Gamer goes homeschool

‘Guitar Hero’ whiz aiming higher, 3 August 2008, WRAL.com, Raleigh, North Carolina

So they made a deal. Blake could leave school but would have to be tutored at home. In one respect, the arrangement is similar to what parents of gifted child athletes and actors have done for years.

…

This is how he knows he’s good. It wasn’t that long ago that kids who excelled at some activity, say basketball, would only have to go to the next neighborhood to have their dreams crushed by some older, more accomplished player.

That last part amuses me because last night I caught up on Gene Simmons Family Jewels and Gene & Friends failed at Guitar Hero. (yeah, different ’skill sets’ involved, but if you didn’t think about it much, it was humorously ironic)

Tags: Gene Simmons, Guitar Hero, home education, homeschooling

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One Response to “Gamer goes homeschool”

  1. Valerie says:
    August 22, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    NC 16-year-old aspires to be professional Guitar Hero, 4 August 2008, Citizen-Times, Asheville, North Carolina

    This is not a competitive environment, so the score hardly matters. But his attitude about it underscores some Peebles family truisms: Blake is so dedicated to gaming that his parents let him quit school so he can better concentrate on it.

    They pay for home tutors instead. Mom and Dad do this, even though there are very few people in this country who make their living playing competitive video games.

    Bad Dad? Parents Let Son Drop Out to Pursue Gaming Career, 19 August 2008, Wired.com

    It would be easy to rewrite that first paragraph in snarkier fashion, putting “parents” or “career” in scare quotes, or adding a throwaway line questioning their sanity. The story isn’t that simple, though. Blake seems like a bright kid, and his parents didn’t just let him drop out. He’s being tutored at home, gets high marks and has acquired, according to his parents, a remarkably improved disposition since the change.

    …

    Mike Peebles says his son laid out a careful plan for his video-gaming career. Hunter points out that when Blake’s older brother wanted to focus on football, they got him a trainer and the help he needed along that path, so why not give Blake the same chance? Their decision seems like a considered one, and both point out that even if Blake fails in this attempt, he’ll take valuable lessons away from the experience. Blake, in fairness, says he doesn’t see this as a lifelong mission, just a stepping stone to another career, perhaps in video game design (unsurprisingly).

    Reply

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