Interesting point I'd not thought of before. High schools are pretty much locked-down facilities these days (they didn't used to be) where the only adults allowed on the premises are those who are authorized to be there. Obviously, these are security measures in place to ensure both the safety of the students and protect the schools tasked with providing a safe environment for the students entrusted in their care from liability.
In college, it's much different. They aren't locked down. People can come and go, even people who have no reason to be there. Students are typically adults so the school doesn't have to spend resources providing for their security. Ensuring the safety of minor students just may be a responsibility the college doesn't feel equipped to take on.
At one time, it might not have been unusual to have a few gifted students in college at ages well under eighteen. These days, there's just too much liability. If anything happened to this thirteen-year old student, you can bet the school would be spending money defending themselves in lawsuits. Sadly, it's probably easier on colleges these days to just say, "Thanks for your interest. Come back when you're older."
Exactly. Not only that, but I can say that some of the material I had to read/study for my college classes was pretty intense and I would not want a 13 year old in on those discussions. No way. I will give a specific example. I had to read the novel, “Push” by Sapphire. The novel was made into a very popular movie called Precious. I told my professor that I thought that book was pornographic and I was sorry I had to read it.
A lot of colleges will accept students this age, but a public community college is basically a big public high school. What’s the point of homeschooling the girl and then dumping her into that atmosphere at 13? It would make more sense to enroll her in the local public high school for a bunch of AP courses, if she’s really ready for that. At least it would be an environment geared toward the 13-18 set, and AP courses are generally at a higher level than most of what’s offered at community college.
This argument sounds great, but it’s just not convincing when the universities and community colleges have summer classes that include continuing education and summer programs for children. Do you mean to imply that during the summer the facilities have MORE security than they do in the fall/spring? I would guess that they definitely do not have more security.
I don’t know that I would send my child to a community college at 13, because I do not think he’d be ready. If her parents think she’s academically prepared and emotionally mature enough to handle college level instruction, which according to the article is dual credit*, then she likely IS ready.
Dual credit courses are offered to children typically age 15 and up. They are college courses that also count towards an accredited high school diploma. What difference is there legally between 13 and 15? Also, her parents are not sending her away to a school without any support. She will still be living at home, attending a local community college. She’ll also still have her current set of friends.