<p>not sure I agree with the hacking term, but interesting article! Good for him (and his Mom) for finding way to interest him in learning, getting into Cal, etc. I do have some reservations about the whole system, and would be concerned if my 15 year old was on any campus…</p>
<p>Hacking is definitely the wrong term. They did everything above board and legally. They simply applied out-of-the-box thinking to his education. </p>
<p>The traditional classroom experience can be a poor fit for some children. Kudos to this mom for being willing to rethink what was best for her son. </p>
<p>The family wasn’t particularly out of the box, as far as homeschoolers go. California homeschoolers often declare that their homeschool is a private school with respect to California laws. This is a normal way to homeschool in California, the way I homeschooled and the way my friends homeschooled. California homeschooling parents with bright teenagers typically send them to community college. Some homeschoolers transfer to California state universities or California state colleges after having accumulated enough credits at community college.</p>
<p>This kid was a little young, but I personally know two other kids who transferred as juniors to UCs or other top schools as teenagers. </p>
<p>“Hacking” is a very old word; computer hackers merely borrowed it. Even in the computer field, it doesn’t always mean criminal activities (although it can). A “hack” is just a way around the system that wasn’t anticipated.</p>
<p>Not sure why taking the needed transfer preparation courses at community colleges and other colleges and applying as a transfer is in any way unusual, or qualifies as “hacking” (in the sense of finding loopholes in or unanticipated ways around the system, or even out-of-the-box thinking). The more unusual parts of the story would be taking all of those college courses at an unusually young age, and getting into Berkeley with a 3.3 college GPA. The latter may be more understandable given his performing art history (applied to the theater major).</p>
<p>The only thing that is really out-of-the-box thinking was enrolling him in the college geology course when he was not doing well in 6th grade (though he did express an interest in geology).</p>
<p>I get annoyed by the overuse of the word “hacking”. </p>
<p>To add to the comments about the word, some hacks are good and some bad and these can have different meanings. Not just “for the purpose of doing” good or bad but some hacks are lousy code or, with a car, a lousy customization. A hacker can be good at finding solutions or just an idiot who chops stuff up. It’s a pity words like “kludge” aren’t in common use because many hacks are kludges, which sounds like what it means. </p>
<p>A small comment on the actual story: I know many kids who were pushed ahead in grade or specific class because they were deemed talented (and/or gifted) but were struggling. I don’t know if that is done as much today but decades ago that was considered a solution: make the kid work harder, remove from the social environment where peer issues are a problem. It’s interesting to think about how this might affect schools in bad neighborhoods: kids who act out may not be challenged but the school doesn’t have the ability to challenge them so they get dumped or labeled as trouble. And the alternative would be to divert resources to these relative few from the relative many. That doesn’t happen, especially given the demands of special education and its protected legal status. I remember in all of MA the total spent - now a few decades ago - on talented & gifted programs would barely cover the costs of assistance for a handful of severely handicapped children. I’m not saying priorities should change, just that priorities are always allocations of scarce resources. </p>
<p>Lergnom - I’d like to add to your thoughts on kids who get labeled as trouble may simply be bored students.
I remember many years ago reading an article in a homeschooled magazine. A child was just not doing well in math (for those of you who homeschool - the math program they were using was Saxon) and the parents were wondering if the child was just being lazy about his studies. One day the dad had the idea to simply give him a higher level Saxon text (I forget now if the book was one or two levels ahead of his current book). This book stimulated the kid and he began to excel and ultimatley he did extremely well in math. </p>
<p>Yes, sometimes kids act up because they are bored. I recall a few bored fellow students at my high school. I was one of them but I was to goody-goody to act up. It’s one of the reasons I homeschooled my own kids - to keep them from experiencing the boredom that I can recall so well of my time in the classroom.</p>
<p>I think this mother applied out of the box thinking because she opted to try a college class when her son was still so young. Very few are willing to try something like this. So often I hear a parent of a traditionally schooled student moan over how her Johnny isn’t doing well in school and he/she does nothing about it. She expects the school to solve this problem and invariably, the school does not do anything of substance and Johnny continues to not do well/be bored. This mother was willing to tackle the problem and actively look for a solution. Good for her! </p>
<p>I do know that it’s common for CA homeschoolers to call their homeschool a school (and this is done legally) and I was surprised that the writer of the article treated it as if it was some loophole this this woman exploited. </p>
<p>I don’t see how there’s anything untoward or dubious as described in the story. Also, some teens or even young children ARE ready for college on an academic and maturity basis. </p>
<p>Met several such students at my LAC ranging from a 16 year old college junior who transferred in from Simon’s Rock of Bard to a classmate 2 years ahead of me who GRADUATED from our LAC with honors AT 17. </p>