Rules of Life

I know many of you have seen what is posited as Bill Gates’ 11 Rules for High School Students.  It is actually from a book, Dumbing Down Our Kids, by Charles Sykes.  So, it is really Charles Sykes’ 11 Rules for Life.  In discussing education, the authors say, “American young people have got to understand from an early age that the world pays off on results, not on effort.”  Our parents and schools have not been delivering that message.  That said, I don’t think that either parents or schools are onboard with this concept yet.  Parents want their children to be nurtured; they want them to feel successful and valued.  Schools want the parents to be happy and not knocking on the door complaining about low grades and too much homework.  Teachers who hold the line are fighting on too many fronts, and when they look behind them, they don’t see many other folks in the parade line.

I am going to post this in my room this year and keep my pointer close by, so I can easily  Indicate the applicable rule as needed.

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 paying bills, cleaning your room, and listening to you tell them how idealistic 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, bears not 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...