Bill Gates recently dished out at a high school speech
about 11 things they did not and will not learn in
school. He talks about how feel-good, politically
correct teachings created a generation of kids with no
concept of reality and how this concept set them up
for failure in the real world.
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 $60,000 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 parent's
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 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.
