Rules kids won't learn in school

This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the 1996 book “Dumbing down our kids: Why American children feel good about themselves but can’t read, write, or add” and “50 rules kids won’t learn in school: real world antidotes to feel-good education.”

Rule No. 1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.

Rule No. 2: The real world doesn’t care about your self-esteem. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, people complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule No. 3: You won't make $60,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule No. 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'til you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he's not going to ask you how you feel about it.

Rule No. 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents called it “opportunity.” They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Miley Cyrus all weekend.

Rule No. 6: It's not your parents' fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it, or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule No. 7: Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest, try cleaning the closet in your bedroom.

Rule No. 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. In some schools, you get several tries to get the right answer. Failing grades have been abolished and class valedictorians scrapped, lest anyone's feelings be hurt. Effort is as important as results. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule No. 9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. While we're at it, very few jobs are interested in fostering your self-expression or helping you find yourself.

Rule No. 10: Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to work.