Bob

I went to public schools, and yes, I was indoctrinated. Took me many years to learn to think for myself, and I am still learning. If you’re offended, I’m sorry, but this has been my experience with every single public schooled person I know in the last 20 – 25 years. If we are free-thinking now, it’s because it’s taken us a lot of time to figure out that we WERE indoctrinated and we have had to relearn how to think and learn.

You were 15 not 13, and that does make a difference. Especially in this case, where the college in question does allow 15 as their minimum cut off.

Incidentally, the best way to learn is by doing. I don’t see how taking classes from your mom for the last 12 years will help prepare for a successful college career. And I am frankly offended by home-schooled commenters who claim that everyone who went to a public or private school (I’ve been to both) are “indoctrinated” and can’t think for themselves. And if this was so, then why would college be any better? There was certainly quite a bit of “indoctrination” at my University – anyone who supported President Reagan on anything were ridiculed as idiots, or worse.

I appreciate your feedback.

However, my query is narrowly focused: why do you question Roy’s opinion because he only once attended “a couple of classes” and when I call you on it you then indicate you took “some” classes at thirteen? What’s the difference, and should Roy’s or Bob’s opinion be given greater weight if they had or had not attended junior college in their early teens?

Attending college at a young age is not substantially comparable to the legal or moral consequences of other issues mentioned previously. It’s simply the pursuit of knowledge. It’s a public college. Let her at it!

My experience with kids that have been home schooled would say that you are wrong. At the very least, I will say that your experience with home schooled kids is vastly different from mine.

Of course, maybe you and I can agree that home schooled Tim Tebow has done rather well for himself in socialization, maturity, academics, morals and helping his fellow man. In my experience, what makes Tebow different from 95% of the other home schooled kids is his athletic ability – not his social skills.

Your mileage may vary. 🙂

You misunderstand, I feel, my position: I am not opposed to this girl taking college courses. I am no even opposed to her entering college with a goal of graduating in four years. I just think that those who fall outside the normal parameters of society should be considered as special cases and decisions made on a one-by-one basis. Perhaps this girl is intellectually and emotionally able to go to college. The information provided in the on-line articles and in discussion here do not address those issues, nor can a judge, asked to decide this on the basis of age discrimination. Yes, it is age discrimination. But who is more familiar and able to judge such matters? The college administration or a judge. The college administration is, one hopes, guided by concerns for its students, actual and potential. The judge will be guided by the law which must inevitably consider such issues in a cookie-cutter fashion.

I hasten to add that a lot of students are not emotionally prepared to matriculate in college at 18. However, the larger number of such inappropriate students means that a well-run college will have support mechanisms in place for students at 18 than at 13.

Is it right for this girl to attend college? That is the issue. Instead of speaking in grand generalities of rights, she should be considered as an individual.

I don’t have the data at hand. I haven’t met her, I have no opinion on her abilities to operate in a social situation among nominal equals who are late adolescents and young adults. I strongly suspect that home schooling has made the sort of rough, often obnxious socialization that many of us went through is absent. I could well be wrong. But what makes you think I am? Have you met her?

Bob

You ROCK!

Why not? Did you take any college classes at 13 and find it unproductive or unacceptable?

If this girl wants to go to college, has proven that she is academically inclined–as the information from the article indicates–then she should be allowed to attend. Socialization is not about sticking a bunch of kids together to chat about the latest teen idol but teaching children the art of being able to hold a coherent and real conversation with any age group, from babies to the elderly, so this girl is probably better socialized than the majority of “kids” coming out of public/private High Schools today. Assuming she is a typical home-schooled kid, I would be surprised if she has any trouble adapting to college life and dealing with the people there, as she has probably been exposed to people of all walks of life for years so attending college will be like another day in her normal life.

Most likely the problem here isn’t that the college administration truly fears this girl is unprepared for college, but that they know they have some kooks for professors at the college and fear that this girl could cause some serious civil/criminal liability issues for the professors being that she is a minor.
From my own experience in community college, I had to take a ‘mandatory’ Psychology class as part of the General Education requirements. Unfortunately, the long-standing tenured professor thought it was great fun to show Rated X movies during class as part of the standard curriculum–no redeeming value to the movies, he just thought it should be studied for its ‘artistic’ value. The school administration/professor were NOT happy when this was broadcast and even less happy when my father went to the professor about showing hard-core porn in a required general educational class when there was a 16 year old female present. I ended up dropping the class but the professor and school could have gotten in serious legal trouble for it, including criminal charges being filed, if we had been inclined to sue/file criminal charges. So this is more likely a way for them to protect themselves from a lawsuit/criminal charges is my first thought.