A friend of mine has a very gifted child and has researched a lot of the best wisdom on the subject. Boiled down, it's "don't push, let the child pull you." And that even though they're smart, emotionally they're still children.

Skipped way ahead to say, whoohoo, I'm in Chicago! Aurelia has a great apartment and a cute cat.

goes back to read the last 100 messages

it seems to me that a 10 year old could be learning all kinds of interesting stuff on his own, but still be in a classroom with relative age-peers (even with skipping a grade or two).

It's possible, but -- well, obviously each case is different. But I left high school two years early because it was making me miserable (along with other reasons). Now, I wasn't significantly younger that the average student at my college, which would make it a remarkably different experience, nor did I leave because I was brilliant. But for different reasons, making me stay with my age peers for the sake of normalcy would have been actively cruel.

My take is that there's no really good answer; they're so unusual that they probably are going to feel out of place regardless where they are. Some will be happier going through school with their age group; some may not be able to socialize with their age group, so what would be the point?

Eh, I'm rambling. I just think there's no right answer, and probably the families do the best they can.

Crap, I just remembered -- about the different people being different and no one-size-fits-all solution to anything, and all that business. Who's always going on about that, again?

Who's always going on about that, again?

Some hippie kook.

I know a couple subjects in grade school were beyond boring for me not because of the content, but the speed of covering the content.

I can't imagine the horror of every class, even ones I hated, dragging that way (reminds me of a comic scan I just read on LJ, where Quicksilver, a speedster moans: 'Tell me, doctor ... have you ever stood in line at a banking machine behind a person who didn't know how to use it? Or wanted to buy stamps at the post office and the fellow in front of you wants to know every single way he can ship his package to Istanbul? Or gotten some counter idiot at Burger King who can't comprehend "Whopper, no pickles?" [...] Your life is being slowed to a crawl by the inabilities or the inconvenient behaviour of others. [...] Now imagine, doctor, that everyone you work with, everywhere you go ... your entire world .. is filled with people who can't work cash machines.'), especially if I wanted to learn.

Who's always going on about that, again?

Some cowgirl.

nor did I leave because I was brilliant.

::pfftt::

ita, I introduced Nicole to tamarind balls yesterday, and just pimped them to Aurelia as well.

I should have brought my hat.

I should have brought my hat.

The pimp hat? You know you're not rally Macking until you have platform clogs that are hollowed out and have goldfish swimming around in them.

Whoo! Did they receive them more graciously than, say, Alibelle?

You know you're not rally Macking until you have platform clogs that are hollowed out and have goldfish swimming around in them.

Man, if I still weighed 145 lbs. I would so buy a pair of those. Just watched I'm Gonna Get You Sucka last weekend.