Blake Peebles, a 16-year-old in Raleigh, N.C., whose parents have let him drop out of school so that he can focus on a professional gaming career via Guitar Hero.

Blake convinced his folks (that is, "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," said his mom) to let him drop out last September. They hired in-home tutors to continue his education there, at least, but there's no doubt priority number one is Guitar Hero. There's a vaguely defined goal of Blake playing it professionally, either through Major League Gaming or by winning prizes in a national and international competitions. But so far he's only made about $1,000, most of that value realized in meals and other freebies won at local competitions. The other pro gamer the reporter contacted for this story said he's cashed in about $25,000 in his entire career.

The description of Blake's room, his interests (or lack thereof) , and his folks' decision to let him do this just ... well, the don't make anyone look good. It would be one thing if the guy was a bona fide music or athletic prodigy. However quixotic a career in either field might be for the majority who pursue it, at least there's a long history of it paying off if you are that good enough. But Blake's never touched a real guitar (cue up the get-a-life bait). He didn't seem interested in much of anything in high school (a Christian academy where his parents had enrolled him) and wheedled his way out of going by complaining that it was a waste of time. (That line should sound very familiar to my folks. If only playing Master of the Lamps on the Commodore 64 could have won me some free Chik-Fil-A. I might have had better luck.)

You gotta read it to believe it, and nearly three weeks after it was first published, it is still one of The News & Observer's top e-mailed stories. Try to keep it civil in the comments, gang, especially if you aren't a parent. I'm not, but I'll admit this blows my mind.

Guitar Hero: Parents Let Kid Drop Out of High School to Focus on Guitar Hero

I can just hear it now...
"But Blake's mom is letting him do it..."

I wonder what the total time-frame of that guy's "$25,000" truly is.

(Incidentally, I post this while watching an interview of Michael Phelps on TV. Ahhh, the contrast.)

The only reeemer feature is that the parents have hired in-home tutors...

But this is a classic case of the child running the parents...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

This is what jumps out at me the most, just give him what he wants as long as we can shut him up. They must wonder how they got there, and the answer is it started when he was 3 throwing a trantrum for something as insignificant as ice cream and just escalated from there.

Funny, change Guitar Hero for Counterstrike and you might as well have been talking about my (21 year old) brother. The difference of course is that while my mom always gave him whatever he wanted (after many a tantrum), she has a very strong work ethic and at least was never flexible on school... so he graduated, barely. Now, she has to complain every day about how she has to wrestle him out of bed to get him to work as he started his very first real job just last week, and beg him to do the most menial things. Sadly I learned some definite no-no's when it comes to parenting from watching my mom, .

I know there are no rules, and you can mess it up even with the best of your intentions, but please don't tell me he does what he wants because you couldn't take his tantrums,

I do not agree with letting this kid drop out of school. BUT -- just to play devils advocate here -- if he is good enough, there is lots of money out there for this career choice.

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Jesus Was A Liberal

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist

Certainly, but it should be noted that it was not the reason the parents allowed him to drop out. If that were so, it might be comparable to a teenage athlete. Furthermore, there's no age limitation and they could have persuaded him to wait until he finished high school to go out and compete "professionally", .

I agree the problem probably started when he was three.
But I remember a neighbor from years back who's son didn't want to do anything but skate board. Back then it was looked on as "play", but his dad finally built him a cool loop 'd' loop ramp and just let him do what he wanted. He did graduate but never kept a regular job. (All this drove his mother crazy; she used to kick him out every other week). Now there are competitions and the once trivial pursuit is a bona fide sport. Someone told me recently that he had won some significant competitions during his career.

It's this plastic pretend world we live in that makes kids think things like this are worthy of their best efforts. It's our fault.

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