Update on Angela Lipsman, thanks to ladylib. See post #130 for first mention.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/39189.htm
WHIZ KID WHO DITCHED HS NOW A COLLEGE GRAD STUDENT
By CARL CAMPANILE
January 31, 2005 -- A 16-year-old Manhattan girl who skipped high school for college has just earned her bachelor's degree with honors following a two-year fight with educrats, The Post has learned.
Angela Lipsman begins taking graduate courses today toward her master's degree at City College.
Lipsman set off a firestorm in 2003 when she applied to take a high-school equivalency exam after she claimed to have amassed enough college credits for an associate's degree. She was just 14 at the time.
But in a legal Catch-22, she couldn't cash in her credits toward her degree because New York law forbids students from taking the General Educational Development test until they're 17.
Angela and her father, Dan Lipsman, sued the state for age discrimination. But the policy was upheld in state court.
After the ruling, Lipsman refused to go to high school. Instead, she continued her studies program through the Albany-based Excelsior College, which permitted her to attend classes at Manhattan Community College and the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Last July, Lipsman turned 16. She immediately applied to take the GED in New Jersey, which allows youngsters to take the exam at 16. Lipsman aced the exams and ranked at the top of the test takers.
I think in the very near future, we are going to see a whole lot of change in the way public schools work. In fact, I wouldn't doubt it if grades 9-12 become obsolete. Kids want out. They want to move on. Many high schools are now offering AP courses. If kids are unhappy with brick and mortar high schools, they can take courses on line or attend junior college. In fact, one newspaper article predicted that in five years' time, most kids will be taking on-line courses, and they can be taken anywhere and at anytime and with any provider they choose.
It's going to change because people want it to change, and it's going to hit the education blob like a ton of bricks. Some public school districts have already realized that and are offering their own on-line courses to students who would rather be elsewhere than the local souless pile of bricks.