Reply to Math competitions for Mathematically Gifted kid (7 year old)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You cannot Kumon your way into being a top competitor in Mathcounts.  All of the kids at the top nationally have a talent for math.  Most of them probably love math as well.  [/quote]

I will agree with this. And, like anything, kids are more likely to participate if their parents choose that path for them. There seems to be a cultural bias towards certain activities, many White families choose sports type programs for their kids when they are younger. Many Asian families choose academic enrichment programs for their kids. Based on the posts I have read on this site, both groups think that the other is crazy for their choices.

(shrugs)

I suspect that there are plenty of non-Asian kids who would do well in something like Mathcounts if they put the time in but it is not a point of emphasis for their families. I suspect that there are plenty of Asian kids who would do just fine in athletics if they put the time in but it is not a point of emphasis for their families.

I don't think for a second that there is one race/culture that has superior academic genetics or superior athletic genetics. I do think that specific cultures place more emphasis on different activities and that leads to families making different choices for their kids.

If your child loves math and is happy going for extra tutoring and competing in tournaments, awesome. Enjoy. If your kid loves playing sports, awesome. Enjoy.

Neither is a superior path. I know plenty of kids who did not do any type of enrichment in math who ended up with Engineering degrees. I don't see many kids who got ahead in math having a massive advantage by the time they get to College. I don't see many kids who played travel sports in elementary school attending college on full ride scholarships. There will always be the outliers but, for the most part, neither group ends up with a massive advantage in life. I would say the same for the early readers out there. There are benefits to being ahead early in school but, in the end, there is not that much benefit to getting ahead.

My only concern are the kids who are not really interested in excelling in whatever activity their parents are pushing but who have no choice. Those are the kids who end up writing "I don't want to be here/do this/care" on their AP essays. Trust me, I have saw that when I was grading AP exams. That 1 or 2 the kid brings home is essentially their flipping their bird to their parents who pushed them to do something they didn't want to do. They can't slack off on the homework or their school grades, that would make home life miserable. But they can tank their APs or their TJ essays and then blame some anonymous grader/reviewer for their failure to pass or be accepted. And if you don't think some of those amazing kids who are not accepted into TJ did not write that they don't want to go to TJ on their timed essays you are crazy. Those kids are looking forward to a less pressure filled high school experience and are counting on their parents to blame the reviewers because their test scores and grades and recommendations are all amazing. [/quote]

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