Jackassalope

A dose of Bill Gate's tough love.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. I love it when someone takes a stand to de-wimp our kids. I recently read articles where parents wanted to eliminate honor rolls and all star teams because they make some kids feel like they’re not good enough. The fact of the matter is that some kids aren’t good enough, and they turn into adults that aren’t good enough. Competition is what drives our society and keeps technology moving forward. The harsh truth about the real world is that if you can’t keep up, you will be left behind. Taking these lessons out of our schools is why more and more 30-year-olds are living with their parents still. Let’s take a look at Bill’s words of wisdom.

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 right 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 till 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 life 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.