After-schooling thoughts

[C&W'sMum]

We have moved overseas several times, and I have after-schooled to be certain DS10 hasn't missed anything as we bounce between schools.  I also started incorporating books like Math Beast, because I could see that he needed a good challenge.  We just moved again, and the dust is finally settling so I can take a closer look at where he stands.  It seems he turned a major corner in his ability to self-teach and research, and I need to figure out where I fit in his education.

 

My son attends 4th grade in a B&M school, and I am generally pleased with the level of work they are doing during school hours.  The homework doesn't seem to be busywork and is thoughtful and minimal.  As soon as he walks out the door, he wants to spend nearly every moment until bed time doing independent studies, particularly on science, but also on whatever subject he is most passionate about.  Organic chemistry, set theory, quantum mechanics, linguistics, etc.  I love his passion for learning and ability to research and don't want to discourage it by taking the fun out of it and making it "work."  Yet, I want to guide him in ways that it will all be valuable to him someday.  He gets very good grades, but is not motivated by grades, only by the acquisition of knowledge.  I explain to him that someday the information must be used to be valuable.  So, I am seeking to turn the corner from gaining knowledge to using it.  I don't see a lot of opportunities for 10 year-olds to use organic chemistry, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right places?  I'm on the hunt for a mentor, but I'm not sure where to start.  I'm planning to speak with the head of his school's science department.

 

We are very fortunate to have a top science research university right around the corner, so I am getting on their mailing list for open lectures.  He loves the university's Math Circle.  I am planning to get back to Math Beast, because I think it is a good way to have evidence of his level of understanding.  

I'd appreciate any of your thoughts on handling this turning point.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Edited January 15, 2017 by C&W'sMum

[quark]

It sounds like he is doing great. Not many accelerated kids can say they go to a school where homework is thoughtful and minimal! And it sounds like you have an autodidact, another score! You have also created thoughtful opportunities for him and kudos to you for that.

 

Some thoughts from a mom of a kid with similar motivations (but in math, not science):

• keep providing resources but don't insist (have them at your finger tips and otherwise, stay out of the way)
• some kids are not the "applied" type where they want to use what they learn and even if they are, it might not be evident at age 10 (mine for e.g. is very purely into theory and thinks quite negatively of applied math...I'm really not sure where else this comes from then some kind of inner bias but this might not be a bad thing)
• let him accelerate at home however much he wants to in chemistry (if organic is preferred, look into college level textbooks) -- worry about what to do with the acceleration later
• mentors can be sourced in all sorts of ways -- look into approaching someone at the research university or plug in "chemistry" into your local craigslist (or even "organic chemistry") and see what comes up (my son's chemistry mentor from ages 7-8+ was a Lockheed Martin scientist who was looking for teaching jobs after taking time off from work...because he approached teaching from a love of learning, he charged us $10/hour!!! Yes, we found him via craigslist and I knew he was the one by the number of jokes he exchanged with me -- knock knock scientific type jokes -- during our email chats...right up my son's goofy alley!)
• ask around widely -- don't be shy. If you have a neighborhood NextDoor or a local parenting e-community, just type up a post saying you are looking for a chemistry mentor and send. You don't have to mention son's age. Chances are research uni families might see it but there really is not much to lose unless you are worried about unsavory people responding.
• We had difficulty finding any labs that would take 7yos so a friend and I organized small group meet ups to do labs in her home. We bought a kit from the Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments author (Robert Bruce Thompson) and worked our way through some of the more manageable-at-home ones.

 

Good luck!

Edited January 15, 2017 by quark

[EndOfOrdinary]

Thames and Kosmos kits are spendy (get the largest, not the smaller which tend to be cutesy) but they were well worth it for us. Their Chem 3000 has kids doing actual chemistry, not kitchen science. The Great Courses also has a lot of worthwhile Chem and Organic Chem lectures. Molymods are another incredibly helpful too in the pursuit of playing with chemical knowledge.

 

Mine turned away from STEM early, but really enjoys chemistry.

[booksdelight]

I would highly recommend MIT Open Course Ware. They have classes on organic chemistry. My DS is 10 and he is a huge Physics nerd (esp. Particle Physics) and loves their courses. I would also recommend introducing him to higher math as he would need it for his science courses like quantum mechanics. You might find that you son really enjoys your old college text books too😃( mine pours over his dad's old books and likes to argue with him😋.

[TerriM]

 Yet, I want to guide him in ways that it will all be valuable to him someday.  He gets very good grades, but is not motivated by grades, only by the acquisition of knowledge.  I explain to him that someday the information must be used to be valuable.  So, I am seeking to turn the corner from gaining knowledge to using it. 

 

I would disagree.  I don't think we ever know what we will use in the future, and it's a great thing for him to simply love learning and be able to do it on his own.  Personally, I'd let him just continue doing what he's doing without interfering.

 

A lot of people get college degrees and go into a different field entirely.  Should they never have gotten that degree?    Should stay-at-home moms never have gotten their degrees just because they're not teaching their kids what they learned in college and the degree isn't "useful"?  I hate to judge what we do on usefulness alone, but on having done the right thing along the way.  A wide breadth of knowledge can be be very useful in the long run.  His knowledge of organic chem now could be useful if studies biology later.   Maybe he'll end up being the brilliant researcher who pulls together an insight that crosses all of the fields he's studying.    If you make him have to figure out if something is going to be useful later, it might discourage him from learning at all.

Edited February 3, 2017 by tiuzzol2

[daijobu]

I would disagree.  I don't think we ever know what we will use in the future, and it's a great thing for him to simply love learning and be able to do it on his own.  Personally, I'd let him just continue doing what he's doing without interfering.

 

A lot of people get college degrees and go into a different field entirely.  Should they never have gotten that degree?    Should stay-at-home moms never have gotten their degrees just because they're not teaching their kids what they learned in college and the degree isn't "useful"?  I hate to judge what we do on usefulness alone, but on having done the right thing along the way.  A wide breadth of knowledge can be be very useful in the long run.  His knowledge of organic chem now could be useful if studies biology later.   Maybe he'll end up being the brilliant researcher who pulls together an insight that crosses all of the fields he's studying.    If you make him have to figure out if something is going to be useful later, it might discourage him from learning at all.

 

Well said!  

[Tanaqui]

So, I am seeking to turn the corner from gaining knowledge to using it.  I don't see a lot of opportunities for 10 year-olds to use organic chemistry, but perhaps I'm not looking in the right places?

 

 

He is ten. You have no idea how he's going to use his knowledge of organic chemistry when he's grown - maybe he'll revolutionize the field.

 

Or maybe he'll decide to become a lawyer, or a sanitation worker, or a plumber. Who knows? The point is, he doesn't need to have a goal in mind that he can do at ten.

 

(And for that matter, the pursuit of knowledge is always valuable. Learning teaches us to learn. If he decides to do something else in his life that has nothing to do with science, the skills he developed by studying it in depth today will still be valuable, even if he never, ever uses that specific knowledge ever again.)