[quote=Val]I'm not sure why parents of very gifted/very accelerated children would think that their child will be willing to stop their academic progression just because high school ends. I don't know if it's kind of a delusion because maybe it's scary to think of young children in college. In my experience, the appetite for learning only increases over the years. ... Who would want to stop and do something else for two years?
Hmm. I don't think I'm delusional. This may be more of a one-size-doesn't-fit all thing.
My kids don't really fit the academics-focused profile of a lot of the kids described here, in that they have high-intensity interests that go way beyond academics (e.g. sports, travel, doing stuff that's productive and/or creative). The idea of, for example, a marine biology internship involving scuba diving or snorkeling on a French-speaking Caribbean island would be heaven to my eldest. Why pick more homework over that? I've talked about the two-year gap with him, and he seems to be quite intrigued by the possibilities.
To me, the idea of rushing to college seems odd. Why do that when the world is there waiting to be explored? But that's just one person's approach to life. YMMV and to each his own. If the kid is desperate to go to college, no problem. We'll work something out. But I doubt it.
