Bill Gates tells it like it is.
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E-mail doing the rounds at my work-
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School 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 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.
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.
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classic, our the minstry of education needs to read this and follow it!
Queenslander 3x a year.
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Classic Bullsh*t if you ask me:
#1 So we accept this status quo? Only the privileged dominant groups have anything to gain from that...oh yes, that would include Mr Gates now, wouldn't it? Do we accept something because it is current reality? FFS, apply that logic to landmines, why don't you?
#2 Bill Gates: spokesman for the world? Pass me the razorblades and asprin now.
#8 Ever heard of the driving test? Since when does learning get decided by some arbitrary fixed point in time.
There are a few points about the nature of ego and impatience in adolescence that I would not argue with. But don't let those witty observations mask some much bigger ideas about the discourse of cultural dominance.
#1 So we accept this status quo? Only the privileged dominant groups have anything to gain from that...oh yes, that would include Mr Gates now, wouldn't it? Do we accept something because it is current reality? FFS, apply that logic to landmines, why don't you?
#2 Bill Gates: spokesman for the world? Pass me the razorblades and asprin now.
#8 Ever heard of the driving test? Since when does learning get decided by some arbitrary fixed point in time.
There are a few points about the nature of ego and impatience in adolescence that I would not argue with. But don't let those witty observations mask some much bigger ideas about the discourse of cultural dominance.
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Made a lot of sense. I'm sure Harry you didn't have it as easy as the PC brigade make it for todays generation. No Winners or losers allowed so long as we all participate.
Rulses 1,3,4,6,8 (It was referring to college type places Harry, not Driving School)& 10 are tue to form and common sense.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
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Hallaluya Bill Gates!! A wake up call for the Now-Now-Now, Me-Me-Me generation.
#8. Last year in Australia the Ministry of Education (or their equivalent of) tried to abolish the word "Fail" and replace it with "Defered Success".
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Last year in Australia the Ministry of Education (or their equivalent of) tried to abolish the word "Fail" and replace it with "Defered Success".
FFS How politically correct.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
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Last year in Australia the Ministry of Education (or their equivalent of) tried to abolish the word "Fail" and replace it with "Defered Success".
�
FFS How politically correct.
We have not achieved and not yet competent in NZ
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But here in NZ we are not only politically correct but we're culturely correct too!
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
The Ruf, The Ruf, The Ruf is on Fire!!
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From memory the Aussie Ministry had a Defered Success on that idea 
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Chances Bill Gates actually said this stuff - about 0% And Snopes.com confirms this.
' This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add.'
' This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add.'
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CL's beat me to it, but being a teacher I've come across this list many times, and never has it had Bill Friggin' Gates name on it.
Of course, we have to hide it from our pupils, it is far too scary to show them...
Nix, Leyton Orient and Alloa Athletic supporting schmuck.
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Dangerous if the title is misread as "because we encourage positive self esteem that's why kids can't read or write." Instantly adds fire to the 'anti PC brigade'.
Is it 'PC' folks or is it simply encouraging inclusion? Which comes back to my original point that the author (who it now seems is not Bill Gates)is coming from a platform of cultural dominance (ie exclusion) by reinforcing the status quo. HarryHotspur2008-08-14 16:35:28
Is it 'PC' folks or is it simply encouraging inclusion? Which comes back to my original point that the author (who it now seems is not Bill Gates)is coming from a platform of cultural dominance (ie exclusion) by reinforcing the status quo. HarryHotspur2008-08-14 16:35:28
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why does inclusion require society to accept failure? I mean really, we currently have the potential situation that kids who cannot read and write manage to get through school because the school cannot fail them!
And why can't we fail them, because they might feel segregated or picked on??
Queenslander 3x a year.
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Maybe because the stigma and label of failure comes at such an early age that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy?
Inclusion, by my understanding anyway, encourages us to accept diversity and not castigate it. Your language 'we' and 'them' is consistent with your position, Prof
For kids who cannot read or write, how can 'failing them' be the answer? Surely focusing on practices that improve their learning is the answer. By the time of the exam it is far too late!HarryHotspur2008-08-14 16:57:15
Inclusion, by my understanding anyway, encourages us to accept diversity and not castigate it. Your language 'we' and 'them' is consistent with your position, Prof
For kids who cannot read or write, how can 'failing them' be the answer? Surely focusing on practices that improve their learning is the answer. By the time of the exam it is far too late!HarryHotspur2008-08-14 16:57:15
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That's pretty much the thinking Prof, it all about esteem. But how can they have esteem about anything when everyone is passing. When I was at school, half of us passed, half failed. The system wasn't ideal (who remembers scaling?) but you felt damned good when you passed because you had earned that pass. If you failed, well, your problem. Sit it again and do better.
I'm an intermediate teacher, although I'm on study-leave this year having won a scholarship. I get kids arriving at our school (year 7) who can't tell you their address. Not just one or two, but in the last two years I've had five in my classes alone. Not because they have recently moved to the house, or because they are ESOL students, but because their stupid parents haven't taken time to make sure they know it. When you look at examples like this, is it any wonder we are producing morons? Parents abdicate responsibility for their children's education ("that's the school's job") but then we have to teach eleven year olds where they frigging well live (and that's only one example of what they don't know) instead of what we should be concentrating on. What hope?
Nix, Leyton Orient and Alloa Athletic supporting schmuck.
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Maybe because the stigma and label of failure comes at such an early age that it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy?
Inclusion, by my understanding anyway, encourages us to accept diversity and not castigate it. Your language 'we' and 'them' is consistent with your position, Prof
For kids who cannot read or write, how can 'failing them' be the answer? Surely focusing on practices that improve their learning is the answer. By the time of the exam it is far too late!
Inclusion, by my understanding anyway, encourages us to accept diversity and not castigate it. Your language 'we' and 'them' is consistent with your position, Prof
For kids who cannot read or write, how can 'failing them' be the answer? Surely focusing on practices that improve their learning is the answer. By the time of the exam it is far too late!
Sorry Harry, don't agree. The whole self-fulfilling prophesy mindset does exist, I accept that. So, don't destroy the kids self esteem, but make them (and their whanau) take some element of responsibility for their own learning. Too many children today don't understand what responsibility is. This is what needs teaching, and as soon as kids hit the eduaction system (i.e at early childhood level). With this comes achievement , at different levels for each individual, and from achievedment comes self-esteem.
Inclusion is something else. Yes, it iabout accepting diversity, and that needs to be encouraged. But accepting that Child X did not reach the level required for no other reason than his/her own laziness or poor parenting (e.g. letting the kids play on their "electronic babysitter" all night instead of checking if they have any homework to do) is not accepting inclusion, it is condoning underachievement.
TheJam2008-08-14 17:14:29Nix, Leyton Orient and Alloa Athletic supporting schmuck.
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I failed stuff at school.
They told me "you failed this." It felt sh*t.
However, they then went on to say "here's why you failed, and here's what you can do to not fail next time, and here's how we can help."
I'm sure that helped more than if they'd said "You fail...errr, kind of passed, sort of! Well done!"
I agree that it's highly unlikely Gates actually said any of this by the way, but since when has reality ever been fun?
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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.
Bill Gates knows about NCEA!!
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