@Tigerle ,
A gap year during high school may help her deciding on college major. Also it might (or nor) help her in selective college admission, and possibly save her from years of not-sculpting if it turns out that way.
@twoinanddone , She is 13. But she wears make up and mature but not revealing clothing, and she blends fine with adults at her community college classes. At least blends enough that no one dares asking her age any longer. She has been doing it for 3 years. She won’t go to a bar. But the atelier program runs into late evening. I hear that they are serious artists and won’t be partying like college freshmen. Unless prohibited by the law of the land, having an older boyfriend won’t bother me. She has been already spotted going to a library with 6~7 years older boy and it didn’t bother us. My daughter isn’t a naive child. Though lacking personal experience, we frankly talk about stuffs that may shock other parents - boys, sexuality, pedophilia. I already told her that I won’t mind her making a boyfriend.
“i’m just trying to explain that she is extraordinarily fortunate to have had the opportunities that she’s had.”
And I went against social expectation, let kids be kids, emotional instabilities and all that for to give her the opportunities. I will continue to do so.
“people take genED’s not only to meet requirements, but to be well rounded, well educated grown-ups.”
That’s why we did it. But once she had it, then why not take full advantage of what she has already worked hard and earned?
“she will likely need to repeat lower level courses because they have more depth than she’s experienced to date.”
That was what I thought. But recently it turned out that her new school, Grier School is far more accommodating and encouraging than I imagined on her maintaining academic challenges and offered her to take upper grades courses. So it seems she isn’t repeating anything but arts. Dd is very happy with her Fall course selections. I am happy too.
“let her be… getting in to fabulous schools”
I always do, without constraining her. If who she is turns out to be full time sculptor, I don’t want to constrain her with society expected 4 full years of high school and 4 full years of fancy college. I won’t be Michael Corleone asking his singer son to finish his law degree first. The following bio of one of sculpture instructor at Barcelona Academy of Art seems just as fine to me;
" After expressing her interest in art from an early age, Valentina began her formal art education at the age of 13 in Tzanko Lavrenov art school in Plovdiv (Bulgaria). After her graduation in 2004, she grew her interest in figurative sculpture and joined the Florence Academy of Art, where she studied drawing, painting and sculpture, and where she later participated as a teacher in the drawing program."
But then I also don’t want to limit her as an artist only. I want the doors remaining as open as they can be without inhibiting the current goal.