How did they do anything that was stupid?  Also, what was the stupid thing that they did?

More info on this homeschooling kid.

"I was at first inclined to disparage the decision by his parents to let Peebles drop out of school, but it seems a little less ridiculous when you delve into the facts. Peebles hadn't been doing well in school and wasn't liked, and even now he isn't gaming full time. He has a tutor that provides a private education, and his parents say he's doing well with the more focused instruction and that their son now even does his homework without complaint. (Presumably he can hit the axe sooner after he's finished his studies.)"

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/101746

Well, that is great news.  I am glad he is doing better and working harder as a homeschooler.  It sounds like he is becoming a good student in a variety of subjects and more well rounded in his overall level of education.  Also, it seems that his parents are good people that really care about their son and didn't like seeing him suffer so much.

Thank you parents of said kid.  It would be great if more parents were like this kid's.

without the further info that he was homeschooled, the article basically paints it that his parents let him drop out of school to play a videogame full time, because there is such a huge future without a HS diploma.  now that he seems like he will get his GED it isn't as bad.

had he gone with what the article said, he would only be able to work fast food, or factory for the rest of his life, thus the parents folding to, as the article made it seem, a spoiled kid.

since the article is wrong, I take it back

unless he makes good money with it.

he is screwed, well he will have to rejoin later, unless they parents have money his life paid

...and we witness the power of the media spin.

Yeah, that's what it looked like to me.  Most of the articles I read about this story mention that he is still being educated but some don't even do that.  They seem to focus on him leaving his local government high school but instead say he dropped out of school (which is not correct).  Only the rare ones (like the one I quoted) mention that his grades are improving and he actually likes school more than he used to when he was at the government school.

This article could have been painted as a positive one. It looks like some in the media wanted to make Guitar Hero (and maybe videogames in general) and people leaving government schools look bad. The article could have been about focusing on Guitar Hero helped turn a troubled kid's life around or something positive but the positive story of parents going the extra mile to help their children and videogames improving a kids life was turned into a negative one.

What a waste of a young life. Years of unemployment, working at Walmart, truck driver or labourer jobs are on the horizon.

He could get a REAL guitar, at least he would benefit somehow.

Better plan indeed, though there's quite the struggle to get stable in the industry. Keep a love for gaming and making games in your heart and you'll get there =)

There is no direct link between being good at Guitar Hero and being a good guitar player. playing the guitar takes years of practice and dedication and you have to have a natural gift/talent for music.

For every 100 000 great guitar players. only one becomes a world famous guitar player in a rock band.