<p>To a degree, mathmom, I agree wtih you. And I certainly wasn’t advocating for every h.s. course to be as difficult as the one GFG describes, or as some I took. Perhaps some boarding schools do operate on that level. OTOH, there are students who really thrive in a healthy way on overall challenge, so I would argue for the opportunity both for what your son had, and for what others may wish. (Some are early, true scholars.) The fallacy comes where colleges begin to expect, because “challenge is provided” in the h.s., for every single student to have to meet the litmus test in maximum challenge in every subject before consideration of admission.</p>
<p>Btw, I think there are some misunderstandings in that regard. That’s a blanket policy statement on the part of admissions dep’ts. (“hardest courseload”) That’s what produces 10- and 12- AP-mania. Nevertheless, the applicant’s well defined & well articulated profile, in the coursework & in the application, is what cuts the mustard for admissions. Your son is a good example of someone who would be looked at for having pursued individual passion in his spare time. In my D’s case, the school wanted to showcase her & maximize her college admissions by pressuring her to take add’l AP math & science, beyond what she had taken – which already exceeded anything the Ivies recommend. She was a humanities emphasis student, despite her record in non-humanities subjects. She stuck to her guns & chose courses in her field in senior year. Her admissions results were better, i.m.o., than if she had posed as something else. Lots of other people on CC have posted similar histories.</p>
<p>As to the kindergarten example, it’s a poor example. 
No, the reason that homework has been given to K students is due to a poor understanding of the place & limits of homework, & the substitution of homework for excellent, thorough class instruction. (It’s not because of a belief that K should be more demanding than Grade One.) Zero homework is necessary at that stage. But again, reading preparation (at least in my state) is not what it was even 20 years ago, let alone earlier. So HW is being substituted for core teaching. (Part of that is due to teacher training, & there are add’l reasons, O/T.)</p>