Anastasia Megan, 13, with her horse, Duke, in the family's Center Hill stable, has been home-schooled and has finished her high-school curriculum.
Posted on 05/30/2010 4:41:07 PM PDT by JoeProBono
ORLANDO, Fla.- Parents of a home-schooled 13-year-old Florida girl say they are filing a complaint because she's being denied entry to college because of her age.
The retired engineer parents of Anastasia "Annie" Megan say they have gone as far as they can go in educating their daughter. She's almost completed her high school education and they've applied for Annie to take dual-enrollment classes at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg, Florida, but they've been turned down by college officials, who say she's not ready to be in classes with older students, the Orlando Sentinel reported Sunday.
The parents have filed an age-discrimination complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights against the college.
"If she meets all the qualifications but for her age, then why not let her in?" asked her mother, Louise Racine. "What's the worst that can happen, honestly? If a child does pass these tests, don't you think they should be allowed to continue their education to the next level and continue to let their minds grow?"
Although college President Charles Mojock would not comment specifically, the Sentinel said, he talked about the freedom of the college environment.
"Anyone basically can walk onto our campus," Mojock said. "So we've got a very different environment (than a high school). … And we have many adult students having adult conversations on adult topics and that may or may not be suitable for some young students."
"It's a shame to see the (college) administration taking the go-slow approach to a bright student who wants to continue to learn," Annie's father John Megan said.
Anastasia Megan, 13, with her horse, Duke, in the family's Center Hill stable, has been home-schooled and has finished her high-school curriculum.
This isn’t something you see much of with government schooled kids.
They want to hold her back a fw years and mainstream her.
How did society ever produce the great minds of history??
We need more home-schooling. Keep government out of schools
Send her to LA to plug the well.
I have friends, both physicians, who home schooled their daughter. She entered college at 14. No problems from the college at all. She’s about 19 now, nearly finished with her Masters.
San Antonio College accepted a 9 yr old Homeschooler because they didn’t look @ her DOB. They accepted her after she met with several deans. She did dual credit courses & went full time on campus @ 13.
ping
I have to agree with the college on this. 13 is to young for that setting.
There’s absolutely nothing you can’t study on the internet...
gnip
Sounds like you haven’t been around many home schooled teens.
That’s a decision for her parents to make, not the bureaucracy.
To be honest...with the type of antics that go on in college...I couldn’t see a guy less than sixteen ever attending...and that would be questionable.
I do believe that this entire business of saying a kid should go through 12 level of school to graduate high school is bogus...and that most could finish by the tenth grade. But our entire community college and university system just isn’t made for this kind of change.
There are any number of universities out there that allow students to take courses online. Maybe she should try that?
Maybe they fear an inability to indocrinate a bright, independent thinker.
A 13 year old has no business hanging with 18 and 19 Y.O.s with out supervision, and the college is not in a position to provide it...
The home schooled part has nothing to do with it.
I am calling BS my son was enrolled in a college class at our local community college also in Florida yes they made me jump through a lot of paperwork hoops but they let him in. In retrospect they probably should not have as he failed the course he was taking due to lack of self discipline to turn in assignments on time. He did not have me to nag him at that level and his teacher quite properly did not.
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."
I got my first degree through a community college. The experience is nothing like four year university campuses.
My conclusion, I would have no problem sending a thirteen year old to classes at either community college I have experience with.
Your opinion has been proven wrong time and time and time and time again..................
They're not "hanging out" as you claim but rather just attending classes.
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