Posted on 05/23/2025 11:20:14 AM PDT by DFG
This week, Alisa Perales will graduate from Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa, Calif., with associate degrees in both math and multiple sciences. She's planning to study at University of California, Irvine, starting this fall and major in computer science.
She's also 11 years old. Honestly, she thinks the whole thing is pretty neat.
“It’s really exciting for me that I’m actually graduating at 11 with two degrees,” Alisa Perales tells PEOPLE. “It’s just cool.”
Alisa’s single dad, 51-year-old Rafael Perales, decided to shelve his law practice and homeschool his daughter full-time starting when she was only a year old. (The family was able to rely on a relatively modest inheritance after Rafael's parents died, which he says allowed them to purchase some land and generate income that way.)
“Alisa is innately brilliant. She's sharp. Everybody's noticed that she was born with a little something extra," he says.
Still, "she wasn't born knowing calculus, she wasn't born knowing [trigonometry]," Rafael tells PEOPLE. Getting from there to here — a college graduate at close to half the age of most students — was "constant work.”
They started with the the ABCs and singing songs. By 2½, Alisa was reading chapter books.
“It's just been step by step," her father says. "There's been no miracles. Everything has been step by step by step."
“When I first started doing it, people were like, 'Wow, you're going to stop being a lawyer to homeschool a 1-year-old?' " Rafael says. "They thought it was a big mistake. They didn't think that was really the way to go."
But he was sure it was "the right decision from the start," he says. "And looking back now, 10 years later, I have zero regrets.
(Excerpt) Read more at people.com ...
Blessed must be nice.
That is so true. My boys were done with school by noon and had all afternoon to hang out with friends or participate in sports/activities/hobbies.
The myth that homeschoolers are not socialized is ridiculous. Both of my boys are excelling in their careers because they can socialize well, are smart, and have a strong work ethic.
This was learned, not something that was innate in them. I’ve yet to see public schools try to instill these qualities in kids I know . Most of the time showing up is enough.
So many wonderful homeschooling stories here. Applause to all of you who have made a contribution to the next generation.
Doesn’t sound like the little girl in the article has had a harder time than Asian kids with tiger moms. She’ll be happy with a strong knowledge base to choose her own future. Agree that I’d still worry about the college experience.
What I notice with home schooled kids is the way they carry themselves.
They truly enjoy life—their heads are held high.
The public school system is similar to prisons—demoralizes kids.
No child learns like she did without parental involvement.
so you think public school kids learn from teachers who can't handle basic math and English themselves?
And all you're focused on suspected deficiencies in her upbringing.
It's a free country. Free to choose not to follow those regime psychologists.
Why does THAT matter? Brilliant people of any age should NOT associate with boat anchors. period.
Why does THAT matter? Brilliant people of any age should NOT associate with boat anchors. period.
Story says she was learning from dad up until he couldn’t teach her from under 2 years old up to 8 years old.
“And looking back now, 10 years later, I have zero regrets. It has been a joy. It has been a privilege and an honor teaching her.”
So, no, she did learn from dad.
You say, "sounds like" Even if that were true, you make it sound like a loss, when the fact is, she didn't lose her youth, just not yours.
How about putting it this way, would you milk a chicken? Look for eggs under a cow? Some kids born incredibly intelligent and they deserve the attention that meets their potential.
BTW Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the one they publish in books, was revised by Maslow himself when he recognized the the hierarchy can be upset when we sacrifice.
But wait, the parent decides? The left thinks the government should.
What do you think?
But, if she isn’t allowed to socialize with other kids and public school teachers, how will she ever know what gender she is or have the opportunity to get into fist fights?
All the more reason not to put a preschooler on the brutal schedule reported.
No reason to be insulting. Read the schedule he had that littlw girl on.
Many such kids regret thw loss of socializatiin and actually end up underperforming the associated expectations in adulthood.
Explain it to me like I am a preschooler.
What exactly is this “brutal schedule” reported?
How many hours a day is the kid studying?
8 hours a day 7 days a werk as a preschooler.
“Associate degrees.” LOL. What utter B.S.
I think it was six days—and only lasted a few years—hardly horrible—plenty of play time left.
where is mom?
My wife did that and went directly from high school to medical school. Five years out of high school she was an MD.
>> where she hopes to unlearn everything her patriarchal father taught her and join anti-semitic Jew haters and learn how to burn her diplomas without harming the planet while wearing the same underwear for a month
🤣😂🤣
I thought I was cynical but that there’s a master class! 👍🏻
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