Is there such a thing as too much acceleration?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners.

So what? The only people who sneer at kids as overachievers are DCUMers whose kids aren't capable of advanced work.

colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness

This is another form of cope from parents whose kids aren't doing advanced work. It's a way for them to pretend their ordinary suburban kid is somehow really very special.

Plus there is no real proof that any college looks for "quirkiness" - whatever it is, nobody can even define it precisely.

If your kid is in advanced classes and is enjoying them and doing well, ignore what anyone else says about overachievement and the need to be "quirky".

[Anonymous]

If your kid is happy in the class they're in, making good grades and not overwhelmed, then I fail to see a problem.

[Anonymous]

So few students take Calculus as a freshman, so your replies are going to be from parents whose kids were average. Jealousy definitely is at play.

[Anonymous]

Yes I think there is such a thing as too much acceleration. It can result in shallow knowledge because students have not had enough time to truly master underlying concepts.

[Anonymous]

If your kid is taking Calc AB as a freshman, he may run out of classes available at his high school, and then what? Are you going to have him enroll in the local community college, some of which have terrible schedules and/or teaching? Or take an online class? If he is advanced in other subjects as well, I would recommend that he apply for college as a junior and not a senior and basically go to college 1 year early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Profs want students back to being strong in the basics.
The average STEM student in Calc Ab and BC should be repeating calc 2 in college. They skip along to linear or calc 3 and usually have poorer math skills than peers who repeated or began the calc sequence in college.

The colleges won’t think you’re “doing too much,” but your kid won’t be seen as any different than someone with Calc Ab As a senior or Bc if in stem. The really good math students have already blown your kid out of the water- they have the math Olympiad awards and college math work to prove it.

This makes sense. What do you mean by college math work though... like taking college classes? or research?

We know a kid acing real analysis as a sophomore!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners.

So what? The only people who sneer at kids as overachievers are DCUMers whose kids aren't capable of advanced work.

colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness

This is another form of cope from parents whose kids aren't doing advanced work. It's a way for them to pretend their ordinary suburban kid is somehow really very special.

Plus there is no real proof that any college looks for "quirkiness" - whatever it is, nobody can even define it precisely.

If your kid is in advanced classes and is enjoying them and doing well, ignore what anyone else says about overachievement and the need to be "quirky".

Much of what you state is true.
But not the stuff in bold; I'd suggest getting off here. Go on Reddit where current and former AOs post. They mention this ALL the time. Including as recently as this month.
It's not quirky. Its standing out. Being memorable. It's actually quite different.

A math kid can stand out and be memorable too.
Kid should always be authentic. But, try and break free from the pack a bit too. If everyone is swimming in one lane, try and help them get to another lane by 10th/11th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So few students take Calculus as a freshman, so your replies are going to be from parents whose kids were average. Jealousy definitely is at play.

About 1/2 of the students at DC’s high school take calc AB or BC as a freshman. Unless op’s child has a lot of post AP math coursework, he’s screwing himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Profs want students back to being strong in the basics.
The average STEM student in Calc Ab and BC should be repeating calc 2 in college. They skip along to linear or calc 3 and usually have poorer math skills than peers who repeated or began the calc sequence in college.

The colleges won’t think you’re “doing too much,” but your kid won’t be seen as any different than someone with Calc Ab As a senior or Bc if in stem. The really good math students have already blown your kid out of the water- they have the math Olympiad awards and college math work to prove it.

Exactly!

My advanced kid took Precalc in 10th, AP Calc AB in 11th and BC in 12th (along with AP stats). Our school requires you to take AB then BC (and teaches it accordingly, so BC reviews the AB portion in 3 weeks or so). They got 5s easily on both Calc Tests. So they took the college credit (T40 school, engineering major) and got As in all their math classes at University.
But had they gotten only 4s, I would have encouraged them to retake calc 2 in college to build the foundation.

it's much like in HS (for kids not advanced) where the explain, if you dont' get a B or better in Alg 1, you really need to retake Alg 1 over the summer to build the foundations for math. Because HS chem requires it, most HS science does and the rest of math will be challenging without a strong foundation.

Same goes for advanced kids. Sometimes you can get too advanced, skip material and not really learn it. If you plan to use it (as in engineering/Math/Physics) you need to step back and really know the material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was talking with a friend who also has a kid in 9th. DS is taking Calc AB and her kid is in Geometry. She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners. At first I thought it's just jealousy and that she is mad my kid is so advanced, but then I thought there may be some truth to what she is saying. It seems these days, colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness and that kids who do well in subjects like math, aren't valued at all. It doesn't help that we're Asian. Anyway. I'm wondering what other people think.

PS. My younger child is in 7th and is not on an accelerated track. Both kids are happy and love school.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Just one anecdata point, but my Asian kid who took Calc BC in 9th (then MV in 10th, Num Theory in 11th, and Lin Alg in 12th) and is headed to HYPSM this fall never felt overaccelerated as a student or undervalued as an applicant.

[Anonymous]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETt8GJRbqLc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was talking with a friend who also has a kid in 9th. DS is taking Calc AB and her kid is in Geometry. She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners. At first I thought it's just jealousy and that she is mad my kid is so advanced, but then I thought there may be some truth to what she is saying. It seems these days, colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness and that kids who do well in subjects like math, aren't valued at all. It doesn't help that we're Asian. Anyway. I'm wondering what other people think.

PS. My younger child is in 7th and is not on an accelerated track. Both kids are happy and love school.

Unless you want to go to MIT, so what?

For most top colleges, Calculus AB/BC by 12th grade works.

Most high schools don't even offer Calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking with a friend who also has a kid in 9th. DS is taking Calc AB and her kid is in Geometry. She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners. At first I thought it's just jealousy and that she is mad my kid is so advanced, but then I thought there may be some truth to what she is saying. It seems these days, colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness and that kids who do well in subjects like math, aren't valued at all. It doesn't help that we're Asian. Anyway. I'm wondering what other people think.

PS. My younger child is in 7th and is not on an accelerated track. Both kids are happy and love school.

Unless you want to go to MIT, so what?

For most top colleges, Calculus AB/BC by 12th grade works.

Most high schools don't even offer Calculus.

What year are you in? Most high schools in poor neighborhoods have calculus now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So few students take Calculus as a freshman, so your replies are going to be from parents whose kids were average. Jealousy definitely is at play.

About 1/2 of the students at DC’s high school take calc AB or BC as a freshman. Unless op’s child has a lot of post AP math coursework, he’s screwing himself.

So 1/2 the students at your DC's high school (what is the enrollment number of the freshman class) are screwing themselves because they are accelerating themselves. They will have poor outcomes when it comes time to apply to colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was talking with a friend who also has a kid in 9th. DS is taking Calc AB and her kid is in Geometry. She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners. At first I thought it's just jealousy and that she is mad my kid is so advanced, but then I thought there may be some truth to what she is saying. It seems these days, colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness and that kids who do well in subjects like math, aren't valued at all. It doesn't help that we're Asian. Anyway. I'm wondering what other people think.

PS. My younger child is in 7th and is not on an accelerated track. Both kids are happy and love school.

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Just one anecdata point, but my Asian kid who took Calc BC in 9th (then MV in 10th, Num Theory in 11th, and Lin Alg in 12th) and is headed to HYPSM this fall never felt overaccelerated as a student or undervalued as an applicant.

I'm sorry but the conventional wisdom here is that your child harmed themselves in taking advanced math classes.