Life's Golden Rules

[Wes]

Charles Sykes is the author of "Dumbing Down Our Kids". He offered to high school and college graduates a list of things they did not learn in school.

In his book, he talks about how the "liberal, feel good, politically-correct" atmosphere has created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and set them up for failure in the real world. Gotta say that there's not a whole lot here that I don't agree with.

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 thousand dollars 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. He doesn't have tenure.

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 screw 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 blood-sucking 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; they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, 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.

[Bella]

HAHAHA . . .I got this in an email a few months ago, credited to Bill Gates!

-Cindy

PS - Mostly good advice, no matter who said it!

[Wes]

Originally Posted by Bella

HAHAHA . . .I got this in an email a few months ago, credited to Bill Gates!

Yeah, I've also seen it credited to George Carlin. However, if you go to Amazon and search for "Dumbing Down Our Kids" you'll see that it was actually Charles Sykes that wrote this list. I'm thinking of buying one of his books to have my kid read it. It's pretty much all common sense stuff, but that seems to be what we are sadly lacking in today's society.

[JohnT]

Although I've seen this before, I'm glad you posted it. My 15 year old needs reminding of these things periodically.

[C!LLY]

damn, I wish I got as many times as I wanted to pass a test...sheesh.

good post!

[Bill]

Individual of all political persuasions can suffer a disconnect from reality, but regardless, TPF rules say Religious/Political discussions are not allowed here. There are plenty of other places for that on the Internet.

[Bella]

I, for one, don't see this as a political discussion. While the author's point of view may not be very favorable to today's "politically correct" society, the fact still remains, our children today are ill-prepared for the reality of adulthood.

When I first got the email, I printed out a copy for my 17 y.o. . . .he laughed, but he still has it on his desk.

-Cindy

[Cope]

Originally Posted by Bill

Individual of all political persuasions can suffer a disconnect from reality, but regardless, TPF rules say Religious/Political discussions are not allowed here. There are plenty of other places for that on the Internet.

Where does it say Religious and/or Political in this thread?

[johnastovall]

Only Golden Rule you need: Those with the Gold make the rules.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by Bill

Individual of all political persuasions can suffer a disconnect from reality, but regardless, TPF rules say Religious/Political discussions are not allowed here. There are plenty of other places for that on the Internet.

I see nothing political or religious in Wes' post.

[Bill]

I thought of posting this part of Wes's post, from his second sentence,but thought it was not hidden and would be obvious: "...he talks about how the "liberal, feel good, politically-correct" atmosphere...." The "liberal" is the political part. The list that Sykes wrote is to correct the supposed misimpressions of the world obtained from the liberal worldview. That is what makes it political.

[Shane]

Political??? Not even close!

[SCone]

Gave me warm fuzzy when I heard my Son (home for Christmas from boot camp) tell his friend, "Highschool is the easiest thing you're ever going to do."

[C!LLY]

Originally Posted by Bill

I thought of posting this part of Wes's post, from his second sentence,but thought it was not hidden and would be obvious: "...he talks about how the "liberal, feel good, politically-correct" atmosphere...." The "liberal" is the political part. The list that Sykes wrote is to correct the supposed misimpressions of the world obtained from the liberal worldview. That is what makes it political.

I'm n00b here and dont want to step on anyones toes, but you're making this a political discussion by bringing this up.


Slap me if I'm wrong, or better yet slap me if I'm right!

[Joe_Lorenzini]

What's a "car phone"?