14 Dec 2004

Bill Gates' List of 11 Things Kids Don't Learn in School

In his book, Bill Gates talks about how feel-good, politically-correct teachings have created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this sets them up for failure. Here is a list of things Gates says our kids are not learning in school.

Rule 1: Life is NOT fair; get used to it.

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world expects 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 until 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 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 rainforest 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; they give you as many chances as you need 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 do not 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 get jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds, chances are good you'll end up working for one someday.