Excellent article about the homeschooling of a 12yo heading off to Cornell

[chiguirre]

Check it out:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/08/15/a-12-year-old-is-off-to-the-ivy-league-its-a-challenge-to-keep-him-challenged-his-dad-says/?tid=pm_local_pop_b

 

His mom did a phenomenal job homeschooling him!

[Bristayl]

This is great, but I can't help but wonder why the writer went so far out of her way to avoid using the term "homeschooling".

[Angie in VA]

This is great, but I can't help but wonder why the writer went so far out of her way to avoid using the term "homeschooling".

 

 

I noticed that too! Odd. Amazing story, though. Love how he made up facts sometimes, lol. 

[Bristayl]

It's like she didn't want the homeschooling community/culture to get any added credibility!

[Arcadia]

This is great, but I can't help but wonder why the writer went so far out of her way to avoid using the term "homeschooling".

It seems he is self taught. So unschooling form of homeschooling.

 

The article is well written and the writer did make it explicit that this kid would never fit even a B&M gifted program. What can any school do for a kid who studied precalc as a five year old.

[Dmmetler]

Also, it sounds like he was doing TTUISD full time to get a high school diploma, and that may have put him in the "Public school at home" category the last few levels (depending on how he was registered and who was paying-some districts will pay for TTUISD). Having seen the dogpiling people who use charters or enroll in PS part-time sometimes get from the homeschool community, I can see why a parent unsure of their status might avoid using the term.

[luuknam]

This is great, but I can't help but wonder why the writer went so far out of her way to avoid using the term "homeschooling".

 

It's kind of funny, but when someone posted a (different) article about this kid on I think the Chat board a couple of weeks back, some people were enthusiastic about the fact that the article didn't mention homeschooling until the last sentence.

[Arcadia]

Another nice article

 

"Henry Muhlbauer is majoring in engineering at UVA He is also 12 years old."

http://uvamagazine.org/articles/ordinary_genius

 

From article

"Once in Charlottesville, his parents began searching for opportunities to support and engage then 8-year-old Henry, who on his own had worked his way through an organic chemistry textbook and had moved on to precalculus. His mom contacted Mary Saville (Engr ’97), a former Jefferson Scholar who was teaching a high-school-level pre-engineering class in a homeschool co-op."

[Dmmetler]

I'm glad to see this-at the same time, I'm a little disconcerted about the attention given these kids due to their age. I'm glad the coverage is very positive. Admittedly, I'm a bit biased, having had to comfort my then 9 yr old after a very poor interview experience. One reason my DD is nervous about starting college for real is "I don't want everyone to look at me". She doesn't mind attention when it's a setting where she's supposed to get attention (when she's giving a talk and has information to share)-but she doesn't want it just for being young.

[Arcadia]

Dmmetler,

 

Another nice article. It is humorous

http://metro.co.uk/2016/08/23/when-theres-an-11-year-old-in-your-university-chemistry-class-6085224/

Edited August 24, 2016 by Arcadia

[ebunny]

I think what dmmetler is hinting at(correct me if I've misinterpreted)is the burden of expectations that these children carry, being in the media and exposed to brickbats and bouquets at a very young age..

 

Another aspect I found interesting is the gender of high potential kids in the media. Most(all?) are overwhelmingly male.

[Dmmetler]

I think what dmmetler is hinting at(correct me if I've misinterpreted)is the burden of expectations that these children carry, being in the media and exposed to brickbats and bouquets at a very young age..

 

Another aspect I found interesting is the gender of high potential kids in the media. Most(all?) are overwhelmingly male.

That's kind of it. It's great that these kids have found a way to move on and have the support they need for their goals. These kids have taken college classes. They have had the experience of navigating campus and handling the course load. They are qualified. And the fact is, they will be noteworthy as far as other students go just because they're physically different. But now their fellow freshmen and professors have met them first in a news article-a happy, cheerful, positive one, but a news article. How much harder would it be to have your first misstep in a class if you have been introduced to your classmates and professors as this amazing genius super-kid?

[Arcadia]

Another aspect I found interesting is the gender of high potential kids in the media. Most(all?) are overwhelmingly male.

I do see young ladies in the news.

However the 11/12 year olds girls that I see in real life are already adult height, even if it is petite adult. So they aren't as obvious as my short (not yet 5 feet tall) DS10. My DS11 is 5'4" and blends in with older kids whether we are at a high school or college campus for an event.

 

When hubby and I brought our kids to the Stanford campus for AMC10/12, DS10 gets the curious looks for being short while DS11 just get smiles. My kids were walking ahead of us and not together since they know the way to math dept.

 

My friend has fraternal twins, her daughter looks older and looks more mature than her son. Friends forget they are the same age sometimes.

(ETA: it is also hard to tell young girls in group photos of a press release because of height until you see their age in the article. The shorter boys are obvious, the boys that are tall for age are hard to tell photo wise. )

 

But now their fellow freshmen and professors have met them first in a news article-a happy, cheerful, positive one, but a news article. How much harder would it be to have your first misstep in a class if you have been introduced to your classmates and professors as this amazing genius super-kid?

In our childhood days, "gossip" was by word of mouth since it is hard to Google print media. Nobody would be able to do tally of how many medals my senior cousin won by reading printed newspapers.

Now with social media, anything out there in a news article or press release is permanently out there and easy to data mine. It is lots harder for our kids childhood.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Arcadia