Do you think it is a good idea for a student to graduate a year early from highschool? Why or why not?

Question

The student isn't like the other students, she doesn't party, hang out with friends because she doesn't like her friends, she is more mature for her age. She will be 16.5 if she graduated a year early. She has plans to go right after for a bach. in history education which she has planned to take 2.5 years then her masters which would take her 1. She would be 20 when she started teaching what do you think about all of this.

Answer 1

One of my college roommates graduated from high school a year early and then college in 3 yrs. Later she said that graduating from high school early was a good idea but that she should have stayed in college for 4 yrs.

I don't think that, unless there are courses that would help get scholarships or get out of college courses, that a student needs to do that last year of high school if they don't have to.

However, college and grad school are different. Doing college that quickly leaves no time to experience it and may be too heavy a load to allow her to do well. Sounds like she's assuming that college (and grad school) are no harder than high school, and that's not true. Also, teaching is more than understanding the material you're teaching and how to present it. She needs to make friends, gain maturity, and generally have more contact with life in order to be a good teacher. If she never learns how to relate to people, she will not be a good teacher.

On the grad school front... I don't know how M. Ed. programs are set up, but I just finished by MA in History. It would not have been possible for me to complete my MA in one year. Even if I had taken the maximum number of courses allowed, I could only have knocked off a semester. Outside of that, grad school is also an opportunity to gain life experience that, among other things, makes people more employable. I joined all of my department's student organizations and was a officer of two of them. Though my track didn't require a thesis, I wrote one. In practical terms, everybody in my program worked at least 20 hrs a week and many worked more. It wouldn't have been possible for me to take a heavier courseload and work. My job and my thesis helped me get a job after graduation that I wouldn't have been qualified for with just my degree. Having been a leader in my program makes me a more valuable employee, in several different ways.

Answer 2

Even if she doesn't party or hang out, once she gets into college she'll be at a distinct disadvantage by being younger than her classmates.

As a teacher at a major university, this semester I'm "blessed" (?) with teaching a class which is predominately 15 and 16 year olds who have been deemed ready to get double credit for high school and college. Out of 22, there are 10 F's and 8 D's. These people are most definitely not ready for college work despite their performance on the admissions tests and how they did in a practice course last summer. They aren't mature enough. One of the important parts of staying in high school 4 years is to gain the maturity to function at the collegiate level. And part of a 4-year college/university program (which, for most people now takes 5 years) is in sharpening your interpersonal skills by functioning in an academic environment with those your same age. The interpersonal communication skills are extremely important in the world. A person who is 20 - while perhaps book smart - hasn't really lived enough and experienced life so they can teach children of any age. That's why college programs are set up to be 4 years. And to get through college in 2.5 years would mean taking approximately 25 credit hours per semester in the Fall and Spring and there are no schools I've ever heard of who would allow this. A normal course load on the high end is 18 hours per semester in the Fall and Spring and 12 in the Summer. Finishing in 2.5 years isn't even possible. Tell her to enjoy being a kid and take her time - you only go through life once - as far as anyone knows - don't be in a hurry to grow up.

Answer 3

Not much. One of the things missing in this picture is socialization. She's described as aloof, but I also think shyness. This denotes a lack of some maturity in a way and a disability in that she is unable to form a network of peers to lend support. Going off to college means leaving the support network of the family and living on one's own. Part of that process is socialization with one's peer group (i.e. other students) and this one appears to be unwilling or unable to do that. Takes away from the success quotient since part of growing up and being on one's own is to make friends with others and to establish relationships for support. College is a place where lots of that takes place but this person has not even made a start at it.

Also, teaching at age 20--administrators while desperate for teachers may have problems with a teacher who may only be a couple of years chronologically ahead of her students (assuming she ends up teaching in a high school). Moreover, there is no doubt going to be some age discrimination aside from that legitimate concern. Also, is a 20 year really very mature? I think not, a year extra might make a difference. But given that a person graduating with a masters degree is usually closer to 25 or 26, 5 years seems like it would make a big difference in terms of maturity and life experience.

I think its a bad idea.

Answer 4

No sense in holding back her education because of age. If she is ready to move to the next level, then she should. No sense in waiting to better herself.

Answer 5

She's obviously more focused and mature, so I don't think there is anything to worry about.

Answer 6

Well, if this "girl" is smart enough ..... then why not? if i was that smart i'd be skipping grades by now!!!