Something to think about young people

[Travis Byrne]

(This came from another woodworking forum)

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 thought you were. 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

Travis

 

[Midnight]

Travis...

I don't give a rat's a-- if it's PC to say this or no... THAT'S the kinda stuff they SHOULD be teachin kids... sheesh...

<remembering our last apprentice...

 

[Anonymous]

Travis,

That's brilliant!

I've printed a copy off and left it around the house so that the kids might read it.

Howard

 

[Aragorn]

Do you know who said all that??
None other than our computer buddy, Bill Gates!

 

[Philly]

Excellent real world advice-rare stuff indeed......
Bill Gates? Really? Interesting stuff.
Cheers
Philly

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Aragorn, it's usually attributed to him, and it's been doing the rounds for at least five yeara that I know of, but I'm pretty sure that if you run a Snopes check you'll find it's yet another of those urban rumours. Slainte.

 

[Anonymous]

That might be the single most patronising thing I have ever read.

 

[Gill]

I don't know how old you are, Vince, but this old biddy has some sympathy for your opinion. I know that us older people often have good reason to find youngsters irritating, but they need to be capable of upsetting what has gone before them if society is to progress. Okay, they may get things wrong but that's part of the learning process. I'm sure that I was a pain in the proverbial to the older generation when I was a kid (I know... I haven't changed much :roll so I reckon it's a bit harsh to condemn others for making the same mistakes I've made.

I look at the world around me and thank my lucky stars that I'm not a youngster nowadays. We may have had our struggles when we were young but they've got much worse problems. For example, we had grants when we went to college, we could get council houses when we started a family. Nowadays, kids often have to live at home with their parents simply because there's nowhere else to go. Those who've got themselves educated start their adult lives with large debts.

The only thing about the modern generation that worries me is that they seem to have lost the vibrancy that we had. If we hadn't got anywhere to live, we'd have perhaps squatted somewhere. If we were upset by attacks on the education system we'd have staged a lock-in or a sit-in. Where's that sort of spirit in today's youth? Where's the feistiness that brought about punk rockers? I'm saddened to think that our generation might have created a society that curbs their vigour.

Gill

 

[Midnight]

Where's the feistiness that brought about punk rockers?

probably stuck in front of a games console... more's the pity...

 

[Vormulac]

That might be the single most patronising thing I have ever read.

Doesn't make it wrong.

The only thing about the modern generation that worries me is that they seem to have lost the vibrancy that we had.

Of course they have Gill, after a couple of decades of having all responsibility for their actions removed and attributed elsewhere, where's the need to care about anything? If a job's worth doing, doesn't matter how well you do it 'cos you can have the management in front of a tribunal if they sack you for incompetance.
Where's the drive to better yourself if nothing is your fault and everything is taken care of by Nanny?
Why not live off the state, giving yourself a pay-rise in the form of a bouncing baby every so often, so you've never had a job in your life, sociologists will only claim it's not your fault, it's some childhood trauma like being harshly spoken to for breaking a window with Mum's best vase when you were 10.

I realise I'm probably going to be flamed for all I'm worth for being so terribly un-pc, but frankly people need to be made to think and act for themselves, and the penalties for doing wrong need to be exactly that - penalties, not rewards. This is how our society has developed, if you wish to live within and reap the benefits of our society, learn to operate within the guidelines.

Back to your point Gill, it could be argued that I'm saying 'no' to the spirit of rebellion that gave us student protests and punk and so-on, but that's not so, these are all valid within the society, but these days no-one has any impetus to follow such action - why should they? It's 'not their problem'.

Sorry folks, rant over.

Crikey, and all because Travis posted a funny...

V.

 

[Alf]

I realise I'm probably going to be flamed for all I'm worth for being so terribly un-pc

S'alright. We don't mind Mac owners.

I'll go, shall I?

Cheers, Alf

 

[Vormulac]

I realise I'm probably going to be flamed for all I'm worth for being so terribly un-pc

S'alright. We don't mind Mac owners.

I'll go, shall I?

Cheers, Alf

And with that, the mood lifted! Thanks Alf :lol:

V.

 

[Shady]

Being naughty, I might comment that if you find it patronising, you're probably a victim of exactly the sort of humourless pc teaching and outlook that it satirises... Life is competition and challenge. Doesn't stop us being nice to one another, but no-one gets a free ride as of right....

 

[Gill]

Life is indeed about challenge. But competition? Most of mankinds great achievements have been through co-operation and teamwork, not competition. The best prizes aren't necessarily won at the expense of a loser. In my book, competition is fine, so long as it's tempered by a regard for the feelings of others.

Gill (Heck, I'll need to replenish the bunker now )

PS Charley - can you get me a 'tin hat' smiley, please?

 

[Alf]

PS Charley - can you get me a 'tin hat' smiley, please?

Here you go, Gill:

[IMG]http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/contrib/drowned/army.gif[/IMG]

Although I rather like this one too:

[IMG]http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/otn/other/vikingsmiley.gif[/IMG]

Cheers, Alf

 

[Gill]

:lol:

Thanks Alf. I'll keep that. You're a bit frisky today, aren't you?

Gill

 

[Mcluma]

I like those, Were did you find them???

 

[Shady]

Gill - I'm sure you're right. Whilst I'd like to know who decides what mankind's greatest achievements are, all I'd say (as an educator) is that I'm really tired of seeing young people disillusioned by harsh reality when they leave the fantasy world of modern secondary education.

They are being let down by a system that places dogma before preparation for adulthood, and no amount of wishing will overcome the reality that life, by and large, for most of us most of the time, requires a degree of effort and struggle. A teaching system that encourages children to believe otherwise is mischievous or worse.

Sorry - a bit preachy, but I deal with undergraduates who cannot write, read, or think coherently, on a daily basis. They have been deluded into wasting a significant amount of time and money on gaining 'degrees' that are of no practical value, that are laughed at by employers, and that contribute very little to the body politic of 'UK PLC'...

I thought the original joke was not meant to be patronising at all, but aimed squarely at generating a wry smile on the faces of all adults who have reached that stage in life where they can acknowledge the truth behind the humour....

 

[Gill]

Hi Shady

I think you and I are very much of a mind. Youngsters are well served by doses of constructive reality. This was one of the virtues of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme (is that still going? You never hear of it nowadays...) which got young people involved in the community. There was none of this celebrity admiration or just trying to gain a personal advantage; youngsters were taught real skills, both social and practical, that would equip them as adults and their activities would benefit society in the process. I seem to recall other organisations too, such as the Scouts and Guides, Boys and Girls Brigades, even the Combined Cadets.

I can remember once volunteering to do some work with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, building a pathway through some woods for disabled people. I learned more about the values of hard work and being part of a team on that project than I ever did playing sports or swimming at school. Winning the hop, skip and jump at school leaves the victor with no material benefits and doesn't contribute materially to the community. Indeed, it can leave a field of disappointed competitors who might harbour negative feelings. However, there are other physical activities where nobody need lose and everyone can win.

Apparently there was a game of football the other night where the players got into a conflagration before they even took to the field. These footballers are people who are admired by youngsters - what sort of example are they setting? It encourages impressionable people to develop characteristics that will certainly not help them to make a positive contribution to society.

Believe it or not, I was quite good at school sports so these are not the ramblings of a kid who was always last to be picked for a team. It's just that as I've grown older I've come to believe that the negative effects of competitive school sports are often overlooked. Competition can be a good thing, I accept that. But I reckon it's much more important for youngsters to learn the virtues of disciplined teamwork.

Gill (Waiting for the incoming flak!

)

 

[Midnight]

Gill (Waiting for the incoming flak!

now why would you get shot at...?????? for sayin it like it is...? they'd best shoot me first then; I didn't see any lie in your post, far from it...