Parents Lets Son Drop Out of School to Focus on Guitar Hero

[Victor Von Doom]

newsobserver.com | 'Guitar Hero' whiz aiming higher

It's a small plastic thing, resembling a guitar in basic appearance only.

But Blake Peebles brings energy to the room when he slides the strap over his skinny shoulder and steps atop the wooden box that serves as a stage.

As the music begins, Blake quickly presses buttons on the guitar in time to a speed-metal tune blasting from the giant TV. It is an odd sensation, to watch a young man control the sounds of a rock song with a toy instrument, but this is "Guitar Hero," one of the most popular video game franchises in recent memory. Blake is one of the better players in the country.

Other than his fingers, Blake barely moves while playing. His feet are set in place and his eyes are locked on the screen as he peers through a mop of curly brown hair. Gaming for him is serious business. It's his job.

Among the prizes he's won playing "Guitar Hero" tournaments: gift certificates, gaming equipment and chicken sandwiches.

Blake is 16, resides in North Raleigh and lives to play video games. On this night, he's at the Fox and Hound in Raleigh's North Hills shopping district. It's the restaurant's regular Sunday "Guitar Hero" night, and Blake and his family have come to watch and play. His brother and sister are here, as are his mom and dad, an aunt and an uncle, some cousins and some friends.

But in the end, it's not the people related to Blake who confirm his plastic-guitar prowess. It's the group of 20-somethings sitting at a nearby table, who applaud when Blake finishes playing along to "Through the Fire and Flames," viewed as the game's toughest song.

"It's pretty sick," says Andrew Gambling, 27, who describes himself as a casual player. "He's talented."

Blake is appreciative of the applause and grins shyly when it is mentioned to him. But he's not very happy with his score.

"That's probably the worst I've ever done," he says, which seems impossible. The game moves at warp speed, so Blake's fingers do too.

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.

Blake very much would like to be one of them, but a boy cannot live on chicken sandwiches alone.
Leaving school
Blake is the middle child of Mike and Hunter Peebles. Tucker is 18, an honor-roll student who plays football for North Raleigh Christian Academy. Caramy is 13, a dancer with a congenital disorder that causes developmental disabilities.

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."

Blake never gravitated toward sports or drama or any of the other traditional school-based activities. Just gaming.

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.
In another, those careers can bring big money. Competitive gaming is still growing. Major League Gaming, one of the field's top sanctioning bodies, holds tournaments in cities across the country.

I'm at a lost for words here. I'm no parent but I would never approve of a decision this stupid.

[{Pebbles}]

Okay so...


We have a plastic guitar, and an education....

They have to be the most dumbest parents, I've ever heard of =/ lol. If he ain't in school, they'll probably be the ones making his chicken sandwiches.

[The stig]

Stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

[X2thaU]

so hes being homeschooled, big deal

[Azn]

Jesus christ. It's a GAME. But it's his life. His parents are the irresponsible ones (kid to).

[pschy_leprae]

WOW .... ...... just WOW . one of my friends was arguing with guitar hero nerds once and to shut him up he told him that he will be able to master any song on guitar hero before the nerd lerns to play a real guitar for "winter madness" .
Stop guitar hero its destroying music , every idiot now thinks that he can play guitar . I love video games , but this is just beyond insanity .

[sharingangal]

hes getting homeschooled, why is this such a big deal exactly?

[San Goku]

I can't believe the title, I don't want to read this.

[pschy_leprae]

what sane person would want to be home schooled ? I couldn't imagine my high school school life without my friends and the emo kids that i used to torture.

[GaaranGaara]

I almost fell down when I read the title.

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says Hunter. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time."

Bad parents or a very dominating kid. Maybe both. Either way that's not right.

[Righteous Judgment]

is he concentrating on all gaming or just GH?

[The stig]

Does it matter what game he's concentrating on?

[X2thaU]

yea people can actually make a living playing games like cs or starcraft. but guitarhero wtf??? why not just play a real guitar

[Keerua]

Guitar Hero > Public eduation

The only two real skills I learned was Reading & Writing. English I learned from RPGs and the math is long forgotten.

[reck1224]

Rich parents giving their kids all they want.

Still though he's been homeschool so its not a real loss. Friends? who needs friends when you got everything else in life?

[art.rock]

the kid is no different then a drug addict, those parents are retarded and need to take measures to get him off that addiction of his.

[Sasori da God]

guitar qeerors seriose business, so hows the kid gonna make a liveing, if it were real guitar id just thinl they were irreponsible basterds but this

[reck1224]

Originally Posted by art.rock

the kid is no different then a drug addict, those parents are retarded and need to take measures to get him off that addiction of his.

Its a better addiction then porn. lol

Its his life so we just gotta move on. Next story.

[Sasori da God]

its his life till the nest news head line " Local boy sodomised by his own guitar by a group teenagers "

[Righteous Judgment]

Originally Posted by The stig

Does it matter what game he's concentrating on?

your set = awesome

Originally Posted by X2thaU

yea people can actually make a living playing games like cs or starcraft. but guitarhero wtf??? why not just play a real guitar

this