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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kid is in first grade and we are working through a calculus textbook at home.  Math just comes to him.  Would love for him to get a better foundation than I can provide.  These college classes sound expensive though.  What is the cost?[/quote]

I have seen claims like this before on DCUM and it blows my mind. I don't think this is actually possible, but I could be wrong! I don't know enough about giftedness. Can you elaborate on how your child has the knowledge and cognitive foundation for calculus at age 6/7?

In terms of your q, if your child is that intelligent, not sure they need to go to college to learn anything. Stick with textbooks and tutors? Or see if DC can audit? There's also MOOCs, which could be a lot better than any inperson instruction where you are at the mercy of who ever gets assigned to teach the course (whereas MOOCs often have amazing teachers). DC must also be able to use a computer by now.[/quote]

Kid is 6yo and uses computers.  He was reading chapter books during K so we focused on math over the summer.  Algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc.  I’m not saying he has mastered anything but we are working through a calculus textbook now to keep him interested.  I’m really confused what to do about school so I do appreciate the suggestions.  I was initially considering college courses as an option a few years from now, but he also deserves a childhood and likes playing with kids his age.  We are private people and don’t want any attention.[/quote]

Terence Tao, "the smartest mathematician in the world", learned calculus in 5th grade. Your kidndidn't didn't learn it in 1st grade.

RSM Math Contest archives, AoPS AMC 8/10 archives, AoPS Alcumus and Euclidea.xyz to start. Watch 3B1B and Mathologer videos , and pause and try to predict what he's going to say before he says it.

"Reading" a math book  is like looking at the pictures in a literacy book. It's fun butnits  not learning. Understanding math requires doing problems.

A lot of kids read super advanced math, don't understand it, don't retain it, can't solve slightly tricky elementary level problems, and then have trouble in school because they skip super far ahead without truly learning.

I've seen it in my own kid, who has solved impressively hard contest problems relating to what he was studying, but then couldn't solve similar problems a few months later.

Even that kid in the article who took AP calculus and got a top score of 5. Did he learn it well? Maybe, who knows. A score of 5 and AP calculus test requires only 65% of the test points. Half the test is multiple choice so if you have the basic idea of what things mean, you have a high chance of guessing the answer even if you can't fully solve the problem. 
10% of the test uses a graphing calculator so all you need to do there is transform word problems into a formula.

For a truly advanced math kid, you need to be doing things that are well beyond the standard school curriculum and testing, not just hyper accelerating and cramming through the curriculum and low expectations designed for average kids. [/quote]

Agree in general with this post, however people do math for a broad variety of reasons, not only competition math, and not everyone is aiming to become a mathematician.

You need math to be able to do rigorous science, engineering, economics etc. One can argue it’s better to have a broader and more superficial knowledge base. If math is a tool and not someone’s main focus, getting a 5 on the AP Calculus may just be good enough.

I’m also doubtful about how useful competition math is. For career skills, I think it’s better to develop other areas, like working with others, leadership etc.[/quote]

I totally agree and wonder the same about competitions. Not everyone has the desire to compete. For my DC, I plan to just follow his interests. I am providing as much opportunity as I can for him to enjoy math and become curious and fascinated by it, but the rest is up to him. 
[/quote]

There is so much fun and interesting math outside the boring K-12/AP curriculum!

(See the resources mentioned upthread)[/quote]

You can make the same argument about fun and interesting learning outside of math. Or as in the OP post, a math class that combines math with engineering, computer science etc.

There’s no right answer, but as someone that has done completions, admittedly a long time ago, I think an internship or a job are much more valuable for a successful career. [/quote]

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