6 ms·

I wonder how early my 2-month-old niece will be able to achieve a high school education. Not that the resources weren't always available, but it's just so acces

by psbp 13y ago

I wonder how early my 2-month-old niece will be able to achieve a high school education. Not that the resources weren't always available, but it's just so accessible now through efforts like Khan (mostly Khan). We could easily have kids work their way through a high school curriculum in half the time, or maybe give them more time for socialization and interesting projects during the traditional school day.

jdreaver 13y ago
I really want this to be a reality. When a kid learns how to find out information themselves and be a self-guided learner, I can easily see an average school day taking only a few hours, not 7 or 8. That leaves more time for extra curriculars, a job/internship, or even learning more about topics that interest the student. What I remember most from public school is how much time I wasted, and how little I actually learned. (I am from the US, if that helps).
- DanielStraight 13y ago
  I'm not trying to derail the comment thread here, so if you want to talk more about this, my email address is in my profile, but... This is basically what my experience was like as a home-schooled student. A lot of self-guided learning, school days significantly less than 7 or 8 hours, and lots of extra-curricular activities.
- Consultant32452 13y ago
  This was the most infuriating thing for me with my daughter. She was tested in kindergarten to read at a 3rd grade level. She also was beginning to learn multiplication, fractions, etc. I went to her school and asked her about special programs for her, potentially skipping grades, etc. Their response was essentially that in a couple years time the other kids would catch up. Well, of course the other kids will catch up, you're going to tie a big anchor to my daughter that she has to drag through a bunch of boring curriculum she already knows.
  - jdreaver 13y ago
    I was in the same boat as your daughter, and the only reason I was able to skip grades is because my elementary school was awful (so I looked smarter), and my mother is excellent at dealing with bureaucracy. I know very bright people who would have very easily been able to skip grades; much of the material students learn is repeated about 3 times over the course of 12 years.
Nimi 13y ago
Here in Israel, we have a growing phenomenon of high school students studying for a B.Sc degree, especially in CS, during their last few years of high-school. Not only do they save a couple of years of their career trajectory, they also get a shot at significantly better placement during their army service. Israel's a small place, so most places have a pretty good university one or two bus rides away. One could argue that high school is a bit unnecessary, and a good move would be to simply skip it.
- psbp 13y ago
  You can kind of achieve this in the U.S., at least in my school district, through AP classes or taking equivalent classes at the local junior college to satisfy high school credits. The structure of the school day was still exactly the same, but it allowed you to knock out two years of undergrad in high school.
  - acchow 13y ago
    I've never heard of a anyone completing 2 years of undergrad in high school. Maybe a course or two in the 2nd year level, but certainly not the entire curriculum. I do have a friend from Israel who got his Bachelor's degree at 18 at the same time he finished high school. I can't see that happening in the U.S. system.
    - spamizbad 13y ago
      The US has a few "early acceptance" colleges like Bard College (https://simons-rock.edu/ https://simons-rock.edu/) where you can get a HS equivalency and Bachelors whenever you're deemed ready. I had a friend who went to Simons Rock after his Freshman Year of HS - he got his BA right before his 20th birthday.
    - thaumasiotes 13y ago
      I was officially a junior after my first quarter (three quarters to the school year) of undergrad. I stayed much later than that, but that's because I took additional classes, not because I needed the time to earn credits. The first two years of undergrad at UC, by design, are for the general education requirements. You're not even supposed to take classes in your major until year 3. It shouldn't be hard to skip much of that.

by psbp 13y ago

jdreaver 13y ago

I really want this to be a reality. When a kid learns how to find out information themselves and be a self-guided learner, I can easily see an average school day taking only a few hours, not 7 or 8. That leaves more time for extra curriculars, a job/internship, or even learning more about topics that interest the student. What I remember most from public school is how much time I wasted, and how little I actually learned. (I am from the US, if that helps).

DanielStraight 13y ago
I'm not trying to derail the comment thread here, so if you want to talk more about this, my email address is in my profile, but... This is basically what my experience was like as a home-schooled student. A lot of self-guided learning, school days significantly less than 7 or 8 hours, and lots of extra-curricular activities.
Consultant32452 13y ago
This was the most infuriating thing for me with my daughter. She was tested in kindergarten to read at a 3rd grade level. She also was beginning to learn multiplication, fractions, etc. I went to her school and asked her about special programs for her, potentially skipping grades, etc. Their response was essentially that in a couple years time the other kids would catch up. Well, of course the other kids will catch up, you're going to tie a big anchor to my daughter that she has to drag through a bunch of boring curriculum she already knows.
- jdreaver 13y ago
  I was in the same boat as your daughter, and the only reason I was able to skip grades is because my elementary school was awful (so I looked smarter), and my mother is excellent at dealing with bureaucracy. I know very bright people who would have very easily been able to skip grades; much of the material students learn is repeated about 3 times over the course of 12 years.

Nimi 13y ago

Here in Israel, we have a growing phenomenon of high school students studying for a B.Sc degree, especially in CS, during their last few years of high-school. Not only do they save a couple of years of their career trajectory, they also get a shot at significantly better placement during their army service. Israel's a small place, so most places have a pretty good university one or two bus rides away. One could argue that high school is a bit unnecessary, and a good move would be to simply skip it.

psbp 13y ago
You can kind of achieve this in the U.S., at least in my school district, through AP classes or taking equivalent classes at the local junior college to satisfy high school credits. The structure of the school day was still exactly the same, but it allowed you to knock out two years of undergrad in high school.
- acchow 13y ago
  I've never heard of a anyone completing 2 years of undergrad in high school. Maybe a course or two in the 2nd year level, but certainly not the entire curriculum. I do have a friend from Israel who got his Bachelor's degree at 18 at the same time he finished high school. I can't see that happening in the U.S. system.
  - spamizbad 13y ago
    The US has a few "early acceptance" colleges like Bard College (https://simons-rock.edu/ https://simons-rock.edu/) where you can get a HS equivalency and Bachelors whenever you're deemed ready. I had a friend who went to Simons Rock after his Freshman Year of HS - he got his BA right before his 20th birthday.
  - thaumasiotes 13y ago
    I was officially a junior after my first quarter (three quarters to the school year) of undergrad. I stayed much later than that, but that's because I took additional classes, not because I needed the time to earn credits. The first two years of undergrad at UC, by design, are for the general education requirements. You're not even supposed to take classes in your major until year 3. It shouldn't be hard to skip much of that.