Bill Gates...could he say it any nicer?!

SOMETHING OUR KIDS / GRAND KIDS--ALL NEED TO UNDERSTAND!!
From ~ Bill Gates

This should be posted in every school or kid's bedroom. 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 eleven (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 TIMESas 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.. If you can read this... Thank a Teacher. If you can read this in English... Thank a Soldier! For life and everything else you have... Thank God!!

I totally agree with him. But we as parents also add to the equation when there's only one parent in the picture. It's difficult to raise a child much less children on your own. I have a 26yrs old daughter, and two sons 27 yrs old and my oldest is 32yrs old. And boy do I as a single parent ( ALL DECISIONS IN THEIR LIVES LEFT TOTALLY UP TO ME) see the mistakes I made. While bringing them up there is only one point of view being seen, which is not always the right way. It may be distorted because of ones own past experiences, whether that parent was brought up by a single parent. Whether the parent grew up in good or bad surroundings. These are all factors which determine if the next generation is going to be prepared to live a productive life or "just get by". And I mean not just get by in a job, but in life period. Has their potential as children been explored, reached or even recognized. I worried so much about my children and the crazy decisions I made at times. If their fathers where apart of their lives more than just dropping in every once in a while I know their lives would have been a little better. At least they would of had two parents making decisions on their behalf instead of one. Most of the time I was depressed and just getting by myself dealing with my own pain. I remember going to the school and asking them to counsel my son because I was going through a very bad divorce and I knew he was hurting....what did they do?????? put him in special education. Wow! now this is a boy who ranked #2 in comprehension and math in the state. Why did they feel he needed to be in a special class? Because I was not in the right frame of mind to ask these questions and they needed money for the district. At this time, the more special ed. children you had the more money the school district got. I thank God that by the time my daughter was in school I had gotten saved (gave my life to Christ Jesus) and I would listen to "Focus for the Family" everyday on how to raise my children. And they listened to it each night to learn how to be good children through "Space Odessey" which was a part of "Focus on the Family". I got all the music, videos and books for them and we learned together. But I wonder how mine and my children's lives would have turned out if God hadn't intervened. As in many children's lives parents do the best that they can....as did I, but one person is not enough. I see the outcome of it. My daughter is a little more rounded and secure because we started going to church and had my church family to help, suggest and share with me beside the help of "Focus on the Family". But the damage was done to my son's, I see my failure in preparing them or might I say not preparing them for the world. I see where the decisions I made were not the right decisions when it came to them. So yes the schools don't prepare them for the cold cruel world, but we as single parents don't either. If parents really are going to be parents.....even if they don't stay together as a couple, stay together as parents in the lives of the children you make. Be there for them, make decisions together regarding their lives, it is so important. And most importantly don't hold your children as hostage to get back at your ex., you're only hurting the child and causing a very important part of their lives to be missed. I had a distorted view on the world because my world as a child was distorted. My mother was a single mother who worked a lot to make ends meet which meant that I was left venerable to be prey upon. This too is why there should be two parents.....for the safety of your child.

So whether your child or children were made out of love or lust take good care of them. They did not ask to be here and are not responsible for your actions. Make sure that the person you give yourself to is someone you want to stay connected to the rest of your life. If you're not ready for children than don't do things that could possibly get you in that position. How many people have said "I can't get pregnant but got pregnant anyway" or "a condon is used but you get pregnant anyway". If it does happen.....be the best parents ever and if you don't know how "ask somebody" or listen to "Focus on the Family". Who knows you may be bringing into this world the next awesome teacher, doctor, lawyer, singer, preacher, kind person or President.