# 50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education - Hardcover by **Charles J. Sykes** (Author) Charles J. Sykes offers fifty life lessons not included in the self-esteem-laden, reality-light curriculum of most schools. Here are truths about what kids will encounter in the world post-schooling, and ideas for how parents can reclaim lost ground---not with pep talks and touchy-feely negotiations, but with honesty and respect. Sykes's rules are frank, funny, and tough minded, including: #1 Life is not fair. Get used to it. #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. #15 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. #42 Change the oil. #43 Don't let the success of others depress you. #48 Tell yourself the story of your life. Have a point. Each rule is explored with wise, pithy examples that parents, grandparents, and teachers can use to help children help themselves succeed---in school and out of it. A few rules kids won't learn in school: #9 Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. #14 Looking like a slut does not empower you. #29 Learn to deal with hypocrisy. #32 Television is not real life. #38 Look people in the eye when you meet them. #47 You are not perfect, and you don't have to be. #50 Enjoy this while you can. ### Front Jacket "Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned."---Mark Twain Charles J. Sykes offers fifty life lessons not included in the self-esteem-laden, reality-light curriculum of most schools. Here are truths about what kids will encounter in the world post-schooling, and ideas for how parents can reclaim lost ground---not with pep talks and touchy-feely negotiations, but with honesty and respect. Sykes's rules are frank, funny, and tough minded, including: #1 Life is not fair. Get used to it. #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. #15 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it "opportunity." #42 Change the oil. #43 Don't let the success of others depress you. #48 Tell yourself the story of your life. Have a point. Each rule is explored with wise, pithy examples that parents, grandparents, and teachers can use to help children help themselves succeed---in school and out of it. A few rules kids won't learn in school: #9 Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. #14 Looking like a slut does not empower you. #29 Learn to deal with hypocrisy. #32 Television is not real life. #38 Look people in the eye when you meet them. #47 You are not perfect, and you don't have to be. #50 Enjoy this while you can. author photo?: Yes--forwarded to Lorna Lloyd Author Photo credit: No Charles J. Sykes is the author of five previous books: _A Nation of Victims,_ _Dumbing Down Our Kids,_ _Profscam,_ _The End of Privacy,_ and _The Hollow Men_. His columns have appeared in numerous newspapers, including _The New York Times_ and _The Wall Street Journal_. A radio and television host at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, he is married and has three children. ### Back Jacket Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.---Mark Twain Charles J. Sykes offers fifty life lessons not included in the self-esteem-laden, reality-light curriculum of most schools. Here are truths about what kids will encounter in the world post-schooling, and ideas for how parents can reclaim lost ground---not with pep talks and touchy-feely negotiations, but with honesty and respect. Sykes's rules are frank, funny, and tough minded, including: #1 Life is not fair. Get used to it. #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. #15 Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. #42 Change the oil. #43 Don't let the success of others depress you. #48 Tell yourself the story of your life. Have a point. Each rule is explored with wise, pithy examples that parents, grandparents, and teachers can use to help children help themselves succeed---in school and out of it. A few rules kids won't learn in school: #9 Your school may have done away with winners and losers. Life hasn't. #14 Looking like a slut does not empower you. #29 Learn to deal with hypocrisy. #32 Television is not real life. #38 Look people in the eye when you meet them. #47 You are not perfect, and you don't have to be. #50 Enjoy this while you can. author photo?: Yes--forwarded to Lorna Lloyd Author Photo credit: No Charles J. Sykes is the author of five previous books: _A Nation of Victims,_ _Dumbing Down Our Kids,_ _Profscam,_ _The End of Privacy,_ and _The Hollow Men_. His columns have appeared in numerous newspapers, including _The New York Times_ and _The Wall Street Journal_. A radio and television host at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, he is married and has three children. ### Author Biography Charles J. Sykes is the author of five previous books: _A Nation of Victims,_ _Dumbing Down Our Kids,_ _Profscam,_ _The End of Privacy,_ and _The Hollow Men_. His columns have appeared in numerous newspapers, including _The New York Times_ and _The Wall Street Journal_. A radio and television host at WTMJ in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, he is married and has three children. **Number of Pages:** 192 **Dimensions:** 0.8 x 8.6 x 5.7 IN **Publication Date:** August 21, 2007 ## Details - **Price:** 34.99 USD - **Vendor:** Books by splitShops - **Type:** Books - **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective ## Variants | Variant | Price | Available | |---------|-------|-----------| | Default Title | 34.99 USD | In stock | ## Images - 50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School: Real-World Antidotes to Feel-Good Education - Hardcover --- > Source: [Smart supply deals](https://smartsupplydeals.com/products/50-rules-kids-wont-learn-in-school-real-world-antidotes-to-feel-good-education-hardcover) > Updated: 2026-07-21