Replies

Good grief 9th life and Wyrd bið ful aræd. If he had lettered in a sport everyone would be woo hooing.

I agree, it isn’t necessarily the toughest course of study at ARC and he isn’t your average kid, but he is way ahead of the average kid. I have plans to get my homeschooler in the JC soon; she is 10 and is well into algebra. We have already audited classes at the local university. It is great exposure for her.

I get the socialization stuff all the time with regard to home schooling, particularly from public school teachers. Well that’s just great to be able to hang out with your peers after a tough day in the unemployment line or after finding a bail bandsman. I ask public school teachers which is more important, academics or socialization; they actually have to think about it. In my mind, there is no contest; academics is way more important.

I do not care how young he is, he will be fine and he will find a job. He wants to go for his MD and do research. IF he stays on this track, a research group will pick him up at 20 years of age after he completes his undergrad and med school. The unemployment rate in the hard sciences is extremely low, under 1%. Soft sciences (environmental studies, sociology, etc) and the arts have high unemployment. The unemployment rate among astrophysicists is 0.

I don't care much for sports. I was homeschooled and started college around 15-16, and I think for a lot of people it is a good path -- I certainly benefited from being pushed to move more quickly than is usually considered normal.

But there is something different going on with people who are able to take college courses at age 7. Life is full of trade-offs, and a person with this kind of very, very early academic ability often has difficulty "getting with it" in other areas. Socializing is overrated; bathing regularly, keeping anxiety in check, and being able to interact effectively with other people are not.

I'm not saying this kids necessarily has difficulty accepting that he has to brush his teeth everyday and that he can't fart loudly in public...But that sort of thing is not altogether uncommon with people who show "freakishly" strong academic abilities, particularly at an early age.

And I would question whether it's wise to indulge a child who wants to go to college at 7. If he is so smart, then he'd have no trouble acing college in a few years, after he's had some time to enjoy being a child.