Hello all...I guess I just can't help this. I have no problem with
elitism...nor with discipline or values....I just think there are a few
things to add. And...kindness...softness (yes..)...striving for fairness and
justice...believing in the possibility of those things...those are values as
well..and they are not dumb..I'll intersperse some notes..Thanks for your
patience..see below
> I'm clipping and pasting something that came in this morning's batch of
> e-mail goodies. It seems appropriate. If this puts me in the "elitist"
> category, so be it.
>
> Lala
>
> RULES FOR KIDS
Plus some subsections..
>
> Today, our schools are infested with feel good, politically correct
> teaching. This is creating a generation of kids with no concept of reality
> and setting them up for failure in the real world. In his book, DUMBING
> DOWN OUR KIDS, Charles Sykes provides a list of eleven things for high
> school and college graduates they did not learn in school. I am sure he
> would be pleased if you share this list with anyone interested.
>
> Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.
That doesn't give anyone the right not to be fair. Get used to the idea that
it is *good* to be fair, whether the reward is immediate or not.
>
> 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.
Being good and fair and kind IS accomplishing something..and telling
children they can feel good about their own goodness isn't dumb.
>
> 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.
Your car phone and your office can be "earned" by being a jerk. We see it
all the time. And, yes, right out of high school.
>
> Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He
> doesn't have tenure.
Good thing, too.
>
> Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had
> a different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.
Burger flipping is not beneath your dignity..it used to be an opportunity,
now it isn't. Get used to it.
>
> Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about
> your mistakes. Learn from them.
It might be that your parents can help...so whine a little.
>
> 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.
Your parents had their own crusades, and they'll understand yours. Clean
your room anyway.
>
> 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.
This, of course, doesn't bear any resemblance to what most schools that try
to provide support for students of all kinds actually do. When you get into
real life, try to provide support for people of all kinds.
>
> 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.
Find yourself.
>
> Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to
> leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Enjoy your coffee.
>
> Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Better, be a nerd..then be much kinder to the people that work for you than
"real life" bosses.
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