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Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

news.mit.edu

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Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#91

Post by ausjke »

The school system is really best for the kids-in-the-middle, i.e. not the best fit for the really talented, as the case with this MIT kid here, neither is it for the D/F students. Public school was originated in Europe for training workers if memory serves me right.

Since Bush the public education system is more geared towards to the D/F students nonetheless, i.e., the no child left behind policy, a road to hell. This might have something to do with Bush, who is about a D student himself.

A solution I would like to see, is tax-relief for home-schooling families, they don't use the public education system so why pay for the school district property tax? This looks like a win-win for the family and the nation in the long run.

Human races compete and evolve, focusing on the left-behinders are so against nature, yes they should be taken care of, but the focus really should be on the other side.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#92

Post by erroneousfunk »

eddotman wrote: post #49

I've hung out with Ahaan at school several times -- some people in the comments here are speculating that going to university this young might make it hard to adjust (socially), but honestly I assumed he was like ~20 (i.e. just like any other college-age dude). I had no clue he had such a neat backstory of how he got to MIT!

Yeah, there was a guy at my alma mater (Olin College of Engineering) who entered at 14 or 15. He was perfectly normal and well-adjusted. I mean, it was a weird cloistered tech school environment, so "normal" and "well-adjusted" are relative here, but I also didn't realize he was so young until he mentioned it.

I mean, sure, you get the occasional Ted Kaczynski, but the vast majority of kids I've heard of entering college early seem well-adjusted.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#93

Post by russnewcomer »

gozo wrote: post #89
russnewcomer wrote: post #30

I applaud this family, and am glad for Ahaan's sake that he isn't just shipping himself off to college, but is going to still have his support structure. I was homeschooled, along with my two sisters, my entire educational career until college. We all started taking college classes early, my older sister correspondence at 14, my twin and I correspondence at 15. All of us took classes at local colleges before starting…

With all due respect, and while you might very well be smart, your story is pretty normal. The MIT alumni I've meet (for which selection bias surely is a factor) has been quite beyond that and very much overachievers (in a positive way). That said, going to college early usually isn't a good idea. People are quite "age sensitive" in that age so you're missing out on a lot of the social stuff. Regardless how good MIT…

Oh, I'm not really that smart, so really, not much respect is due. :)

I agree that going to college early isn't a good idea for the peer socialization aspects. The intellectual ones, I think it's fine. But every kid is different.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#94

Post by agentultra »

benjohnson wrote: post #84
agentultra wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not so much despair but longing for something that never could have been. My parents knew what was wrong with me but couldn't understand it themselves. They thought it would be best to hold me back so that I learned how to socialize. It was a rough education. When I do have spare time you bet you'll find me working on a problem, reading a paper, or studying. It's almost like regret knowing that I won't be able t…

>>It's not so much despair but longing for something that never could have been. Providing an amazing environment for my children has erased all regret for my own childhood. I can see a new hope filled future with new eyes.

Yeah, same. Well, almost same. I have to remember not to be too eager!

Update: Also... kind of terrified of the public education system. No time for home schooling though. Damn circumstance!

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#95

Post by Nimitz14 »

jjaredsimpson wrote: post #61
Retric wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the idea that the absolute best thing for a highly intelligent person to do is get to collage as soon as possible is a little sad. Life is not a race.

Some people enjoy the race. Seems like you are implying his time could've been better spent "doing kid stuff."

He's not implying anything. He's saying it's wrong to assume that everybody should want the same thing. Is it that hard to understand?

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#97

Post by vox_mollis »

allendoerfer wrote: post #80
Cyph0n wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is exclusively technical education bad? Who cares if he doesn't know much about politics, art, or geography? All that matters is that he loves what he's doing.

Because we live in a democracy and I want to be sure that people how have actual power over me know some basic facts about politics, art, geography and history.

As it already is, for the most part, they don't.

Questioning the sacred cow of universal suffrage might be a better allocation of mental resources than picking on a single kid's parents.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#98

Post by rtl49 »

russnewcomer wrote: post #82
rtl49 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't speculate on your motives, I'd just like to point out that the story you've related simply doesn't provide a counterpoint to the idea that rapid academic advancement might lead to developmental problems or result from undue pressure. All of the accomplishments you cite could be expected of a precocious student, and could go hand in hand with adjustment issues (and seem to have done so in your case as a colleg…

Hm. I feel that I've written poorly, because I don't understand why you're making your argument from my writing. I feel like you're just restating my argument without the personal experience. My point in writing was entirely to say that I've been through a similar journey, as have others in my family, and (while I didn't mention this originally), I have friends who have done the same thing. Thus, I have observed this…

To whatever extent your comment was intended to contribute to the discussion, I apologize for any misunderstanding. To whatever extent it might have been motivated by pride, I wish you luck, for your sake and those around you, in overcoming this tendency. Beyond that, I think this conversation is now of too little value for us and those reading to continue.

Re: Homeschooled with MIT courses at 5, accepted to MIT at 15

#99

Post by Mimu »

So many people praising this brainwashing I can't even believe it. I'm ready for the downvote but please comment to why it is not the case. That's a pretty story but if their parents went on teaching him something else than physics everybody would go on their horses and scream for child abuse.

What choice did the kid have? None. Dude didn't go out and was full MIT mode from the age of 5.

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