Very Good Advice.... SHOULD BE POSTED IN ALL SCHOOLS
@whiteheather39 (24403)
United States
November 11, 2007 5:07pm CST
some very valid points here...
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the
nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some
advice.
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a
High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a
generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set
them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to
it!
Rule 2: The world won't care about your
self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE
you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a
year ri ght out of high school. You won't be a vice president with a car
phone until you earn both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is
tough, wait 'til you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath
your dignity. Your
Grandparents had a different word for
burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your
parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your
parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from
paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk
about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest
from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet
in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away
with winners and losers, but lif e HAS NOT. In some schools, they have
abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want
to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to
ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into
semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are
interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life.
In real life, people actually
have to leave the coffee shop and go to
jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are
you'll end up working for one.
If you agree, pass it on.
If you can read this - Thank a teacher!
If you are reading it in English -Thank
a soldier
6 people like this
21 responses
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
11 Nov 07
Thanks for posting this. All listed are good points to ponder.
4 people like this
@jennybianca (12912)
• Australia
12 Nov 07
Yes, I can relate to everyone of these. I would like to see it posted in all our schools too. But too many people would see it as negative & effecting the feelings of their poor little darlings.
@GardenGerty (157546)
• United States
12 Nov 07
I have seen this advice so much lately, I checked it out on Snopes. It has been mis attributed a lot over the last several years. This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book: Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add. (The list has appeared in newspapers, although not necessarily in this book.) Many versions omit the last three rules:
Rule No. 12: Smoking does not make you look cool. It makes you look moronic. Next time you're out cruising, watch an 11-year-old with a butt in his mouth. That's what you look like to anyone over 20. Ditto for "expressing yourself" with purple hair and/or pierced body parts.
Rule No. 13: You are not immortal. (See Rule No. 12.) If you are under the impression that living fast, dying young and leaving a beautiful corpse is romantic, you obviously haven't seen one of your peers at room temperature lately.
Rule No. 14: Enjoy this while you can. Sure parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now. You're welcome.
I agree that this is good advice for American Kids and should be required reading. It doesn't matter really who wrote it, it is true.
2 people like this
@friendship (2084)
• Canada
11 Nov 07
Thank you, whiteheather39. I'll keep this one. I haven't had children yet. Bill Gates has many interesting quotes and we can learn a lot from him.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
12 Nov 07
This is very, very good. In fact, it's a classic. If only he were not a Republican, was not getting huge tax breaks for outsourcing American jobs and was not constantly rendering my computer obsolete, I could really like this guy!
1 person likes this
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
19 Nov 07
OMG, this is awesome! Needless to say I printed it off my my own teens and for the college students whom I teach! It is amazing the attitude many of many of today's students. They act almost entitled and seem to not want to work for anything. I get very frustrated at times!
1 person likes this
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
1 Feb 08
I am glad you enjoyed them, but I'm not sure if your son will feel the same way! LOL.
It is so nice you see are much more active in myLot again. I really missed you and weemam. With you two I could keep a finger on what was happening in Bonnie Scotland..lang may yer lum reek!
1 person likes this
@sumofalltears (3988)
• United States
12 Nov 07
Now this man I could deal with...he has hit the nail on the head with every one of his rules and I must commend him for being so frank. Today's generation has been buffered so well they haven't a clue how to handle everyday life. Every time they get presented with a little bit of reality they cry rape or abuse and someone will listen. and they listen because they might be able to hire a lawyer to sue somebody so they don't have to face reality anymore.
1 person likes this
@jolenegreen (1209)
• United States
11 Nov 07
I totally agree. I posted this as a bulletin on myspace...to see what kind of replys I will get. Thanks
2 people like this
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
12 Nov 07
Yes I do agree.
Why do kids think and education should be gave to them!
we had to work at studing to get where we are and we had to take any job that was opent to us. alot of them now snub there noses at the jobs that we thought were great to get us started on th road to success. Now adays they think they should go right to the top paying jobs and if they dont get it right off they quit and say am looking for something better . Or that to hard of work why thats MANUEL LAbor ekkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk.
or thats a dirty job I cant do that I will get myhands dirty
@theprogamer (10534)
• United States
28 Dec 07
I've seen this list before. I say good work on posting it here and sharing it with everyone else.
@JeremyEdison (281)
• China
28 Dec 07
hi,whiteheather
it is a wonderful discussion.I gotta acknowledge it.
I found something useful,rule 11:be nice to nerds.I think I do it well.lol...
criticisms make people progress.
it is said that thrive in calamity,perish in soft living.
@whiteheather39 (24403)
• United States
28 Dec 07
I'm sure you do as it probably takes one to know one.
@chillymullet (181)
• United States
1 Feb 08
This really is some good advice, I should try to get this posted in the nearest schools in my area!
The best part is when he said: 'Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.'
