As I said, just my opinion. And my opinion often runs counter to others everywhere I go - from this forum, to forums on medical conditions my kids have, to Township committees I serve on. I suppose this should give me a clue.
And my kids are not advanced in math, or really anything else...just my observations of the smart kids I know (I certainly don't count my own among them - in fact we are trying to use athletics to give middle kid a leg up on college admissions). I have seen some smart kids rushed through various subjects, only to find it has hurt them later on (for US college admissions). The ones that have been successful (of course, I'm only considering kids I have seen) waited for Geometry until around age 11 - then blew through Algebra II, Pre-Calc & Calc BC in a year.
I'm not very smart and yet someone taught me how to do derivatives when I was 10. I could certainly get the right answer but I did not fully understand the applications. Just my opinion that kids will more fully appreciate/understand the concepts when they are a bit older. And I didn't have the chance to see those applications until I took a Physics course - but the school wouldn't let me take Physics when I was 10.
Also, the OP asked how asinine the US system was. College admissions are different in the US than elsewhere - just having really rigorous coursework and perfect standardized test scores doesn't guarantee admission. I know kids with perfect scores that were rejected at a number of colleges.
Maybe I'll stick to the athletic forums, even though my kids have no natural athletic talent. I'll be vilified there too.
