[ale] Making kids stop being entitled slackers with free software

[Dustin Strickland]

I wasn't very motivated as a teen, either. I dropped out at 16 because
the curriculum bored me(a major failing of our education system, but
that's for another thread) and started going to school for radiology,
but I couldn't keep it up because our parents are "rich." I didn't
qualify for enough financial aid to keep going. If he drops out like
I did, he's not going to be able to go to college for the same reason;
not to mention that they keep tightening their grip on the financial
aid.

I'm 21 now, and I'm devoting all my time to studying Linux so I can
get certified and either start up my own company, or as a contingency
plan, go work for someone more established. And no shit - it is *hard*.
I taught myself just about everything I know from self-developed
exercises, working odd jobs in the field, scouring MIT's free
coursework, reading mind-numbing amounts of man pages and any free
ebooks I can find. I don't want him to have to put himself through
school, becoming his own teacher, like I'm doing just so he can have a
decent career. It would be much easier on him if he used his brain to
graduate with honors like my dumb ass should have done.

On Thu, 6 Mar 2014 10:03:41 -0500
leam hall <leamhall at gmail.com> wrote:

> I must confess to being a pretty unmotivated teen and
> twenty-something.Thirties were pretty slack, IIRC. Once I found my
> niche things took off. Every few years I re-evaluate and am either
> renewed or ramping up in a new direction.
> 
> Sometimes I regret missed opportunities of youth. Yet with a late
> start I've not done bad and enjoy life much of the time.
> 
> Leam
>