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To: Paved Paradise
My three older kids have dual enrolled at the local community college. I made my oldest wait until she was a high school senior because I was worried about some of the things y'all are talking about, particularly that she would meet an older, inappropriate boy and get involved with him. I should not have worried. She came home one day the first week and said, "Mom, I can't date any of those guys! They all smoke!"

My next oldest is a boy and he enrolled at 15 as part of an experiment this particular school was conducting with letting younger kids take classes. I heard there was a 13 year old enrolled as well, but I don't know any details. Michael was well over six feet tall at the time, so no one gave him any trouble at all, although he was careful not to tell anyone that he was a dual-enrolled 15 year old since he was setting (wrecking) the curve in his pre-calculus and calculus classes. He really enjoyed getting to know some of the second-career types who were taking classes.

My third, also a son, took dual enrollment classes just in his senior year because I did not think he was ready academically.

None of my kids made friends with the average students at the community college. Their friends at school were people they already knew, friends of other friends, usually home schoolers, or people involved in an on campus religious group they were interested in. None of them were deprived of interaction with their peers because they were taking community college classes. They already had friends from our home school groups, church, our neighborhood, or from work or volunteer activities. And all three have gone on to have normal, successful college experiences.

I probably would not send my 13 year old to a community college, but I don't know the girl involved. And I do know some hs parents who accompanied their girls to cc to provide supervision between classes. (Not in class, just on campus to provide a positive influence.) There are some home schoolers who just want to get through it all early and get on with life. Who are we to say everyone needs the "college experience?"

130 posted on 05/30/2010 8:38:22 PM PDT by aberaussie
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To: aberaussie

You have made the most sensible response I have seen on here. While I think all of this can work well, I know that college is more than the degree. Meanwhile, while I think it’s great for kids to hang around with good kids who have the same morals and so on (and I loved your daughter’s comment - that is truly funny), we don’t get to live like that in the real world. We work and raise our families in communities where we are being exposed more and more to lots of diversity - religious, political and otherwise. Having a solid foundation is great but being able to work with others is also good.


182 posted on 05/31/2010 9:59:32 AM PDT by Paved Paradise
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