Eleven Things Kids Don't Learn in School

"Dumbing Down our Kids" -book ^ | September, 1996 | Charles Sykes (not Bill Gates!)

[glorygirl]

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 $40,000 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 are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' 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 dlife.

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.

[glorygirl]

This might be old, but I thought it might be worth posting

[chiefqc]

The words may be old, but they are timeless.

Graet post.

Thanks

[battleax]

Mighty words of wisdom. At what grade should this start being taught??? Forgot school systems today are more about sex education, diversity and can't we just get along. This should be started at birth. God Bless America.

[Judith Anne]

Haha! This is great! I remember my sister telling me, years ago, that she was surprised at how intelligent our father was, and when she mentioned it to HIM, he said, "Honey, I wasn't born forty years old with gray hair."

P. S. Dad taught us these lessons with love and humor. I recommend them to everyone. ;-D

[mass55th]

Another thing kids don't learn in school today is The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You get what you give...it's as simple as that.

[Sloth]

I've heard it, and still think it's mostly crap.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Now this is just dumb. There ARE people who make $40K right out of high school, and there are many, many, many VPs with car phones who couldn't earn their way out of a wet paper bag.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping -- they called it opportunity.

If people go to engineering school because their school, their parents, and everyone else on the planet told them that was the responsible thing to do, then they get out and can't find a job doing anything better than "burger flipping", they have every right to be mighty pissed off. They could have done that INSTEAD of college and had 4 or 5 years of raises & seniority by now.

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 dlife.

Actually, it bears an extraordinary resemblance to corporate bureaucracy. Excellence is rarely rewarded, and incompetence is rarely discouraged.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

Actually, no; the nerds end up working for a frat boy.

[glorygirl]

I had to laugh when I read your response,especially in light of your user name. I have to agree with you on #8, for the most part anyway. Still, I would be willing to bet you're under 30.

After that, the "frat boys" start to show their age, and many of the nerds come into their own.

[Pistias]

Since we're espousing the tenets of wickedness, allow me to contribute:

14. No evidence means no crime.
15. Do unto others as they do unto you.
16. If possible, do unto others before they do unto you.
17. To get ahead, you have to knock down the guy above you first.

[Motherhood IS a career]

Yeah, some people make 40K right out of high school. Good for them! Better that, than me having to pay for their welfare checks. There's no need to feel bitter.

Please refer to rule #1.

[Sloth]

Yeah, some people make 40K right out of high school. Good for them! Better that, than me having to pay for their welfare checks. There's no need to feel bitter.

I wasn't bitter about that. More power to them.

I WAS bitter about flipping burgers.

[Motherhood IS a career]

I'm surprised you could only find 11 things kids don't learn in school.

While we're at it, let's add to the list reading, writing, math, science, history...

[Motherhood IS a career]

If people go to engineering school because their school, their parents, and everyone else on the planet told them that was the responsible thing to do, then they get out and can't find a job doing anything better than "burger flipping", they have every right to be mighty pissed off. They could have done that INSTEAD of college and had 4 or 5 years of raises & seniority by now.

If you're an adult and you succumb to pressure, you have no one to blame but yourself. Please refer to rule #6.

And then, take pride in your work. Become the best damn burget flipper you can possibly be. Pretty soon, you'll find you're not flipping burgers anymore.

[Sloth]

Become the best damn burget flipper you can possibly be. Pretty soon, you'll find you're not flipping burgers anymore.

And if everyone else was wrong, why would you be correct?

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. RB.

[RipSawyer]

"Become the best damn burget flipper you can possibly be. Pretty soon, you'll find you're not flipping burgers anymore."

"And if everyone else was wrong, why would you be correct?"

Start flipping burgers in your own joint if you ever want to get anywhere.

[Villiany_Inc]

And then, take pride in your work. Become the best damn burget flipper you can possibly be. Pretty soon, you'll find you're not flipping burgers anymore.

I am 31 years old, and I am 'flipping burgers'. Now I know that it isnt the most glamorous job but it could be worse. My story:
* Last year I was making 32K+/year working for a logistics company. I started at the bottom (6.50/hr) and within 4 years was making $14/hr and was considered with high regard.
* I left that job to go to college (at age 31) in order to pursue dreams - politics and teaching high school.
* I cashed in my 401K and lived off of that until I could find a job that would allow me to focus on school and my daughter while still being able to pay the bills.
* I ended up at a 'burger flipping' job. I make less than half of what I did at my last job, but within 3 months, a managers position was mine if I wanted it (which I declined because of school scheduling conflicts).
* Regardless of others view of my job, I do the best that I can. I take pride in doing my best.
* I am contributing to the economy in a positive way (however meager it may be) - besides somebody has to make the food.
* 'burger flipping' is not the end of the world. giving up is.