The as-yet-to-make-any-sense Cinco de Mayo celebration in the United States is this week. And, though I don't celebrate with the same gusto as my 'gringo' friends, this day always reminds me of the many reasons I left my native country in search of the education that could afford me a lifestyle I never knew I could get accustomed to: The American way of life. A life without fear, injustice and with clearly established laws to protect me and my family, and which offers us the security of knowing there's recourse should anything bad happen to us while we inhabit this wonderfully free-spirited nation. (Without going into details, and for the record, I am here legally)

To help Rubik's Cube celebrate 30 years of challenging entertainment, I have THREE Rubik's Cubes to give away in a simple contest:    more »

Every parent knows that when kids reach the teen years, time with them becomes more valuable and so do the lessons we can impart. Hopefully, we take full advantage of these precious moments to do this any way we can. Last week-end was no exception for me. Before I was finished slurping the foam off my Eggnog Latte, my scheming teen had already perused the newspaper and found a movie and a piece of interesting 'fashion' information she immediately shared with me.

"Mom, it's going to be Mother-Daughter day today, OK?" announced my 14 year-old securing our 'date' so I wouldn't come up with an excuse to take off with my husband or a girlfriend--though it's usually the other way around. I really enjoy our days together because my 'fashionista' manages to teach ME something new at every outing. From the 'cool' movies to fashion trends, she's on top of it and, though I hate to admit this, has saved me from myself and my choice of apparel purchases more than a couple of times (What do you mean I can't wear shorts and Uggs? It's practically our beach town's uniform!).

"What a relief!" she confidently muttered to herself as she read about a French member of Parliament wanting to put warning labels on retouched fashion magazine photos. Valerie Boyer is a mother of two teenage daughters and is aware of the body image problems our 'normal-looking' girls face in today's body-conscious society. Apparently, she wants magazines to let readers to know, especially young teenage girls, that the images on the photo spreads they see are not 'true' to life. Needless to say, the relief was actually mine. For a change, someone other than myself was telling my daughter she is not fat and that magazine photos are not reality.

After talking this over for a bit, she told me the title of the movie we were going to go watch, An Education. I asked if she new what this film was about and she simply answered, "It's filmed in London and Paris, and the outfits look beautiful".

OK, sounds good. I can sit through that.

An hour and forty five minutes later, we very contentedly walked out of the cinema and I congratulated her on an excellent film choice. I also told her I really appreciated the movie's message and how tastefully and realistically it was delivered. In fact, I thought this movie should be required viewing for teen girls. Period.

A small-town teenage girl with hopes of making it to Oxford University is suddenly swept off her feet by an older dotting man who takes her on lavish trips, expensive dinners and clubs. She drops out of school when the man gives her an engagement ring, and her goals of an education are suddenly replaced by dreams of a home, family and a lifestyle she'd never thought she could have--only to find out the man in question is married. In one fell swoop, her fantasy life vanishes and she's left with nothing. In typical teen-rebel behavior, she had gone against the advise of the adults around her, and found herself looking to get back on track encountering closed doors at every step, except for one teacher who helped her regain control of her studies. She finishes school and gets accepted to Oxford. Happy ending.

So, "What did you like best about the movie", I curiously asked my observant teen expecting her to tell me about the point of the film and maybe reminisce a little about having visited all the cities the movie was filmed in this past summer.

"Oh, everything! The clothes, the furniture, the time period. Everything except the message."

"Why?" I asked a bit surprised. 

"I wasn't paying that much attention to it. I was too distracted by the whole 'feeling' of the movie. I wonder if that was how they behaved back in the old days."

I went over the mess the protagonist had gotten herself into, explained it to her, and then got confirming feedback from my attentive young listener.

"Oh, yeah. She was stupid for doing that. I'll never do that."

I hope so, I thought.

We walked into the coffee shop at the corner, bought some hot chocolate, and quite out of the blue she then asked, "Were you alive in the movie's time period?"

After taking a quick mental survey of the movie's era, I realized the 'old days' now included me. In spite of this, I proudly replied, "Of course I was. This movie was set in the 60's. It's not THAT long ago."

Robert Franek, author of The Best 368 Colleges, and vice-president of publishing at the Princeton Review, appeared on CNBC's 'Squawk on The Street' with Erin Burnett discussing the newest list of The Top 25 Entrepreneurship Schools Across the Country, and the rising popularity of these colleges. I interviewed Robert in June of this year for the piece I wrote about the new SAT Vocab Challenge Application for Apple's iPhone and iTouch (read about it here).

Robert Franek

"Not only does this select group of schools offer superlative preparation that successfully combines theory with practical application, but the majority of schools have also developed interesting components that are focused on social entrepreneurship and sustainability," said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review's senior vice president of publishing and nationally acclaimed expert on college and graduate school admissions. "A year or two ago these types of initiatives were part of an emerging trend, but there's no question that they've now become an important part of many entrepreneurship programs, and will play a major role within the business community and the economy", stated Franek and was reported on PRNewswire

Babson College took top honors in both the undergraduate and graduate categories for providing a balanced liberal arts education while strictly concentrating on a business-based curriculum.

Read more about other colleges and universities specializing in entrepreneurship which made it to this annual list of schools published by Robert Franek and the trusted people at the Princeton Review.