My name is James Edward Franco. Ted is a nickname for Edward. That's what my parents called me. I also got 'Teddy Ruxpin' a lot. It just got to a point where I got sick of it so when a teacher called out 'James Franco' my junior year of high school I didn't correct her.

As a teacher you can see the difference in kids who have parents who were involved. That difference by the time these kids get to the third grade is drastic.

I think my parents were happy that I'd gone to university and gotten a degree in history so they thought 'Well if acting doesn't work for him he can always become a history teacher or something.' Fortunately the acting worked out.

I was attending the University of Alberta. I was going to be a high school teacher like my parents. I failed - no I didn't fail a class I just barely passed. I really didn't try. It was Canadian history through the plays of the time. My God those were boring plays.

My parents were early converts to Christianity in my part of Nigeria. They were not just converts my father was an evangelist a religious teacher. He and my mother traveled for thirty-five years to different parts of Igboland spreading the gospel.

Look if you ask a child 'Would you rather have a fulfilled mother or a stay-at-home Sylvia Plath ' they'll pick Sylvia Plath every time. But I think it's really important that children don't feel their parents' emotional lives depend on their success.

I feel lucky because I was a nerd which I talk about in the book but I had academic success so through that because that's what my parents put a great deal of value on I had a great childhood because I sort of fulfilled the expectations of being good at school.

I had a lot of encouragement and tolerance from my parents but I also have many friends who didn't get that from their parents and in a way they have more strength from spending years where nobody believed in them.

The water cooler conversation in every job I've had is sports it's what did you do this weekend it's 'How are your parents doing?'

I hate the cliche of 'just have fun ' but what I've seen in today's sports especially with parents is they put so much pressure on the kids.