Congratulations to the Nikki Donnenwerth and the H-D drama department for putting on a great weekend of spring plays. It was great to see such diverse students participating in a high quality and very entertaining production. Thank you to Nikki and all the student participants for all their hard work and representing HDHS so well this past weekend.
On a different note, I ran across this gradation speech by Bill Gates this weekend.
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 doesn'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.
I got quite a chuckle from reading his list of 11 rules. A couple of rules I really related to while others I questioned. Let me speak to just two of his rules with my own thoughts.
Rule 9-Life is not divided into semesters. However, it is for most 7-12 educators yet! I do recognize that most professionals do not get summers off. This is definitely a perk of the education profession. And, I've done allot of thinking about this. Because I believe it is best for students, I would have to support year round schooling. I truly believe that students do lose an edge of the summer break and have to be retaught weeks worth of concepts and ideas. Professionals in the real world probably couldn't stay sharp if they took 3 months off. (I know I don't want my surgeon or dentist to take three months off before working on me!) So, I would have to support year round schooling. However, for the sake of getting a fresh start, having a nice summer break to travel and enjoy family time, and make instructional changes having a summer break is beneficial.
The second part of Gate's rule mentions, "very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF." I do support this whole-heartedly as a employer. I can teach someone how to use better teaching strategies, dress more professional, or even improve classroom management skills. However, I know that teachers are not able to teach at high levels if their own mental health is not positive. I can't help employees find themselves but can hold them accountable for doing what is best for students.
Rule 11-"Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one." Gates says this most likely because of the millions of people that work for him. And he calls himself a nerd. He may be a nerd but he certainly is one sharp and giving nerd to say the least. Though I agree with the idea that many people will work for "nerds" someday I think about the power of knowledge today vs. 25 years ago. Booker T. Washington once said, "Knowledge is power." Knowledge is power. It was prior to the printing press and certainly still is today...to some degree, maybe. However, I would make the case that the knowledge to use resources is more power than basic factual knowledge in today's world. I may not be able to regurgitate the dates of W.W. I or W.W. II but can pull out a cell phone, text ChaCha, and have an answer in less than 30 seconds. There is no doubt that people still need ot understand basic math facts, fundamental english writing and grammar, important events in history, and basics about the scientific theory. But again, the Internet and complexities of efficient technology have broken down the barriers to knowledge for anyone who wishes to be connected and seek information. In third world countries that support illiterate kids, laptop computers and the Internet serve as the knowledge these people need to break the cycles of poverty, learn better ways to support themselves and their families, and connect with the rest of the world. Knowledge is powerful but the knowledge to use available resources may be the new power!
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