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Belgian boy Laurent Simons heads off to university aged 8.

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BrianHG:

--- Quote from: Kjelt on June 30, 2018, 10:14:38 pm ---No problem he is 8 where normal kids would have been 18 so he already won 10 years not sitting in school benches, enough time to pursue other interests  :)

--- End quote ---
It doesn't matter how smart you are, if you don't use it, especially as our minds mature in shape, size and function from that young age, you will loose it.  Though he is so far ahead, he must continue to functionally use his knowledge and expand his abilities almost every day.  And he needs to further expand his abilities, because once something gets too boring to care about, there is little chance the same degree of interest will come back later-on in life.

Brumby:

--- Quote from: ataradov on June 30, 2018, 08:33:10 pm ---I fear that this is his parents pushing him to do this stuff, and that scares me.

--- End quote ---

Do you really think parental pushing is enough to get an 8 year-old to university level?  Sorry, I just can't see that.  The kid has to have some innate ability.

I sometimes wish my parents had been a little more encouraging.  When I was in primary school, there were 3 kids in my year that were offered placements in what was called an "opportunity class".  I was one of them.  My parents left the decision to me - without making any real effort to encourage or explain the benefits.  As a pre-teen kid who lived 4 doors from the school, the opportunity class, being a few suburbs distant, seemed so very far away.  The distance was uncomfortable and the travel felt scary.  As a result, I chose to feel safe and passed it up.  I sometimes wonder what may have come if I had chosen otherwise.

ataradov:
I was thinking about this a bit, and a thought crossed my mind, for which I want to hear some opinions from people from different countries.

How is it even possible to finish school in 1.5 years? I don't think such thing is possible in Russia (where I grew up). None of the examination systems are  set up to take exams for multiple years.

How does it even work? Do you need to just pass some combined exam, or exams designed to be passed year after year? Who takes the exam? In many places examination commissions are assembled only during the exam time. Somebody had to get paid for conducting the exam.

I would really like to hear the mechanics of this. Did he start in a first grade and then jumped one up every month?

How does it work in your country?

Edit: We also had to pass PE, for example. Did he actually do the PE on same level as 18 year old kids? IQ won't help you jump high :)

Halcyon:

--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on June 30, 2018, 08:50:05 pm ---
--- Quote from: ataradov on June 30, 2018, 08:33:10 pm ---I don't get this. I can understand that school is easier for some people than the others. But why not actually go along with everyone.

So he goes into the uni at 8, gets masters at 14. What's next? He will not be able to find employment for a few more years.

I fear that this is his parents pushing him to do this stuff, and that scares me.

Education must progress with age and personal development, IMO. If school is easy - take up some hobbies, relax a bit. Is he in a rush to get somewhere?

--- End quote ---
I'd argue the reverse. There is a tendency to slow down sharp minds for the sake of the rest of the group, leading them to get bored, act up or even completely give up on academics. I think there's a focus on children lagging behind, but children ahead of the game are too often left to fend for themselves. Just because they're smart doesn't mean they understand how they tick or what their needs are yet and that can really bite.

--- End quote ---

I actually agree with both of you. I think it's important there is a balance. I was bored at school and skipped a year myself, but I stuck it out until Year 10 (instead of going all the way through to year 12), but I went straight into a full time job (which I had since age 14).

Nevertheless, school taught me some really important life and social skills. I still socialise with the same group of friends from high school (some even from primary school) to this day. Sure we were a bunch of nerds so when we got together, it was usually for LAN parties (I have fond memories of spending an hour or two trying to get the damn 10BASE2 network going because the terminators were dodgy), but we also did "normal" teenager things like play with fireworks etc...

Social and interpersonal skills are just as important as textbook knowledge and problem solving.

Marco:

--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on June 30, 2018, 08:50:05 pm ---I'd argue the reverse. There is a tendency to slow down sharp minds for the sake of the rest of the group

--- End quote ---
Not for the sake of the group, for the sake of cost and for being able to manage with poor teachers. I assume this kid was homeschooled.

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