Young People Unprepared For Real Life

Young People Unprepared For Real Life

TOP TEN RULES: That kids won't learn in school

Preface; Reflecting upon some of the problems I see going on at work in
dealing with the influx of the majority of our new “20 something” aged
employees they all seem to have one disturbing trait in common. They do not
seem to know or care to learn what work is, or possess the integrity it takes to
desire to excel in the work place, much less what it takes to even keep a job.
Privately I wonder if they are absolutely brain dead and what are they
learning in our schools and universities. Obviously its not academics, it must
be other more important superficial popular culture pursuits in their “its all
about me” orbits
.
Being around and dealing with these people on a daily basis I have surmised
eight of ten do not seem to have a clue of how the real world works and are
totally unprepared for it. WHY is this so? WARNING... sarcasm ahead; Well this
just can't be! We have the NC education lottery! The answer to all our
educational problems here in the great state of North Carolina as sold to the
masses by political sphincter speak. Sarcasm aside this cannot and must not all
be laid on the shoulders of educators who are in the classroom trenches. For
we have many fine caring teachers. Most educators will tell you the number
one overall problem in education is the LACK of active parental involvement
not only in there child’s education but in their child's lives. . . Sadly it seems
“some” kids are looked upon as an accessory to be used only when needed like
a a pair of earring's or golf clubs. For some kids as long as they are out of their
parents hair and out of site and mind these parents do not care where their
children are or what they are doing. Some kids are in dysfunctional situations
because their parent is consumed with the next romantic conquest or party.

Young people are not the only ones with “it's all about me syndrome” Adults
are and can be far worse. The family unit is broken in this if it feels good do it
world we live in and one doesn't have to have a religious viewpoint to see
it and children are the ones who pay the real price and where is usually one of
the first places we see it? School. Some parents because of economic pressures
have to work two or three jobs to make ends meet and sadly once again its
children who pay the price. I applaud the parents or single parent who strive
to make a difference in their child’s life and whose mission is providing a
stable environment as possible for their child. Life is hard.

Still kids who have fallen through the cracks are entering the workforce and
are totally or mostly unprepared. For the caring parent who asks themselves
over and over, what did I do wrong because their child has went astray
remember this and take solace in this often bitter pill: You can lead them to
water but you can't make them drink.

I clip and save articles from time to time so I dug into my files to came up this
jewel from Ann Landers published for a second time in may 2000. I have
changed the wording just a little to help update the article. Enjoy.

TOP TEN REAL LIFE RULES

RULE 1 - Life is not fair; get used to it.

RULE 2 - The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. Your school system
might, but the world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about
yourself. This may come as a shock.

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 company car, until you earn both a high
school and college degree. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't
have a designer label.

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 mess up, it's not your parents fault, you're responsible. 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 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 clothes in your
own room.

RULE 8 - Life is not divided into semesters. You won't get a new life every ten
weeks. You will not get an autumn or spring break. You don’t get summers off
and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on
your own time.

RULE 9 - Your school may be outcome-based and have done away with winners
and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades;
they will let you try as many times as you want to get the right answer.
Standards set so low that nearly everyone can meet them. This doesn’t bear
the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 10 – Be nice to a nerd, someday you may work for one.