Saturday, December 06, 2008

Smart Girls

I just dropped the Lone Star Girl off at a nearish-by high school to take the SAT for the first time. She's taking it as part of that same Duke University seventh grade talent search that I participated in at her age. I think she would really enjoy the summer enrichment classes offered through the program - I know I did, what with the boys and dorms and spotty adult supervision - but I doubt we can afford them.

She likes to roll her eyes at me for suggesting that she take a practice run at the SAT in seventh grade, but I know that underneath her sneering, she is really giving it her all ... because she kind of wants to skip high school. This is a plan I am not thinking I can support, but the merits of which she is still trying to convince me. The other Young Friend in our Quaker meeting, who is three years older than my girl, attended the same public GT program that my daughter is attending for middle school, but then skipped high school and now, at barely 16, is a college sophomore at the local university. My daughter has surprised me by wanting to follow in her footsteps lately.

Their circumstances are, however, somewhat different. Our friend's father teaches at the university and so is around. Also, our friend is a touch more brilliant and a lot more mature, in my opinion, than my also-brilliant but pretty flighty, girl.

I can't see myself going along with this, but I am always glad to see the junior woman aiming for something academic, anyways, so I'm happy to have her trying to convince me. I wish she'd try to convince me with As in all of her academic courses, but she seems to think that would be going too far.

3 comments:

Andrea said...

SAT?? Wow...that's huge!

Anonymous said...

I think very gifted children often hit a point in HS where they finally have to study, and then you see those As rolling in.

gojirama said...

That's great that she's reaching!
I think it's very common for gifted kids not to want to wrk hard. They feel like they shouldn't have to.