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6 homeschooled kids in college before 12

4K views 36 replies 16 participants last post by  moominmamma 
#1 ·
These people are amazing. 7 homeschooled children, 6 of whom were in college before 12 ....i would like to know what is their key to success. I wonder if the parents valued getting professional degrees over their children following their passions, and what is it about homeschooling made this possible? It sounds like they were more unschooled than homeschooled....

Im jealous, my kids are in school, but i think about homeschooling alot.

What do you think?

http://www.today.com/news/meet-family-who-sent-six-kids-college-age-12-1C9316706
 
#2 ·
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm not sure what the intent of the article was. Whenever I see homeschooling featured in the media, it's either to highlight the exceptionally precocious or the exceptionally bad. This article seems to both to laud the family and conversely to portray them as being Tiger parents at the same time.

As far as the family, I think college as an option is fine if the kids are truly seeking that level of involvement. But the "why not earn college credit".... were the kids truly looking to frame their interests in the packaging of a college course? I disagree with that, but I can't decide that I disagree across the board. Some kids really engage with their interests that way.

I know it wouldn't make a good story necessarily, but I wish "average" homeschooling families would make it in the news once in a while.
 
#3 ·
I was a bit skeptical about the family before reading it, but I was pleasantly surprised by their attitude (at least as far as it can be discerned from the article). University can be a high pressure, competitive environment, or it can also be a fascinating place where you experience new ideas and meet interesting people, and I get the impression that that's the side of things that these kids are attending for.
 
#4 ·
That's a pretty nice, sympathetic story. Hard to find fault with either the family or the reporting.

What is it about homeschooling that makes this possible? Well, I think it allows the evolution of a quirky little family culture quite distinct from society's more mainstream expectations, a culture that has an incredible synergy. In families like this the parents have an unwavering and deeply-held belief in the greatness inside every child and they take on the responsibility of recognizing and nurturing whatever that greatness is. They don't dump "greatness" onto their children's shoulders as an expectation but instead shoulder the responsibility for discovering and facilitating it themselves. If they don't see tangible evidence of greatness in a particular child at a particular time, that doesn't leave them questioning the child's ability or their role: there's no anxiety or blame, only patience and trust that it will emerge. That's a pretty magical mind-set to have; most of us are saddled with too much baggage to carry it off, but to the extent we can adopt it, I think it is very healthy.

I've seen hints of this phenomenon in my family of origin and with my own kids. When I was growing up my mom believed that all children could learn to play musical instruments with a high degree of excellence, and she took on the responsibility of creating the conditions under which that would occur in our family. All four of her kids attained professional status on violin or cello and that happened without any pressure, in a joyful environment, even though we were an adoptive family with kids from three completely unrelated genetic backgrounds. With my own kids who were unschooled from the beginning, I've seen sparks of greatness all along. I've chosen to put emphasis on creative, physical and nature-based experiences rather than on academics and goal-oriented performance, and so my kids' achievements haven't been on nearly the same order as the kids in the family in the Today Show clip. But my kids' abilities are impressive to outsiders still, and I do see the way the family culture creates an unusual "normal" for the younger siblings. I have an 11-year-old doing 10th grade math and she thinks of that as pretty ordinary within our family context.

Miranda
 
#5 ·
I think their kids going to the local (to them) conservative christian university probably helps a lot.

They've got a book- if you're really interested in knowing what and how they do what they do and why they think it works, that's probably the place to start.
 
#6 ·
Yes, i remember they mentioned a book. But theres nothing like a good discussion. It makes me wonder how much conventional school holds children and families back. I wouldnt want my kids to be in college by 12 necessarily, but i love the idea of their doing the best they can and enjoying it, and coming up with a career that actually earns them moeny (my own family is notorious for its inability for the latter) In one of the comments on some of the articles i was googling yesterday, someone mentioned that in Australia, college credits before the age of 18 would be prohibited by college regulations.

The idea of kids choosing to do subjects at random from the community, whether they be school, college or other, sounds like a really wonderful concept.
 
#7 ·
I homeschooled my oldest for one year, 2nd grade, and my youngest up to 7th grade. My middle children went to school and finished by exam by age 16.

My youngest left school in 9th grade when he passed the CHSPT and went to community college and went to work too. He will graduate from university this year.

I wish that I had done homeschooling all the way. It was actually easier for me to homeschool than to drag them to school everyday. Public school is a big crap shoot. Who knows what is really going on and what your child is learning day to day?
 
#8 ·
I read this article. What a cool family. I like that all the kids are their own people and seem to be finding their special gifts.

Personally, their approach isn't for me. I have a super-smart oldest child who passed the Accuplacer tests for college at 10, but I didn't let him go. He's now 17. He's taken a class here and there, and it's been great for his experience and self confidence. He said to me after taking college geography on campus this past fall, "Mom, I have the rest of my life to take as much college as I want, but I only have two more years of high school, and I want to spend them with you."

I wouldn't give up our cozy sofa, bed, car, and outside homeschooling for anything. These are times to treasure. Again, I trust each family to make the best decisions for themselves. I'm always inspired by parents who are committed to parenting.

peace,
teastaigh
 
#9 ·
I got the impression that college credits were taken while the children were at home. Maybe it was different for your son. Im not sure of the logisitics of all of this. One thing i am puzzled by, is that if they were doing college credits by age 12 when did they do their high school work? Did they complete all of that before age 12?, or was it that it wasnt necessary. Is high school really just a complete waste of time, and all the teenage angst also? (i probably thought so as a teenager)I know that i could have completed high school earlier if i had done it at home, but i dont know if i could have knocked off 5 years. It doesnt really make sense.
Also, i am interested to know about the costs involved. The father has apparently retired, was he a high earner?

I love hearing from people here who are homeschooling. Im confused about the gifted aspect of it, because this family claims they are 'ordinary', and the kids not gifted, but maybe they are downplaying the giftedness. It also makes me wonder what gifted really means, when the whole point is nurturing your childs passions/talents, whether they would test 'gifted' or not. Where they are on the bell curve is only relevant in an institutional setting it would seem to me.

Are we really all so brainwashed that our kids are just lagging years behind because we believe in all the lies that are told to us? Is it that this family is lightyears ahead or are we just lightyears behind? Thats what scares me. I feel like they are from another planet, or from heaven or something, here to tell us that is really doesnt have to be that hard- life can be so much better! You dont have to suffer!

I mean, if this family is theoretically typical, then why would anyone bother with traditional schooling at all? I feel like we are all lambs to the slaughter. (or maybe not on this forum, where there would be alot of homeschoolers and unschoolers)

The below link gives some interesting information. Their methods sound very unschooling to me. (yes, i will probably get the book)

https://shine.yahoo.com/experts/how-we-got-our-kids-into-college-by-age-12-175102493.html
 
#10 ·
I love hearing from people here who are homeschooling. Im confused about the gifted aspect of it, because this family claims they are 'ordinary', and the kids not gifted, but maybe they are downplaying the giftedness. It also makes me wonder what gifted really means, when the whole point is nurturing your childs passions/talents, whether they would test 'gifted' or not. Where they are on the bell curve is only relevant in an institutional setting it would seem to me.
I think that if you allow children to focus on their strengths and support them as best you can, you will see them thrive and perhaps appear "gifted". Spending time slogging through meaningless work has a way of dampening this possibility for so many children, it's not wonder that gifted or talented students really stand out so sharply.

I understand how this mom can say that her college kids are "average". With my bright but average girls, they weren't particularly precocious in any area. They were and are curious, bright and capable, and this stands out in areas they love. We can give them the time and freedom to pursue what they are good at and interested in. I think any kid can be like this if given that spaciousness. When we focus on what kids are talented at, it naturally gives the appearance of giftedness, which I think is something quite different.

Our society tends to think that if we let kids pursue what they want, they won't get all the basics or be well-rounded. I happen to disagree.
 
#12 ·
Most states have an equivalency test for young people who do not care for high school.

As I said, all my children passed that test between the ages of 14-16. I wish I had known about the test, I could have left school early too.

As for college, there are CLEP tests. A college student can challenge a course by paying for the class and taking the final exam. If you want to do that, I suggest going to the head of the department or an administrator first because some professors take it personally, that is, they think that YOU think their course is not worth sitting through.

In truth, most people just want to get on with their life.

Honestly, remember one thing - EVERYTHING in life is negotiable.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Not trying to be snippy at all. But I wonder what "college" actually means here.

In the UK, HS kids quite often do courses through a well established distance learning university called the Open University. Now technically, those kids are "doing college". I would say its pretty rare for someone to describe it like that though (British horror of boasting aside)

Also, looking at what those kids are actually doing. Finite math sounds awesome but actually-am I right in saying its business math? So lots of stats, probability, economics, etc? I would be interested to know how what they are doing maps onto what UK kids do anyway in their GCSEs (taken aged 15/16, started at 13/14). They do loads of probability, stats, etc. Also, in the UK the would be doing this math as one among 8 or 9 subjects .

I agree with SweetSilver. I think there is a real desire sometimes to see proof that HSing brings exceptional kids. But that's not the reason for me to HS. For me, HSing is about giving my kids the balance that I think is lacking in the public school system. Both my partner and I went through school with high-end gifted labels and were multi-grade skipped and all that translated to for us was more and more emphasis on academic work, more and more approval based on grades. Don't want that for my kids.
 
#15 ·
Not trying to be snippy at all. But I wonder what "college" actually means here.

In the UK, HS kids quite often do courses through a well established distance learning university called the Open University. Now technically, those kids are "doing college". .
Who cares what it means technically? Obviously terminology would differ from country to country. What matters, is that whatever they were studying, a girl became a physician at 22, another one at 26 is an architect with her own company, ....they are miles ahead of schooled kids, even the so called best schools, and the so called gifted kids. It begs an explanation. I dont care if its called homeschooling, unschooling, or just place having fun. Actually, it sounds like they are having fun. Thats the part i like.
 
#14 ·
I don't have much to add, other than to say I have really enjoyed the discussion. My daughter is just about to turn two, so at this point, all I'm doing is exploring what I'd like to do for her in the future, though I am really interested in homeschooling/unschooling for all the reasons people mentioned above, and I hope it is something that we can make work as a family.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Ok. ContactMaya I just noticed you're not homeschooling. Possibly then you have not heard of these guys-the Harding family, who wrote The Brainy Bunch
. I am not just going on the article but the other stuff I've heard, reviews of their books, etc. I appreciate that their article makes them come across as borderline unschoolers who just somehow produced exceptional kids. That's not the impression I've got from their other stuff.

They are right wing fundamentalist Christians who basically think that homeschooling has to be done in a fundamentalist religious, right wing, context or your kids will turn out, and I quote, "evil.". I'm really personally uncomfortable with this kind of judgement, especially given that its leveled at kids. At the end of the day their are homeschooling in order to keep their kids away from kids like mine.

Basically, my understanding is that, rather than high school, they sent their kids through community college as an alternative, and they specialised very early, and consequently, their kids did well in their specialism. I'm not sure why that would be surprising. I think many teenagers would be capable of early college, if that's all they did. The reason teenagers don't tend to go to college early is partly that they don't usually specialise. That's where their secret lies, IMO.

So this ISN'T the story of a family who chose unschooling and found themselves with these kids who had an early college education. From everything I can work out, its the story of a results focused, religion focused family who used structured homeschooling and selectively used, for example, community college (in just the way UK kids use our distance learning university) to supplement their learning once the kids hit the teenage years. And yeah, power to them. But I don't think there's anything new, or surprising, in their message. Its very possible to hothouse a kid. That's known. What a lot more exciting IMO is what happens if you really, genuinely, give kids educational freedom (and support).

I'd recommend Homeschooling For Excellence by the Colfaxes as a much more interesting book about how to borderline unschool and yet produce exceptional kids (main advice: goat farm)
 
#18 ·
Ok. ContactMaya I just noticed you're not homeschooling. Possibly then you have not heard of these guys-the Harding family, who wrote The Brainy Bunch
http://www.amazon.com/The-Brainy-Bunch-Harding-Familys/dp/1476759340/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top. I am not just going on the article but the other stuff I've heard, reviews of their books, etc. I appreciate that their article makes them come across as borderline unschoolers who just somehow produced exceptional kids. That's not the impression I've got from their other stuff.
...yes, thats the family i am referring too. They have recently made a media splash presumably to promote their book. Its interesting to hear your perspective, because that certainly isnt the impression i get from googling around. I would find out more by reading the book, but m a little reluctant buy it, if it isnt completely honest, and im not that interested in the religious side of it.
I wasnt sure, but it sounded like they decided to homeschool for logistical reasons after heir 4th child. That i can certainly understand.

I may not be homeschooling now, but i think about it alot. Not the same, i know. Im interested in education in general, and dislike institutions as a whole, so have a fundamental distrust of schools.

Thanks for the reference, i will look into it for sure.
 
#17 ·
Wow, I really enjoyed this article and am amused with everyone's response. It's so interesting to see why others choose to homeschool. I plan on reading up on some of the homeschool forums as my children are still quite young and I've got some time. I'm already getting a lot of 'Won't your child be starting preschool soon?' followed by a puzzled look when I say no. I'm feeling kind of 'unschool' leaning because I see how much my children are absorbing just from life and the books they choose to have read to them. Being a parent is such a gift and being confident enough to follow your instinct on parenting your particular child is a blessing. Thanks to parents like those in the article and like you all to keep the momentum going!
 
#20 ·
I haven't read more of them than this article, but I still disagree with pursuing college at a young age (not across the board). Maybe someone can clarify what other avenues for pursuing their interests were tried before enrolling? I just think that in some ways college can channel a child's interests--sometimes narrowly. I feel that the child needs to be fully on board this decision, and that other paths are rejected. Because you are possibly curtailing their ownership of their education, not expanding upon it. I don't necessarily see that college=mentorship. See why this could be problematic, and conversely, why college might totally be the right choice for some kids?
 
#25 ·
I think being able to create a home environment where kids value learning is great but I am not a fan of children starting college early. I started right after turning 17 and my brother just after turning 15 and I don't think either of use were ready for the young adult culture. I did ok though I dropped out for a while but my brother got sucked into drugs has only come out of it the last few years. We both has friends still but education was our focus and I don't think that was benedicial in the long run. A Christian college may be better but I think it is very hard to tell what children will be until they are well into adulthood. I personally would rather see my child take growing up at a rate that is more traditional for our society.
 
#26 ·
I have a kid who will be ready for some college courses within the next year. She's 12. She is not, however, ready for college/university. In fact, I don't see her being ready to live on her own until she is 20 or maybe even a couple years after that.
I love that homeschooling allows me to let her learn at a variety of levels, while not forcing her to fit into any specific age group box. I went to university at 15, and I was not emotionally ready for it. I did ok, but I would make a different choice if I had it to do over.
With my daughter, I encourage her to learn and grow, and then I encourage her to play and explore, I don't want her to miss her childhood because she is focused too early on who she will be as an adult. I simply want her to learn and grow every day and know that she has the capacity to learn, and to follow any path that interests her, even if it isn't the path that seems glaringly obvious as an area of expertise. Sure, she is phenomenal at all hings science based, but what if she wants to be a writer instead? Is it fair to encourage exploration of science at the expense of everything else just because doing so seems logical?
I'm not sure life is about doing what is most logical, it's about living your own journey. Is there a reason we have to hurry kids to follow the expected path while they are still so young? It isn't about what they want to be when they grow up, it's about who they want to be today, tomorrow, and in the future, and giving them the space and support to chart their own path.
 
#27 ·
Is there a reason we have to hurry kids to follow the expected path while they are still so young? It isn't about what they want to be when they grow up, it's about who they want to be today, tomorrow, and in the future, and giving them the space and support to chart their own path.
I completely agree. On the other hand, I think that there are a few quirky kids who really need and want the opportunity for university-level challenge at a younger age. Not because they're being pressured, or are following an expected path, or feel they have to because it's the only 'next step' that they can envision, but because they are hungry for the kind of high level academic environment that college can provide. It doesn't need to be the whole living-away-from-home-in-residence social experience as well, but I can see the value in supporting such kids in getting that academic challenge.

And really ... if you finish a chemistry degree at 19 there's no reason you can't decide do something completely different afterwards: say, become a lifeguard or an artist or an entrepreneur or an English teacher. Most people change careers several times even if they don't start early.

Miranda
 
#28 ·
I just bought 'Homeschooling for Excellence'. It was only 1c. :shrug

I thought i would share this article i found googling 'education specialist'. Its a survey of unschoolers.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...unschoolers-i-overview-findings?tr=MostViewed

(At present, i am trialling my son on medication. He's taken it for a few days, but says he notices no difference. Homeschooling is next in my arsenal. His problems are only at school, and not at home.)
 
#36 ·
I just bought 'Homeschooling for Excellence'. It was only 1c. :shrug
I apologize for all my posts... i just wanted to say the blurb on this book says that they dont recommend it to 'working' women, or single mothers. I wonder if its ok for working men? Also, as a single mother, i will do whats best for my kids, so this 'recommendation' puts me off. Another thing, they were raised on a farm, and sound independently wealthy. We live on the 21st floor right above a major intersection, and there is no room for cows here. ( although i do buy raw milk sometimes)

Having said that, there seem to be many books on homeschooling if you look around on amazon....
 
#29 ·
I'm halfway through the book and I have very mixed feelings about this. Probably because it's kind of confusing.

To answer a pp -they are very very overwhelmingly creationist Christian and do consider everything else to be evil. She makes that crystal clear at the beginning of the book.

Their style leans unschool in some ways and strict homeschool in other ways. She both says that she constantly dropped lessons for field trips while at the same time saying they doubled down on math to purposefully try to pass the tests.

I also have mixed feelings because I'm sure some kids out there could do great with some college level material much earlier but maybe not all of it and definitely not every kid. Not even every kid in the same family. There are 10 kids in total now. When this is the expectation they are not choosing anymore.

I also want to make it clear to everyone that she physically sent these kids to college. This isn't distant learning or online learning. While a couple of classes may have been online, the majority of the time they were on campus. They even joined the clubs and sports teams. The mom says she stayed on campus in the beginning but after the first two girls she didn't even do this anymore. I don't understand how this fits in with their conservative values at all. I cringe at the thought of a twelve year old listening and/or being brought into locker room conversations with 18-21 year olds.

One of the girls was off away in another city living on her own in dorms/apartments at 14. The mom even makes a joke about how silly it is for people to be concerned about that. Something along the lines of parents take a breath, she's fine.
This is where I really started to question what was going on. I hate the attitude that since nothing awful happened it means it's ridiculous to worry. 14 is so very young. It is not an adult. It's just not.

I think this is an issue of just because you can doesn't mean you should. Sure, one or two of these kids could have been really mature. One or two of these kids could have been really bright and/or focused on becoming something specific and have this work out for them. But for ALL of them?
It seems much more that they were trained to live this lifestyle once the family saw what could happen with the first two. The mom makes it clear that she has no intention of letting any of her kids not do this now since she has to keep it going.

I said in the beginning that I have conflicted feelings because I do. I know there are lots of kids that just aren't meant for high school in the traditional sense.
I do feel that if kids are doing advanced math it's nice for them to get college credit for it.
I just don't know about going all in at twelve and then expecting this from 9 subsequent siblings.
I have three girls. I have always homeschooled. I would LOVE for them to skip the peer culture of preteen and teenage girls but demanding they pick a career path at twelve and forcing them into adulthood ... it doesn't seem quite right either.
 
#30 ·
I'm halfway through the book and I have very mixed feelings about this.
Thanks for the thoughtful response to the book. I'm sure my feelings about it would be very similar, since what you've voiced above really resonates with me. I agree about the issue of readiness varying amongst children.

I'm pretty sure that if my four kids were in that other family, they would have all consented to being shunted into college at 12 or 14. I think it might conceivably have been an appropriate path for the oldest. But my middle two, though equally bright, nope. They've benefitted so much from taking time through their teen years. They weren't born with the single-minded tenacity and preference for a very narrow focus. They have very strong aptitudes in certain areas, but I don't believe that an aptitude is a calling. I don't think that one is obliged to move relentlessly forward just because one experiences the pleasure of having something come easily and quickly. I made that mistake myself... as a music performance student in college I took a couple of pre-med courses out of interest despite lacking any real science background. When I got top marks my professors and friends were blown away and encouraged me to ditch music and join the pre-med track. I fell victim to the idea that if you're really good at something, that's what you ought to do. It's 25 years later and I have really never liked being a doctor.

Miranda
 
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