Brain Drain... wonder why Americans don't worry about it like the Indians and Chinese do? Probably because we suck at math -- just look at this recent report card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Pathetic.