Jump to content

Menu

Early high school graduation wisdom ?


Recommended Posts

Dd12 surprised me by asking to be allowed to finish high school a year earlier than the usual age. She is bright as all get-out, but not driven. She has not yet found her passion. She does her schoolwork well, but without enthusiasm. She can't express a detailed reason for why she wants to finish early, but is open to the idea of college early, gap year work-study or internship, or whatnot. Like I said -- no passion, pretty flexible outlook.

 

This child has always lived in the shadow of her 14yo brother, who is a passionate and driven math genius. He casts a long shadow. If dd had a passion, I don't think it would be quite the issue. It occurred to me that finishing h.s. early could be something concrete to bolster dd's self-esteem in a healthy way.

 

I don't doubt her ability to handle the coursework, but am wondering what other factors I need to consider in this situation. The upcoming school year would need to ratchet up a bit for dd to fill in the gaps I thought would be done over 2 years, but we can do that. Having the two kids only one year apart would be an advantage in some areas -- e.g. combining them for history courses, etc.

 

But what else should I be considering? Anyone BTDT? :)

 

Karen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't been there, but we're considering it...my son took 9 credits this year (Freshman) and could, conceivably finish with his umbrella school in three years (adding in an English 4 course in summer between Junior/Senior year)...that way, he could "play hockey in Canada at 17" <sigh>...he's lobbying for that; we're just not buying into the idea yet, but he could play juniors at 17 in this country, and a lighter load would be easier for him...so many choices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think 12 is too early an age to be making the decision about when to graduate high school. And the decision doesn't need to be made now but can be made during 9th grade when you'd have to start increasing the class load to make it happen. My ds graduated a year early, but it was something we hit upon during his freshman year -- I never would have dreamed of it when he was 12!

 

So I wouldn't say no, but say that it is certainly possible and worthwhile to work towards. Keep on with your general plan and talk with her about what she needs to accomplish before she graduates so she can take more "ownership" of her education, have some specific educational goals. Perhaps she will discover a passion or talent in the next couple of years or will come up with a specific goal for what she hopes to do.

 

I know a couple of homeschoolers who could be done with high school already but who don't want to finish early so they can continue to do some specific programs for highschoolers or just to bide their time until they can start college with their friends. It is so hard to predict what they will be like when they are 16 or 17, so keep her options open.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The comments so far have discussed finishing high school in three years. We chose a different option. During my daughter's 7th grade year, we accelerated her work a bit, and considered that 7th and 8th together, and the following year became 9th grade, with the understanding that should it not work out, we could go back to considering it 8th grade.

 

She just finished 9th grade, and though the intelligence is clearly there, she wasn't always happy with the amount of work. However, she did well enough that we are continuing on that path and will consider her in 10th grade in the fall.

 

HTH

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would sait a year or two before making the decision. There are all kinds of pros and cons, but I will give some of the benefits of NOT rushing through high school (which when flipped are obviously disadvantages of graduating early.)

 

We held both dd1 and ds2 back a year -- not for academic reasons.

 

1) Passions. Extra time at home provides more time for the student to pursue hobbies and interests. This is advantageous both for the student personally and for college admissions.

 

2) Academics. By not rushing into high school, the student enters high school at a more advanced level and thus can take more rigorous classes. Again, great for helping the student develop strong study skills while at home and an advantage in college admissions.

 

3) Maturity. Whatever your daughter does after high school, being more mature will help. When she went to college, my dd felt a lot "older" and more put together than many of the other freshmen . A good thing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our ds, who just turned 13 a month ago, is technically supposed to be starting 8th grade next year. I am, however, going to start him with his 9th grade classes.

 

I my opinion, there's no reason why we must follow the ps system of dragging education out to age 18. Middle school is a bit of a waste of time IMHO, and the student should be able to finish all coursework by 16-17.

 

Our plan is to have ds finish a cc assoc. degree by 18. I don't think that waiting to "see" is a good idea. This takes planning! Of course, if the dc is struggling with the coursework, one can alway back up.

 

Our twins will be working on their associates degree while in high school starting this year as freshmans. But we won't be graduating them from high school until they are 18. Figure they can just work on two degrees at same time-LOL. We won't be sending them off anywhere early... just letting them get the education they want/need.

 

If Ds had his way, he would get his bachelor degree by 18. I think he could do it, but I really don't think he is that driven.. not yet. Shall see as he gets older. Also it depends on what options open up for him.

 

Dd seems content to go slower as long as she can put more focus on her music.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fully appreciate the maturity issue. Dd is not what you'd call over-mature in the direction of ... what to call it? ... cultural maturity, perhaps? She is a good solid sensible kid. I don't think she's going to become boy-crazy or makeup-obsessed :) And she knows that if she wants to text all day, she'll have to buy the service herself LOL. I did tell her that graduating early would not automatically mean she could leave home at age 17 -- she could start college locally, if that's the path she desires. She said that wasn't her motive anyway. Whew!

 

 

Grace Is Sufficient said:

The comments so far have discussed finishing high school in three years. We chose a different option. During my daughter's 7th grade year, we accelerated her work a bit, and considered that 7th and 8th together, and the following year became 9th grade, with the understanding that should it not work out, we could go back to considering it 8th grade.

 

Yeah, this is kind of what I had floating around in my head. The idea of doing a 3-year-cramdown is very unappealing to me -- after thinking it over, I don't think I would consent to that except in an emergency situation -- for my own sanity, not to mention the kid's. The scenario I envisioned is just what Grace mentioned -- simply starting a year early.

 

Which would leave open the option of backing out at any time -- in case dd does find a passion she wants to spend lots of time on :)

 

The reason I want to decide now is that if we go for it, dd will need her science and English/history accelerated this coming year to fill in some gaps in preparation for high school work. So I want to decide soon. I guess the logical choice is to prepare to do it, then see how it goes. :)

 

Karen

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd let her go ahead and work on it for now. If she, or you, decide it's not a good idea later, she can always do another year with more advanced classes.

 

I graduated one semester early and was glad I did, even though it put me in college at 17. And, btw, many people don't pick a passion until college.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...She can't express a detailed reason for why she wants to finish early... This child has always lived in the shadow of her 14yo brother, who is a passionate and driven... It occurred to me that finishing h.s. early could be something concrete to bolster dd's self-esteem in a healthy way.

 

I don't doubt her ability to handle the coursework, but am wondering what other factors I need to consider in this situation... Having the two kids only one year apart would be an advantage in some areas -- e.g. combining them for history courses, etc.

 

 

If part of the reason for DD's interest in graduating early is that she feels that she is in older brother's shadow, then *combining* DD and DS may NOT be what is helpful in finding ways of helping DD find her OWN strengths, interests, passion and identity. Also, a benefit of NOT graduating early is that if she continues to be 2 years apart in school from big brother, that will give her TWO years (junior AND senior year) to "be special" and the focus of attention -- while he has graduated and has moved on to college -- rather than just a final year of high school, in which a lot of time would be devoted to SAT testing and prep, college applications, and other "paperwork" sorts of things rather than focus on HER as a person.

 

Finally, it could be considered the loss of a whole year to have time to try out a lot of electives, activities, clubs, sports, etc. in which she might FIND her passion, since all 3 high school years would be about jamming in all the required credits for graduation, rather than opportunity to explore...

 

BEST of luck as you make your decision! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
added info
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...