Letter to the Editor

I found your editorial in the December 30th edition of the Sheridan Express percise, timely, and to the point. On the same day I read your article, I received a document from my California kid which was very much in line with your thoughts on "No Child Left Behind." These comments, according to the article, are attributed to Bill Gates in a speech to some high school students.
1. Life is not fair -- get used to it.
2. The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
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 them both.
4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.
5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for flipping burgers; they called it opportunity.
6. If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.
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 are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
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 give you as MANY TIMES as you need to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.
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.
10. Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shops and go to jobs.
11. Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.

Mickey Floyd
Sheridan West