I'm an example of a kid who was reading prior to starting kindergarten. When the teacher found out how advanced I was, she arranged for me to be placed in a "program" where I would be able to spend time doing things I wanted to do, which mostly involved arts and crafts, plus listening to music. I think the most determining reason for the switch was that I was constantly wanting to read aloud, partly to show off, but also because I loved reading and words. Now that I am a substitute teacher in highschools here in SoCal, I am dumbfounded by how little regard for reading some kids have. There is a 20 minute reading period each day, and some students "read" ( thumb through ) magazines, like Vogue or Road and Track. One teacher brings those magazines in to her classroom. In another school, an English teacher had a library of more than 200 books, from popular fiction ( Kellerman, Morrison, Clancy ) to classics. I think you can push a child too hard, but once the reading habit is well-established, it probably will not die. And I think that value set is communicated early. Finally, if my child was bored out of his skull in kindergarten because he was far advanced of other children, I think I would rigorously press the school to move him into an higher level of instruction, at least for the time his classmates were doing the reading or arithmetic. If that didn't work, I think I would have to consider private instruction, unless that wasn't a realistic option.
My wife and I made a conscious decision not to "educate" our son before he entered kindergarten. That meant not teaching him ABCs or how to count. Instead we read to him, focused on projects and activities and outings. Basically we didn't worry about his education or preparing him for school. He entered first grade this year and scored in the middle of the pack on the reading and math pre-assessment tests given in the first week of school. Knowing he's very intelligent, I began to wonder if we had done the right thing and was tempted to supplement his school assignments with ones at home. I held off though. Two months later, he took the first quarter assessment tests and ranked first in his grade in math and second in reading. Now I really don't worry about his education except for popping a few hundred a month into his college fund.
My school system offered opportunities for gifted kids pretty early on. In elementary, I spent one day a week in the G/T room (one 'teacher' who really just facilitated things and about 10-15 kids). We would just build bridges and things - it was pretty cool. And by fourth grade, I could start taking math classes one grade level above me. And since my high school offers numerous AP classes, I've never felt like I should've skipped a grade. I should also point out that my Dad wanted to hold me back a year for sporting purposes (my birthday falls near the end of the line for people in my grade and I'm smaller than average), but since I was reading before I even got into school, my Mom mandated that I start with everyone else my age.
Interesting. I decided to graduate 2 years early from high school and it was one of the best things I've ever done. High school was a complete waste of time for me and had I stayed there, I would not have been a happy camper. Starting in second grade or so, my mom taught me much more than I was learning at school. There weren't many options for me for private school or full-time homeschool, so she did what she could after school and whatnot. She spent many hours fighting with school administrators to let me in on more advanced classes, but really to no avail until middle school and high school. About halfway through my freshman year of high school, I decided I was totally fed up with the mediocrity and needed to get the hell out of there. Graduated 2 years early, went straight to undergrad, studied abroad in Spain when I was 18, and now I'm 21 and will graduate with my master's degree in May. I've never had any problems whatsoever with feeling uncomfortable or not fitting in with my older classmates because I've always been extremely mature for my age and very well-adjusted. Not one person at my schools in the last 8 or so years in my classes has EVER guessed that I'm younger than them. So, from my experience, I'd advise to teach all you can. Boredom and stagnation are the worst things for a kid, and advanced curiosity and intellectual stimulation should be encouraged.
Did you feel at home in a classroom with kids two years older than you though? Just that I reckon personal and social development are as important as a formal education for children. And like I said, children under the age of six or so will only learn what is relevant to them at their age anyway. You can teach them to recognise the presidents of the USA throughout history but it will mean nothing to them. So I'd rather invest time in teaching my son to develop his taste buds and his motor skills and how to interact with other children.
Yes, why wouldn't I? Even now, when many of my fellow students are in their upper 20s and early 30s, I feel completely comfortable. I'm sure it helped that as I was growing up I played on sports teams and was in a dance group with kids my age, but I've never experienced any social awkwardness due to age. I suppose there will always be some kids with social development issues but at the end of the day, it's up to the kid to overcome it.
Awesome--thanks for sharing. My senior year of high school was mostly a waste of time except for lots of fun social stuff and I was the editor-in-chief of our yearbook, wrote for the newspaper and was involved in lots of other stuff... Academically, though, I probably could have planned to be done before then!
No offence but in your teenage years you may think you're just as (emotionally) grown-up as those two years older than you, but you're most probably not.
I'll grant that the average teenager isn't, but it's entirely possible (and even likely) that Liz is. After all, if she's only two years younger than the boys in her class, she's already more emotionally mature then them.
That's fair enough. I'm just saying that in general I don't think it a good idea to have children educated in an older age group.
I tend to disagree as well. I know more than enough kids who turned out ok doing that (off course it's not for everyone, if everybody would skip classes they'd be in their same age group lol=. Plus, as soon as you go abroad in college everything is mixed up anyways.
Yes I think it also depends whether you are a boy or a girl. I was a year younger than my classmates, which was ok, but when they offered me to skip another year I refused as I felt the gap would be too much. I don't think it would have been so great as a 13 year old boy in a group of 15 year old ones. In the end of the day it doesn't matter so much if you are at a good school, although I was terribly bored at maths there was still enough to worry about in foreign languages and literature to keep me occupied. And the main thing you learn at school is social interaction anyway.