Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 656 guests, and 13 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    parentologyco, Smartlady60, petercgeelan, eterpstra, Valib90
    11,410 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 3 of 13 1 2 3 4 5 12 13
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 683
    K
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    K
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 683
    I admit that I struggle with the concept of early college and the question of whether my children will be mature enough to handle the social pressures. I know that they will not act the same way at college as they do at home. If we get to that point, I would be inclined to have them live at home and attend the local university. Then, when they are "college age" let them go off to school, possibly getting a second degree.

    I had a dear friend who started college at 16. I was a counselor on her Freshman hall. Academically, she had hard time her first semester, getting mostly "Cs." Once she found her comfort zone, she had straight "As" for the rest of her undergrad career. Academics were not the problem. Socially, she engaged in a lot of what I considered to be high risk behavior. She seemed to be going through a major rebellion. She tended to hook up with guys who were controlling and angry. She reveled in the fact that they seemed a little dangerous. I had major concerns about some of her choices and would try to talk her about them. She tended to laugh off my concerns and say that she was experimenting with her freedom. Anyway, she ended up getting murdered in grad school by a male companion. When I learned of her death, I wrote a letter to her parents relaying my memories of their vivacious, creative daughter. In response, I got a letter that let me know that they still saw her as the angelic, precocious teenager. They did not seem to know who their daughter had become once she left home at 16. I don't know if any of this had to do with her age -- it may just have been who she was. Still, I can't help but question after all these years if the teenage lack of judgment played a factor in all of it.

    Last edited by knute974; 05/13/11 09:19 AM. Reason: reworded
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
    Your assumption remains that kids who are entering college are not well rounded. It is a very debatable point but let's just say for a minute we could all agree that being well rounded is a good thing. And, let's say we can agree the definition of being well rounded is excelling across the board in all academic areas, being highly proficient in at least one foreign language, being good at a least one sport, being well developed in at least one area of the arts. There are early college kids who exceed that definition easily. (and of course many kids who enter at traditional age who don't).
    I was not clear. In my mind I was thinking about 10-13 years old as going to college early. I am not sure why you find our family view on "well-roundedness" so offensive. I am not stating that you need to agree. We have a child that could graduate very early,but we are choosing to delay that with other options, so I am speaking from a perspective of a parent who has experience with a child who is excelling across the board.

    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Just out of curiousity since I really have been thinking about this: does allowing your child to travel during a gap year or allowing your child to study overseas allow your child a safer place to learn when deemed not mature enough to go to college? I could see that attending a local college or university could make sense given that your child would still be living at home with you or would, at least, be very close to you, but I've always wondered about the traveling approach while waiting to be mature enough to attend college. It seems like being on your own in a foreign country might be a bit more risky than going a state or two away to attend college. Just wondering if anyone has experience witht this? It's always good to know all about the options.


    She thought she could, so she did.
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    Originally Posted by mnmom23
    Just out of curiousity since I really have been thinking about this: does allowing your child to travel during a gap year or allowing your child to study overseas allow your child a safer place to learn when deemed not mature enough to go to college?
    When I referred to traveling I meant with our family. Val would be a good person to ask as this is a possible option for her son as she stated in the opening post.

    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Originally Posted by E Mama
    I was not clear. In my mind I was thinking about 10-13 years old as going to college early.

    Ah, in this case I would bet that virtually all of these kids still live at home with their parents, and so I would tend to view college as I would tend to view all other acceleration options. College, in this case I think, is merely a set of classrooms and teachers that allow a child to learn the stuff they are interested in learning and ready to learn. Since that is what we all hope for for our children (the right learning opportunities), I can't imagine that it would be a bad thing if it was child-driven.

    For older kids (15-17), I think the social-maturity might come more into play. But, again, I think it depends of the amount of social independence that a child would be taking on and their individual ability to handle it (with a decision being made based on demonstrated maturity).


    She thought she could, so she did.
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    Joined: Sep 2009
    Posts: 701
    Originally Posted by E Mama
    Originally Posted by mnmom23
    Just out of curiousity since I really have been thinking about this: does allowing your child to travel during a gap year or allowing your child to study overseas allow your child a safer place to learn when deemed not mature enough to go to college?
    When I referred to traveling I meant with our family.

    I would love this option, but can't figure out what I would do with my other kids while I traveled with my DD for a year! grin That, I guess, would be an appeal of HSing.


    She thought she could, so she did.
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    E
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    E
    Joined: Feb 2011
    Posts: 64
    mnmom23: good points : )

    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 741
    A
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Jun 2010
    Posts: 741
    Originally Posted by chenchuan
    I don't think that it is easier for a kid 15 or younger to get into top universities. In fact, the opposite is probably true.

    That's my anecdotal experience, as well. I was wait-listed for my top choice school when applying as a "left high school at 16, following junior year" applicant. I ended up doing a year abroad rather than go to my second-choice school, and accepted for admission to enter as a 17yo.

    DD will graduate high school at 16, and if she goes straight to college, start college at 17. I'd be fine with her going where ever she wanted. Graduating at 15 and starting at 16, maybe not so much.

    In my own experience, taking a year off of rigorous math and science classes, on top of coming from a high school that didn't offer much in the way of rigorous science, negatively influenced my choice of college classes. I personally would rather see DD go straight to college than take a gap year.


    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 66
    A
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    A
    Joined: Mar 2010
    Posts: 66
    My daughter is 12 and, if she continued on the same path, would be starting college at 16 ... not as early as some, but early enough to make me concerned.

    I think I would actually feel more comfortable with traveling for more life experience (with a group doing non-profit work or something along those lines) than starting college early.

    To me, early college for my daughter (because she's very independent and would want to be on her own) would mean having a group of peers around her that are all a couple of years older than her, are drinking around her, engaging in risky behavior around her -- I can't possibly expect a 16 year old to make the right decisions every time in that situation.

    A gap year working with a non-profit, traveling and doing hard work for people who need help would be much more helpful to her in my mind. She would be surrounded by people who are still older than her, but it would be a much more diverse crowd, age and experience-wise, engaging in a mix of activities -- some good and some bad for her. And she would have an easier time making better decisions knowing there are people there that she's accountable to.

    I would only feel comfortable with early college if it was either the first two years at a local community college (something I think she would rebel heavily against) or a very unique college that has an environment well suited for making the good decisions. She's probably not getting into the best of schools - that's not what she wants for herself and the paths she is exploring don't require it.


    asdgestalt.com - An autism and psychology discussion forum.
    Joined: Feb 2010
    Posts: 2,639
    B
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    B
    Joined: Feb 2010
    Posts: 2,639
    Originally Posted by mnmom23
    It seems like being on your own in a foreign country might be a bit more risky than going a state or two away to attend college.

    I agree with you, and that's why I'd prefer to send my early high school graduate away to college or have him/her study at home than to travel for a year. One way in which travelling for a year could less risky is that there are no grades and thus no academic record to ruin. Maybe there are 14yo high school graduates who don't have the maturity and work habits to thrive in college but who will be more mature in a few years. However, I would worry that time away from academic work would worsen work habits more than age would improve them.

    I have read about early high school graduates being sent on an exchange program to live with a family in another country and attend school there. That could be an interesting cultural experience, although it's not what I would prefer for my children.



    "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." - George Orwell
    Page 3 of 13 1 2 3 4 5 12 13

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    California Tries to Close the Gap in Math
    by thx1138 - 03/22/24 03:43 AM
    Gifted kids in Illinois. Recommendations?
    by indigo - 03/20/24 05:41 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5