(Sadly, some kids won't even learn this stuff from their parents. We call them 'liberals'.)
That's right, kiddies! There is a summer reading list. And crack open an algebra book once or twice, will ya? Maybe visit Chesterton, MacNeil, or London once in a while too. Or rede a natural science book. Geez. Life ain't lived from yer Ipod, pizza face.
Charles J. Sykes wrote this witty, common sense slap at the 'feel good, self-esteem' crap bandied about in so many of this nation's gub'mint school warehouses. Mr. Sykes makes it clear that this candy-@ss hand holding that we smother our kids with does them no favors in preparing for the real world outside the misanthropic halls of academia.
One reviewer characterized it with "Witty, acerbic, reality-grounded. It’s a great purchase for college-bound friends/family or parents with school-age kids."
I'll go him one better: have your high school or even middle school kids read it before the NEA groupthink propagandists ruin your child's critical thinking skills forever.
For example:
#1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.
#2: The real world won't care as much as your school does about your self-esteem.
It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
#7 If you think your teacher is tough, wait until 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.
#9: Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't.
#14: Looking like a slut does not empower you.
#19: "It's not your parent's fault. If you screw up, you are responsible.
#21: "You're offended? So what? No, really. So what?"
Golden. A must read before the summer is over.
