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I think that is a pretty fair and accurate assessment of it. For me, with a lot of experience, the credential + filling in some gaps were what I really needed a
by suresk 4y ago
I think that is a pretty fair and accurate assessment of it. For me, with a lot of experience, the credential + filling in some gaps were what I really needed and the WGU degree was a great way to take care of both.
As for recommending it to a super-gifted kid - I don't think the program is setup to allow that. You have to have a high-school diploma and at least a bit of work experience to even be admitted. I also think that one drawback of the program is that you can graduate without having written a ton of code, which is fine for someone who's been doing it for a long time, but less ideal for someone who hasn't?
- blagie 4y agoAs two points: 1) A GED would be trivial for this kid. So the high school diploma, I'm not worried about. 2) Kid started doing (real, not Scratch) programming in 1st grade. I'm not worried about coding experience or computer science background. I am worried about software engineering background, but that could come later.
- leoqa 4y agoI’d be more worried about social development. Of the small sample size of gifted people who didn’t want to be with their peers, how many have formed last relationships, friendships etc. We had obviously gifted kids in my school and they came across as arrogant and entitled. 15 years later, most of them went on to get graduate degrees but don’t seem to be progressing socially (i.e. absent from reunions, weddings, small town bar run-ins)
- kingrazor 4y agoI'm not sure attending traditional school with chronological peers does all that much to improve that situation. I know very few people who are still friends with anyone from high school, for example. I only have two friends from high school that I even talk to anymore, and only one that I'm close with. I don't feel like attending a traditional school did much of anything to help me develop social skills, as I still struggle with those quite a bit even now.
- mtkhaos 4y agoChallenge where appropriate and allow them to practice self teaching. It's better to have accreditation from a top university than a one off. And if the child is capable they should be able to move through the material and jump the artificial hoops. As at the end of the day. The reality is it's about who you know. And if your more concerned about the degree. Your missing the point.
- toast0 4y ago> 1) A GED would be trivial for this kid. So the high school diploma, I'm not worried about. The test might be trivial, but being able to take it isn't trivial if you don't meet the age requirements.
- blagie 4y agoPoint. I just did a web search. I didn't realize they had age requirements. Thank you.
- Mezzie 4y agoI wonder when and why they added those in? My mother dropped out at 14 and got a GED by 15 back in the 70s because she was so bored. (Parents didn't believe university was for girls, so that wasn't an option). Seems like a way to screw over a particular subset of kids.
- toast0 4y agoI dunno about why. But it was set at least in the late 90s. I took the California High School Proficiency Exam back then because it had a lower age requirement (and I was in California).
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- gcheong 4y agoAny community colleges around that teach college level courses? That’s what I did when I ran out of options for math at my high school.
- jnwatson 4y agoI was your kid. My parents took the middle approach: skipping grades and doing gifted and talented programs. It still wasn’t nearly fast enough. Socially it was still tough for me. My only advice is don’t ignore the social aspect. Still there has to be a better way than sticking them in public school for 12 years. After-school activities like athletics might be helpful. Good luck!