Parents let child drop out of school to play Guitar Hero
by David Hinkle 
{ Aug 18th 2008 at 1:48PM }
Sure, the story of a rocker dropping out of school in order to pursue a career in, uh, rocking, is one we've heard told plenty of times. Famous musicians have admitted to dropping out, including Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger. It comes with the territory, we suppose. And now, it would seem, the lifestyle is being attributed to fake rockers, thanks to the parents of one Guitar Hero player.Blake Peebles is a 16 year old kid from Raleigh, North Carolina. Having done well in local tournaments, his parents are apparently fine with him quitting school. That's not to say he's without any education, as his parents pay for private tutors. With so few professional gamers out there that make enough money to live comfortably on, some would say it's a big gamble to let junior quit school to concentrate on gaming like this. But hey, what do we know? We're only lowly bloggers, after all.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Metal @ Aug 18th 2008 1:51PM
Fucking pitiful tsk tsk *shakes head*
Erik Stroud @ Aug 18th 2008 9:36PM
I agree. He wins one tournament and now he thinks he can make a living off it. I won a tournament once, got some cash, but I am still going to school. I get the feeling this kid doesn't understand that Guitar Hero isn't the game to try and get into MLG with.
nintendo1889 @ Aug 18th 2008 2:03PM
Wow....simply amazing. And I thought parents letting their kids play smutty games like GTA and not letting them read Harry Potter books due to "witchcraft" was bad enough. Apparently not; this alone deserves a gold medal in stupidity.
DiRT @ Aug 18th 2008 2:13PM
Are you all retarded? He has a private in-home tutor. That's no different from countless actors and musicians who don't go to school. He will still get a diploma from his local school district if they follow the curriculum and he passes the standardized testing, like thousands of other home-schooled kids.
Sheesh.
Orion @ Aug 18th 2008 2:20PM
Dude.. we aren't retarded. This isn't going after a career.. this is to compete in gaming competitions. I'm sorry, but if you are of an age in which you are old enough to understand the harsh realities of finances, you'd never let your 16 year old son drop out in order to compete in competitions, even if he is being tutored on the side (which you know isn't as intense a study as being taught by 8 teachers in 8 classes. He will take longer to graduate).
One thing about gamers, they're easily replaced by others quickly who are better. If you want proof of this, go on online leader boards and watch how fast the people in the 10 ten get replaced all the time.
One day (very soon) little Jonny will be surpased in "talent", and he will won't be able to get a source of income by winning game competitions. I hope playing his game was worth that sacrifice. That and Guitar Hero won't be around forever. People will move on to bigger and better things. So when he's 25 and we're all playing PS5 and whatever the heck Nintendo will call their unit, he'll be without a career, and will have no experience in the work place to make himeslf stand out from people three years younger than him getting out of college.
So yea, if you would let your son do this, you do have issues.
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 2:56PM
Let's be realistic. You know for a fact that this in-home tutor isn't teaching him anywhere as much as he'd learn from school. If he was, then why wouldn't he just go to school, and then come home and play guitar hero. If anything, it's just to make people like you think it's ok to drop out of school for a video game that will probably be done and over with before he's 21. His parents are pathetic and so is he. If you really want to make a career out of music, pick up a real guitar and try that. So, no DiRT. We aren't retarded. You're retarded. And his parents are retarded.
Germ @ Aug 18th 2008 2:58PM
@Orion
Woah, woah, woah there. Being tutored on the side isn't as intense as going to school?
I have been homeschooled my whole life by my mom (which doesn't have any teaching education) and am at Texas A&M right now with a four year full-ride in Aerospace Engineering.
Don't pick on the homeschoolers.
---Germ
ChromeAlchemist @ Aug 18th 2008 4:24PM
owned.
however being homeschooled all your life is one thing, but dropping out for a game is something entirely different ffs
Lars @ Aug 18th 2008 5:38PM
I don't see what the big deal is. Entertainers and competitors almost always go this route. Pro gamers getting home-schooled is no different than actors, or gymnists, or musicians, or wrestlers, or whatever. A good pro gamer can pull in triple-figures each year, easily. If you don't think of that as a career, then you must just be a jealous laborer.
Khaled @ Aug 19th 2008 2:49AM
I know that the parents are crazy, or maybe just the story says that GH is the only reason, but actually, sometimes home- schooling is better and faster. my friend is same age as I am, but he is 2 grades ahead of me(16 yr old senior).
But yes, it is always better to go to a normal school.
ND @ Aug 20th 2008 12:04PM
Dear Orion,
Did you just use the words "study" and "intense" in reference to the public school system?
Have you ever been to the average American public school?
Do you even know what the hell homeschooling IS?
During my high school career, I went to private, public, and home schools. I don't think "retarded" is quite the word, but "ignorant"? Quite possibly.
That said, I agree with your points AFTER that. It's really not a very good life strategy to depend on guitar hero- but who says that's all he's depending on? After all, he's not 'dropping out', I'm sure he's getting a quality education. See my first points.
meist3r @ Aug 18th 2008 2:25PM
Pretty soon he'll be chasing the dragon ...
RupeeClock @ Aug 18th 2008 2:39PM
What's going to happen to the kid when Activision drop the Guitar Hero brand?
They can't keep going with it forever, naturally.
The_Punisher @ Aug 18th 2008 3:09PM
That's what you think ;)
RupeeClock @ Aug 18th 2008 3:11PM
No, history dictates that without revision, people will stop buying into things and sales will drop off.
Activision will have to reinvent the franchise in some way at some point, because soon simply adding new songs won't cut it.
Sora @ Aug 18th 2008 4:41PM
GH: World Tour called.
Feba @ Aug 18th 2008 5:23PM
Not really. Look at DDR. No major changes, and it's been going strong for a decade now. Sports games (ala Madden) have had no major changes in again over a decade. Racing games haven't changed in a very long time, and those that have have not displaced the old favorites (Burnout has not trumped Gran Turismo, for instance.).
Really, pretty much any genre you can name has been going strong for a very long time with minimal changes. There's no sign of beatmania/GH/RB style music games losing popularity; and given how more and more tracks go on each new release, they're likely to become MORE popular.
Khaled @ Aug 19th 2008 2:49AM
He'll move on to Rockband lol
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 3:00PM
Also, if these pathetic excuses for parents were half way decent people, they'd make their son go to school, and use the money he won to pay for college.
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 3:05PM
Ok. To all the defenders of home school. Think of your own reasons why you were home schooled, or why others are home schooled. Now think of this kid. He's being home schooled so he can play more video games. His parents are only home schooling him so the public or anyone else who reads that story will be satisfied. For all you know his home schooling could consist of guitar hero, and then for homework...more guitar hero.
gayboyDS @ Aug 18th 2008 3:08PM
I thought about dropping out of high school and only doing what I was really good at back then, but I didn't want to go blind.
murray b @ Aug 18th 2008 3:20PM
speaking off which, have you seen this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skobkEHW3Y0
But back on the subject to let your kid drop out to play guitar hero is crazy, unless you want your kid to grow up to be Mark Alipiger.
Jody Anthony (gamertag and psn: JodyAnthony) @ Aug 18th 2008 3:39PM
a hearty lol from me
rikki @ Aug 18th 2008 3:17PM
You know, I was about to disparage this kid and his parents' decision just like the rest of you.
...Then I learned that the school he dropped out of was some sort of Christian academy that appears to only use materials from Christian publishers/writers. (http://www.nrcaknights.com/) Couple this with the fact that he lives south of the Mason-Dixon, and I'm betting his "schooling" may have involved "Evilution is a Darwinist lie! Worship JEE-ZUS or burn with them atheists 'n' gays!". Ugh. Yeah, if that was the case I'd have despised school and begged and pleaded to drop out, just like this kid.
Hopefully he's getting a quality education with those private tutors as opposed to crazy insular fundamentalist homeschooling, and hopefully he'll continue on with an equivalency degree and eventually college regardless of what happens with GH.
Lianne @ Aug 18th 2008 3:37PM
Ew...I wouldn't like being in a school like that either...
Then again, it would be wiser to send him to ANOTHER school, or homeschool him "properly". A video game shouldn't get priority over the kids education. o.0
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 3:52PM
Don't be an idiot. You have no idea what that school was like. He probably went to a christian school because, oh I don't know, his family is christian? There are plenty of good christian schools. The fact that you found out that they use christian publications deserves nothing but a big DUH for you. And from what I read, he didn't like the school because they basically made him get a haircut, something the kid needs anyway. He didn't quit because he went to a radical "repent or burn" school. That's just what your atheist mind wants to believe.
rikki @ Aug 18th 2008 5:04PM
@offday:
No, I don't have any idea of what that school was like. I'm making assumptions. I could be wrong! I hope I am! But his location and the fact that the school uses 90% Christian publications (I misread; out of the many that are there, they list two who aren't) sets off fundamentalist warning bells. Most of the religious schools I know of involve a NORMAL education SUPPLEMENTED by the religious element. I'm not seeing that here, and that is scary. There is a lot in this world you should know about that has nothing to do with Christianity.
But speaking of assumptions -- I really doubt that anyone would beg their parents to let you leave your school long enough for them to actually do it ONLY because they wanted a new hairstyle.
And just because your parents are a certain religion -- and think you should be too -- doesn't mean you agree with them or are.
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 6:25PM
It said he didn't like the rules they set on them, and also he just flat out didn't like school, which is stupid. Honestly how many of us honestly loved school? I'm sure most of us can look back to high school and say we miss the good times, and friends, but at the time did anyone actually love school? No. So basically he doesn't like school (like any other 16 year old out there). And that coupled with the fact that he pwns at Guitar Hero was obviously enough for his parents to say, "Ok. No more school for you. Go to room and play video games." It's just ridiculous, and I'd make bet that down the road everyone's going to regret it.
Abscissa @ Aug 18th 2008 10:17PM
Sounds like offday is jealous ;)
Matisyahu Serious @ Aug 18th 2008 3:28PM
learn from my mistake, kid: i dropped out of school to play galaga professionally and it was the single worst thing i have ever done in my life...i lost my bmx, my star wars cards, and my slip n' slide.
stay in school, and stay off drugs.
Lianne @ Aug 18th 2008 3:34PM
From the original article:
"Mike and Hunter do not believe in one-size-fits-all parenting.
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.""
Wow...that's some good parenting right there. o.0 All kids think school is a waste of time. Heck, I still do sometimes (I'm in grad school) but I KNOW how important it is. I'm a software engineer (second year) and making much more than this kid ever will at a tournament.
Serenity @ Aug 18th 2008 3:42PM
haha "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," lame.. isn't being a good parent not giving in to that crap? >_
offday @ Aug 18th 2008 6:27PM
Wow. Holy crap. These parents are more pahtetic than I thought. I never read that, but it sure does help my points.
So, the parents suck at parenting, and this whole family fails.
/argument.
Abscissa @ Aug 18th 2008 10:18PM
@Lianne:
Since you've been stuck in academia's ivory towers for so long, you're likely not aware of this, but from a *real world* programmer to a hopeful future-programmer, ignore the following advice at your own peril:
The only good programmers are the self-taught ones. Real development teams, the ones that actually know what they're doing (there are a lot out there that don't), have observed time and time again that the applicants who come from strong academic backgrounds just simply don't have what it takes. The truly valuable team members are almost always the ones with much stronger at-home, out-of-the-classroom training than academic training. The schools are just expensive degree-factories.
The companies that seek out college graduates often do so because of one of two reasons. 1. Their hiring is handled by a generic HR department that doesn't know anything about the field (Go to http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/ThePerilsofJavaSchools.html and search for the second instance of "recruiters-who-use-grep"), or 2. They're well aware that the grads are very likely to be blindly-obedient, heavily in debt and desperate for work.
So, yea, welcome to the real world. It's not quite what your professors said it would be, is it?
Lianne @ Aug 19th 2008 6:27AM
@Abscissa:
Thanks for your concern, but I'm not a "hopeful future programmer"...I AM a real world programmer. I have been for 2 years. I understand the value of learning outside the classroom. You get what you put in, after all. My comment was about a lack of education in general, not a lack of "formal" classroom education. In my mind, homeschool is school. So are self-taught "classes".
My overall point was that being a professional "gamer" is not going to get this kid very far. From the tone of the article, he's putting his education aside to play. I think it's silly.
samsmans @ Aug 18th 2008 4:42PM
Wow!, since 2005 Terry15 has made close to 25,000 dollars. that almost like $750 a month. Way to go winner!
Shadow @ Aug 18th 2008 4:53PM
This kid's parents fail. Jeez, these days we are getting worse and worse parents in a lot random places, its no wonder the drop out rates in schools are increasing (i think)...luckily that jus leaves more room and less competition for those of us who want to move up in the world. A selfish thought, yes, however, im not ganna get into a rant about it...
mcp @ Aug 18th 2008 5:00PM
Shame on you guys. You're one of my favorite blogs and you're pulling ridiculous sensationalism.
The kid has not dropped out of school, as you state in your own article. But by your by-line nobody would know it.
MCP
http://gamernop.blogspot.com
Feba @ Aug 18th 2008 5:29PM
There's a very large difference between dropping out of school and switching to private tutoring. And for those who really don't seem to know, you can learn faster with a private tutor than in a school. Individualized and focused lessons go a long way. Anyone who has ever been bored in school can see that. Now add up all of the dead hours during the average school day, and you start to see the problem. And that's not even considering the educational benefit of having constant one on one time with the teacher, which is simply not possible in a classroom.
Between the fact that the kid has a part time job (based on how much he earns) with this hobby, and he didn't seem to like the school much anyway, this seems like a fine arrangement, if not much better or worse. He may even be motivated to work harder, with the threat of returning to a school he disliked over his head.
Fiefdom @ Aug 18th 2008 6:03PM
Bloody hell you people have a lot of faith in the US education system. Having a tutor means that he can cover the same material without having to 'learn' at the rate of the slowest student in each of his classes. I'm sure that anyone who learned a language either by himself or with a tutor, or learned how to program by reading tutorials and other programs, or delved further into calculus than most schools would provide for, or has succeeded at a sport with a coach, or whatever, without half-assing it, can attest to greater success than one would have experienced relying on a school regiment. Unless he, or his tutor, are rubbish at academics, then he won't be inherently disadvantaged in any respect. Before college, it is a decent scholarly record and the stamped slip of paper he gets when he graduates that he needs to go forwards in life, regardless of whether or not he obtains them through a school.
The fact that this student spends his now more bountiful free time playing Guitar Hero is irrelevant if it doesn't too much detract from his studies. It is those of you who believe you must go through a regimented program to go forwards in life who will have no peculiar or outstanding qualification to do anything more than anyone else who has also gone through a similar program. School is a waste of time for those who have access to a superior method of study, either through a tutor, one's parents, or by oneself; I wouldn't be surprised if someone else here who had to sit through the jokes that are foreign language and AP classes agrees that such time could have been better spent on a less bureaucrat pursuit.
It's the piece of paper at the end that's important. If he gets that, then he's no worse off than anyone else. If anything, his hand-eye coordination will be far superior to that of those who stare wide-eyed on front of the television doing absolutely nothing. Judging from a part of the article that many of you neglected, "Blake is happy with his success. Mom and Dad are happy with his grades. Since he's gone to the tutoring arrangement, she hasn't once had to tell him to do his homework, because he does it on his own," he isn't in a horrible position. At least he has the motivation to pursue SOMETHING.
Fun times: "even if he is being tutored on the side (which you know isn't as intense a study as being taught by 8 teachers in 8 classes. He will take longer to graduate)." Hahahahahaha, no.
And this: "One thing about gamers, they're easily replaced by others quickly who are better. If you want proof of this, go on online leader boards and watch how fast the people in the 10 ten get replaced all the time." They get replaced by each other. Look at the rankings of Olympic athletes. Hell, look at the rankings of professional StarCraft players in Korea. They move around all the time but they all have the potential to be very near the top at some point and they all hover in a a very elite group.
... : "I'm a software engineer (second year) and making much more than this kid ever will at a tournament." If you fail or can't support yourself, you will be forced to do something else. Likewise, if this kid fails or can't support himself, he will be forced to do something else. The only difference is he's younger than you are.
... : "There are plenty of good christian schools." I believe the complaint was that that particular school was disagreeable. Just because someone doesn't subscribe to religious fanaticism doesn't mean he isn't an intelligent member of a religious community.
... : "Wow!, since 2005 Terry15 has made close to 25,000 dollars. that almost like $750 a month. Way to go winner!" You think these people lack jobs on the side? They're doing what they enjoy doing, not what will necessarily make them huge amounts of money. It's the exact same thing as anyone striving to become a professional athlete. Sooner or later they either succeed or they do something else.
nintendo1889 @ Aug 18th 2008 6:53PM
DiRT said..."Are you all retarded?"
No, but you are for saying that. Is this a forum for Wii fanboys, or is it a forum for bashing people who incorrectly read something? I think it's the latter, but, if you're here to do so, you can get the **** out for all I care.
nintendo1889 @ Aug 18th 2008 6:54PM
Or better yet, you can STFU.
Pixel-One @ Aug 18th 2008 7:24PM
I don't know what you're all talking about, I would've loved it if my parents let me drop out of school to pursue being a professional gamer. And for the haters who are all calling out "What happens when GH goes away?" Well, maybe he'll use his new found free time to get in some good practice with other games as well.
Gaming is becoming serious business. Gamers train like athletes, and this is no different than hundreds of similar stories of Olympic-caliber gymnasts.
Shugotheripper @ Aug 18th 2008 8:48PM
FAIL
Abscissa @ Aug 18th 2008 9:53PM
It's well-established that K-12 curriculum is approximately 90% review and only 10% new material between any two consecutive years. So considering that he's 16, and therefore had only two more years to go, the rest could *easily* be made up by a few trips to our society's only *true* educational institution: the library.
Yamikotai @ Aug 19th 2008 11:14AM
Hah, I wish that were true here in the UK; here, most libraries have more DVDs+console games than books, excepting the larger libraries in London. I'm pretty sure my household owns more books than my local library (which is meant to cater to about 60,000 people).
And Feifdom, well-said!
yuhchi @ Aug 20th 2008 11:18PM
UPDATE!! FOUND HIS MYSPACE!!
searched blake peebles on myspace and found a guy in raleigh, north carolina i checked the comments and yep, they were talking about him dropping out of high school hahaha what a faggot
http://www.myspace.com/gangsta4417
Crustin @ Aug 19th 2008 9:06AM
Here's a scene from 1981:
"Mom, Dad, ...can I drop out of high school and play "Yar's Revenge" professionally?"
"What do you mean I have to go to therapy???"
hall monitor @ Aug 19th 2008 10:00AM
This story made http://detentionslip.org! Voted #1 for weird headlines in education.
Davedrastic @ Aug 19th 2008 10:21PM
I'm no journalist, but wouldn't this be news as and when the boy does make a living from it. I mean people of all ages play video games, we know this. And 16 year olds leave school, this is common place too. Up until then, it's just a waste of space.
I mean people of all ages play video games, we know this. And 16 year olds leave school, this is common place too.
General fodder. There is no story. Perhaps the next article could be "Infant fills nappy whilst playing Mario" - both would be equally pointless.
Were articles written when Bruce Springsteen left school - no - because it was not newsworthy.
I don't normally like comments that deride the article, but please, this is just pitiful.