That's My Boy

Today I am proud. Proud of my kid. I've been proud of so much of what he does, so much about the man he is becoming. I am as guilty as the next parent of kid bragging on social media. You'll hear me say it's to keep my family apprised of all he's doing, and in large part that's true. But like any proud parent, when I'm beaming about my kid's accomplishments and good deeds, it's hard not to share. You'll never see me post his grades or anything about his report card. If you have followed my blogs over the years or know me well personally, you'll remember two reasons for this. The first is my kid never gets straight A's, and the second is that for the most part I don't give a shit about grades (You can read more about this here). They mean very little about true learning, and they are important to us only because colleges care. And we'd like our son to go to college.

If you click on that link above, you'll read about some experiences with my son that really shed light on why I believe what I do about grades. But tonight, I seek only to pose a challenge. I ask you, does this kid meet the criteria you believe should be in place to graduate high school? Does my son demonstrate what the standards writers would call College and Career Readiness? 

Let me present the evidence:

My son can read anything and everything he needs to get his needs met, to educate himself on the things that interest him both in career path and hobby. He is a varsity athlete, close to becoming an Eagle Scout, and he has earned multiple computer industry certifications. He has a part-time job in a restaurant and pays for his own gas and car insurance. Last night, a Saturday night, he worked until 9pm and spent the rest of the night and into the early hours of the morning building his own website. Reluctantly, he took a job in the restaurant business; he's good at it and he likes it. But when he searched high and low and pounded the pavement trying to meet with people and make contacts to get a job in the computer field (he's more qualified than many adults thanks to the AMAZING technology program at his high school), he kept getting turned away. Whether they wouldn't hire anyone under 18 or simply didn't believe this "kid" could have the qualifications he needed, he had the doors slammed in his face, one after the other. So what does he do? He decided if no one would give him the opportunity, he would have to create his own. And he started his own business. That's right, my 17 year old son, a junior in high school, has started his own custom build/upgrade computer business.

And he'll continue to work at the restaurant, and he'll continue to put forth enough effort to get average grades so he can get into college. But it won't be a competition. He won't be worried being at the top of the class, or about getting into a high profile college, only that he can focus on his field. And I'll tell you what. I challenge you to follow him and any valedictorian over the next 10 years and I bet their success and their happiness won't be much different. In fact, my son is likely to be already earning wages more than his mom and dad. And he'll be doing what he loves to do.

I rest my case.

Shameless plug: If you're in the market, here's his website Kemputers