http://www.newsobserver.com/2766/story/1155589-p2.html

Yes his parents let him quit school to become a professional Guitar Hero

Quote :

"That is not to say that it was an easy decision for them to let Blake leave school last September. They would have preferred that he stay in high school with his brother. But he bugged them until they let him quit. "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says Hunter. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time.""

7/27/2008 10:53:34 PM

gay

7/27/2008 10:54:03 PM

7/27/2008 10:54:58 PM

Upper-middle class* North Raleigh parents are the best parents











* Wake, Fairfax, and Montgomery Counties in particular

7/27/2008 10:55:26 PM

Blake has done well in local tournaments, including one held at a Chick-fil-A that earned him 52 combo meals.

7/27/2008 10:55:44 PM

oh wow, if i'd only known i could just COMPLAIN enough and not have to go to school anymore...

7/27/2008 10:56:15 PM

it said he was home schooled

7/27/2008 10:56:35 PM

My dad wants me to start entering in Guitar Hero tournaments, just because he saw me play it on hard with no experience.

7/27/2008 10:56:38 PM

Quote :

"oh wow, if i'd only known i could just COMPLAIN enough and not have to go to school anymore..."

this usually resulted in me getting bitched out and or my car taken away for a week or two

7/27/2008 10:57:10 PM

Quote :

"Blake, who is shy and disliked school"

lol

wonder why

7/27/2008 10:57:25 PM

Quote :

"It's his job. Among the prizes he's won playing "Guitar Hero" tournaments: gift certificates, gaming equipment and chicken sandwiches."

Who needs school?

7/27/2008 10:58:26 PM

I'm sure these parents are doing a real good job homeschooling him as he plays Guitar Hero for 16 hours a day

7/27/2008 11:09:58 PM

That fucker better be able to full combo "Through the Fire and Flames" on expert at 5x speed.

7/27/2008 11:11:44 PM

i wonder how many parents have wandered into a guitar shop in the last 2 years and said "my son/daughter is a natural at guitar hero, I'm looking for a starter guitar for them, I'm sure they'll love it"

and have it collect dust a few weeks later

7/27/2008 11:14:23 PM

Quote :

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says Hunter. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time."

Taking away the Guitar Hero for a few months and revoking his gaming privileges would have cured this right up. And a back-hand across the face for good measure.

7/27/2008 11:14:56 PM

Not saying that this is how I feel, but. . .

Would you all feel the same had they let him withdraw from public school to be home schooled and play basketball or chess???

7/27/2008 11:31:11 PM

As soon as the NCAA has a yearly tournament for Guitar Hero, I will accept your argument.

7/27/2008 11:32:08 PM

hit it amac...

7/27/2008 11:33:21 PM

this is like "The Wizard" with a shittier game.

7/27/2008 11:34:10 PM

public school is a waste of time...

7/27/2008 11:43:27 PM

Quote :

"this is like "The Wizard" with a shittier game."

hahaha

7/27/2008 11:47:56 PM

Quote :

"Would you all feel the same had they let him withdraw from public school to be home schooled and play basketball or chess???"

Yes.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't develop and encourage your kid to pursue something that they love. If this kid is really good at Guitar Hero, let him continue to practice and improve. However, he needs to also get a good education, and in fact this should take priority. At least with a high school diploma he could get some semblance of a job that pays good enough to support himself. What will GH skills get him besides the occasional gift certificate and free sandwich? How will GH help him to (reasonably) support himself? Besides, he's a teenager. All teenagers are rendered stupid by the cocktail of hormones that soak their brains. He doesn't know what he wants, and he can't fully decide on his own what's in his best interest. It is therefore the parents' responsibility to guide him and choose for him. If he has a natural talent at something, then they should by all means foster it, but it should come secondary to his education.

7/27/2008 11:50:50 PM

I think I know this family!

7/27/2008 11:54:51 PM

Quote :

"What will GH skills get him besides the occasional gift certificate and free sandwich?"

Don't forget about the mountains of pussy he'll be getting as well.

7/28/2008 12:20:59 AM

For a Guitar Hero champ the pussy is connected to a mountain of flesh

7/28/2008 12:37:36 AM

And the bad parenting award goes to...

^^ ahahahaha

Quote :

"Would you all feel the same had they let him withdraw from public school to be home schooled and play basketball or chess???"

Yes.

[Edited on July 28, 2008 at 12:41 AM. Reason : .]

7/28/2008 12:39:16 AM

Taking away the Guitar Hero for a few months and revoking his gaming privileges would have cured this right up. And a back-hand across the face for good measure.

7/28/2008 1:20:27 AM

^ yes

7/29/2008 12:28:45 AM

If you're a prodigy at something, then you don't need a traditional education. Guitar Hero? Fuck that noise.

7/29/2008 12:30:14 AM

I was just curious.

I am sure that we all know people who would not have any problem with a kid withdrawing from public school to be homeschooled so that they can play football, basketball, swim, or do whatever it is that he or she is gifted at.

7/29/2008 12:32:19 AM

Awww, the N&O site won't let me leave a snarky comment.

^While those aren't different in principal, they are different in a lot of non-trivial and life-affecting ways. You can make decent money playing in those sports as well as writing about them and coaching in them. The main problem I'd have with a parent making that decision would be that they're allowing a child to make an irrevocable life decision sooner than they should. I remember wanting to be half a dozen different things "when I grew up" and I'm glad I waited till I was a bit older to sort of figure that out. Really, that's the same problem I have with the parenting in this case too. The only difference in issues I'd take with your example would be the fact that taking the student out of high school would make them much less likely to be seen by a scout and therefore would be counter productive in almost any sense.

[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 12:45 AM. Reason : ]

7/29/2008 12:35:21 AM

Professional Guitar Hero?...

7/29/2008 12:36:44 AM

yea but i dont know many parents who dont have a problem with their kid dropping out of high school...for any reason.

College is usually a diff. story but my kid WOULD finish high school for sure

7/29/2008 12:37:54 AM

^ I agree. I can't imagine not having at least a high school diploma in today's society.

[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 12:40 AM. Reason : ]

7/29/2008 12:40:30 AM

i thought he was getting homeschooled???

7/29/2008 12:41:43 AM

^^ for real...it's so competitive now-a-days you've GOT to go to some kinda Grad. School to do well.

7/29/2008 12:42:47 AM

That's horseshit. All I did in college was play video games. Also I would often get drunk.

7/29/2008 12:43:17 AM

lol but once you graduate ppl (unless your going to grad school) ppl just look at the diploma not the gpa.

7/29/2008 12:49:32 AM

Damn right. I'd be fucked if my degree had my GPA on it.

7/29/2008 12:52:16 AM

Just let me tell you this: professional gaming in the US won't give you a real paycheck. if he wants to make real money with a gaming career, then he should move to Korea or China or maybe Japan.

7/29/2008 12:56:50 AM

or finish school and learn how to MAKE the games

7/29/2008 12:58:50 AM

Montgomery County got a mention for upper-middle class, Spontaneous?

7/29/2008 8:20:20 AM

Being a guitar hero champ fits that same analogy with the special olympics..even if you win youre still retarded. Play a real guitar.

7/29/2008 11:34:46 AM

white
people

7/29/2008 11:40:26 AM

I'm riiich beeeitch

7/29/2008 11:46:04 AM

That article reads like something I would expect to see in a school newspaper, not a major city paper. Horrible.

By the way, there's no "dreminem" on scorehero.com. If he's not on Scorehero, he's going to get his ass handed to him at any big tournament, and I seriously doubt he's in the "top 15 or 20" in the country.

7/29/2008 11:51:40 AM

Quote :

"Fairfax"

7/29/2008 11:54:59 AM

I know a 16 year old kid who won a national title in R/C racing and actually does get paid and all his equipment for free.

There are 5 magazines dedicated to this hobby.

guess what

he is still in school and doing fine.

this guitar hero kid is an idiot. wait his parents are the idiots

[Edited on July 29, 2008 at 12:02 PM. Reason : x]

7/29/2008 12:01:22 PM

Man, I wish I had dropped out of school to play Goldeneye, I could dominate in DK mode with 'mote mines.

I figure I was in the top 15 or 20 people in the country.

7/29/2008 12:12:29 PM

I was pretty bad ass on Mario Kart, but my parents stifled my career dreams by making me go outside and shit.

7/29/2008 12:18:36 PM