The need to qualify achievement is something that is seen in everything we do. What grades we make, how much we earn. What neighborhood, what kind of car etc.... Judgement looms. You can happily stand back and say "not me" but it's a fact of life wherever you live.
I think in a perfect world, children should be allowed to test out of any class they are proficient in regardless of age. If they are proficient in all high school requirements at 10, so be it! It doesn't make sense to make a kid sit through material they already know for the sake of staying with their age peers, their social skills or maintaining lockstep with any school system mandate.
My DS8 is radically accelerated. Started middle school at 7. This year he will have 7-9th grade classes. Do I care what his grades are? Not particularly. As long as he is happy, which he is, I will let him take whatever path, at whatever speed he chooses. Will he be in college at 11? Maybe. Maybe not. He might decide he wants to take a year off to pursue the properties of Goop, who knows?
We all know that the education system in the U.S. has some serious flaws, but we have to work with what we have. The reason that we are all here is that our children don't fit the traditional path and never will. It is our responsibility to give them what they need and help them grow to who they will become. In a million years, I would have never imagined my son on his current path, but it is what it is.
I guess my point is snarking gets you no where. We're all doing the best that we can.
