Age 11, began Harvard University's Extension Program he graduated at 16.

[mysonx3]

I second the opinions of dfrecore and Life Long Learning, especially regarding socialization. Saying that kids who don't go to school with kids their age don't have friends is simply factually incorrect, any way you slice it. I split time between being public schooled and homeschooled, and every one of the friends I stay in touch with is from the "homeschooled" times. Kids learn to socialize in the real world much better by actually socializing in the real world than by being put into an age-controlled environment.

And you can't possibly know what the kid can or can't grasp. There is a normal expectation for what kids can grasp at what age, but there are many exceptions. For example, when I was in 2nd grade my dad was doing his student teaching to teach high school history. As an experiment, my parents had me do the assignments from his 12th grade U.S. History class and graded them on the same rubric. I was one of only 2 or 3 students to get an A in the class.

And let's not forget, this kid DID go to school with kids his own age.  He was enrolled in high school and spent 8 hours a day there.

That arguably makes the socialization argument a better one in this case - the time he wasn't spending on college would've been better spent doing real-world socializing instead of in a school setting

[dfrecore]

I second the opinions of dfrecore and Life Long Learning, especially regarding socialization. Saying that kids who don't go to school with kids their age don't have friends is simply factually incorrect, any way you slice it. I split time between being public schooled and homeschooled, and every one of the friends I stay in touch with is from the "homeschooled" times. Kids learn to socialize in the real world much better by actually socializing in the real world than by being put into an age-controlled environment.

And you can't possibly know what the kid can or can't grasp. There is a normal expectation for what kids can grasp at what age, but there are many exceptions. For example, when I was in 2nd grade my dad was doing his student teaching to teach high school history. As an experiment, my parents had me do the assignments from his 12th grade U.S. History class and graded them on the same rubric. I was one of only 2 or 3 students to get an A in the class.

And let's not forget, this kid DID go to school with kids his own age.  He was enrolled in high school and spent 8 hours a day there.

That arguably makes the socialization argument a better one in this case - the time he wasn't spending on college would've been better spent doing real-world socializing instead of in a school setting

I'm guessing he spent very little time on his HS schoolwork, and more of his time doing college coursework during those hours.  Just a guess, but if someone is doing Harvard Extension courses, his high school coursework can't be a major concern for him - he does it the first 5 minutes of class and spends the rest of the time doing his other work.

[Merlin]

[...]
My point is not that college is for ALL students - but that plenty of HS students take college classes ALL THE TIME.  I know dozens personally.  None of them are geniuses, and still keep up with the college-level material.

And then, once you're talking about a kid who's a genius - well, I don't need to tell you that he is probably grasping plenty of the material that is taught, as well as keeping up with not only the high-school-level coursework he may be doing, as well as his college coursework at the exact same time.  I think he's got this.

BTW - I'm guessing you didn't read the article and see that not only is he a genius, but he took his classes online until his junior year, and managed to do both high school and college at the same time.

I agree with what you've been saying, though I'm wondering where this genius reference came from. The article mentions testing the kid's academic equivalency at a local CC, which was higher than an associates level of skill. It didn't mention anything about intelligence assessments, what test was taken or the score received, anything about an IQ rating, or even passing a Mensa admissions test. That said, he does seem to have the indicators that are usually associated with genius level IQ, so we can make that assumption, but nothing in the article confirms that assumption.

Not that it matters since I think that kids are generally more flexible than we give them credit and they absorb new knowledge much more easily. It doesn't take a genius IQ for a kid to understand college-level material or adult concepts. Some kids are forced into having to deal with adult concepts at an earlier age than this kid. At least this is in an academic setting, and the kid has parents that he can talk to and help work through anything that is confusing or troubling.

In any case, my daughter is 3 but showing many of the same early behaviors. She's got the vocabulary of a 1st grader, can count well into the double digits, and can already do simple math problems. It is nice to see articles like this. I am glad that online education is opening doors for more young people academically. I'm hoping that my daughter has opportunities like this when she's old enough to pursue them, assuming that is something she'll want to do. In the meantime, we'll continue to supplement her preschool education and push to keep her challenged.

[cookderosa]

Anything so out of the ordinary always attracts criticism because we think it can be applied to many people. This isn't many people, it's one kid with exceptional motivation and parents who allow it.

I don't agree or disagree with the pursuit, but I do strongly disagree with putting an unusual 16-year-old kid on the front page of NPR for "feedback" from 99 million fans - the mom is wrong if she thinks she'll get wide-spread support and enthusiasm, she won't. Anyone who reads history or studies socialization / social psychology can tell you the general public doesn't respond well to this kind of thing - they never have.

You can find thousands of stories of outliers who are criticized for following their own path, and if they are young, the public doubles down.

[clep3705]

There is a difference between forced assimilation and socialization. I have known several people, males and females, who went to college at an early age. They did it quietly without other people knowing. They went to elite universities and were able to blend in without being suspected of being younger - an advantage to going to a school with a nerdy student body. They dated classmates who were 3 years older. Socially they preferred the college environment and lost interest in their high school friends who were more concerned about prom than getting into graduate school.

[cookderosa]

There is a difference between forced assimilation and socialization.

Of course you're correct, but most people who question socialization (and shockingly, this kid isn't homeschooled so maybe his parents didn't get the question 8 days a week) don't actually define or understand socialization or what they want it to accomplish.
It's usually left to chance by putting kids in large groups and letting it happen organically without guidance, which actually stunts socialization in so many ways (when we're using the words properly).

But anyway..... I think achievers make most people uncomfortable, especially when the achiever is close in age to their own children (or worse still, YOUNGER than their own children!)

[Jenniferinfl]

I was homeschooled K-12 and feel adequately socialized.. lol

The only thing I regret about my education is that my parents placed no value on a college education and took no time to understand how it worked. They still place no value on college education and think my attempts towards a degree are ridiculous.

I would have been one of those kids who could have pulled this off. I don't think I'm a genius, but, I'm pretty self-motivated and thanks to homeschooling learned early on how to teach myself.

NOW, my daughter is absolutely not motivated at all and is not a self-starter. She just turned 8, I homeschool her because our assigned public school is D rated. I recognize that I will be standing behind her pushing and motivating her throughout her education. She simply doesn't have it. She's bright, she is in second grade and already reading at a 5th grade level, but, she's reluctant and requires a lot of hand-holding and external motivation. I simply wouldn't have the energy to MAKE her do something like take college classes as an 11 year old. Anyone who thinks you can force a child to do this hasn't had the pleasure of educating their own little hellions.. lol

[dfrecore]

I would have been one of those kids who could have pulled this off. I don't think I'm a genius, but, I'm pretty self-motivated and thanks to homeschooling learned early on how to teach myself.

NOW, my daughter is absolutely not motivated at all and is not a self-starter. She just turned 8, I homeschool her because our assigned public school is D rated. I recognize that I will be standing behind her pushing and motivating her throughout her education. She simply doesn't have it. She's bright, she is in second grade and already reading at a 5th grade level, but, she's reluctant and requires a lot of hand-holding and external motivation. I simply wouldn't have the energy to MAKE her do something like take college classes as an 11 year old. Anyone who thinks you can force a child to do this hasn't had the pleasure of educating their own little hellions.. lol

You are absolutely right!  I personally would have enjoyed some college courses when I was a kid - maybe high school aged.  My daughter in doing it kicking and screaming.  My son, who is very bright, and is slowly becoming self-motivated (boy, that can take time!!), and is on track to do some college courses even though he's in public high school.  But not a ton - just a few.

You just cannot MAKE kids do this stuff if they don't want to.  Unless you're going to sit on them until they do their work, and help them with it along the way, it's just not going to happen.  They either want it or they don't, and no amount of force or cajoling or bribery or any of that will get them there without the self motivation and desire.

[cookderosa]

I would have been one of those kids who could have pulled this off. I don't think I'm a genius, but, I'm pretty self-motivated and thanks to homeschooling learned early on how to teach myself.

NOW, my daughter is absolutely not motivated at all and is not a self-starter. She just turned 8, I homeschool her because our assigned public school is D rated. I recognize that I will be standing behind her pushing and motivating her throughout her education. She simply doesn't have it. She's bright, she is in second grade and already reading at a 5th grade level, but, she's reluctant and requires a lot of hand-holding and external motivation. I simply wouldn't have the energy to MAKE her do something like take college classes as an 11 year old. Anyone who thinks you can force a child to do this hasn't had the pleasure of educating their own little hellions.. lol

You are absolutely right!  I personally would have enjoyed some college courses when I was a kid - maybe high school aged.  My daughter in doing it kicking and screaming.  My son, who is very bright, and is slowly becoming self-motivated (boy, that can take time!!), and is on track to do some college courses even though he's in public high school.  But not a ton - just a few.

You just cannot MAKE kids do this stuff if they don't want to.  Unless you're going to sit on them until they do their work, and help them with it along the way, it's just not going to happen.  They either want it or they don't, and no amount of force or cajoling or bribery or any of that will get them there without the self motivation and desire.

So true!
If being a motivated /knowledgeable parent were enough, my kids would have had their degrees ages ago and I would have done a terrible job picking out the degree and career for each. Thankfully, my kids have the tenacity to follow their own path in spite of having a mother with a pretty strong opinion

[indigoshuffle]

Speaking as someone who used to spend all day teaching adult material to children, and who also took college classes while in middle school, that guy won't have grasped 1/3 of what he was "taught". Whoever allowed him to do that did him a lifelong disservice in the name of a stunt. Not to mention depriving him of friends and formative experiences and the kind of socialization he'll actually need to get through life.

You need a certain amount of mental maturity to even grasp the material. I remember a discussion we had as a class in Psychology once about the ethics of forbidding adults in a nursing home environment from having sex with each other, what would a 12 year old have to contribute to that? What would they take from it? Assuming they fully grasped it and could contribute, what then? Someone is going to have a 20 year old psychologist treat them? Not likely.

I agree with you 1 million percent. I used to teach, and I'm a big believer in Piaget's stages of development because I've seen them to be true in practice. When a child is taught things too early you have to use tricks and memorization for them to grasp the material because the part of the brain that understands abstractions is literally not developed yet. I think Piaget calls it formal operations (abstract thought, poetry, etc...)