<p>Wzb…your son will have ample opportunity to study physics for three years…or more…in college. If HE wants to. </p>
<p>I sure hope he shares your enthusiasm for very tough academic studies…especially in the summer. </p>
<p>Just remember, he is a TWELVE year old.</p>
<p>@wzg69g
If it takes 3 yrs, then that is only b/c of how your school has set it up. Students can complete both C portions in a single yr. If your student loves physics, there are countless opportunities to study via MOOCs. Taking classes in the summer crammed into 6 weeks is not your only option. Teaching Company/Great Courses had numerous physics and astronomy lectures. A high school classroom is not the only option for learning.</p>
<p>My ds loves physics so much he asked for TC lectures for gifts and bought numerous lectures with his own money. </p>
<p>FWIW, internal motivation is a far better thing for a child than anything coming from an external source. My ds studied what he wanted, when he wanted. It grew out of a fascination with black holes and blossomed into a full-blown passion for the subject. But what he accomplished came 100% from him and had absolutely nothing to do with anyone esle.</p>
<p>I am not saying to skip algebra or geometry. I only complain public school is so slow on them but at the same time student have no time to schedule important class. Eg many student never have chance to study physics or skip physics honor to choose AP physics C Me only.</p>
<p>Um…depending on what YOU choose for your kiddo…algebra and geometry are as important as physics.</p>
<p>You seem singularly focused on physics. Why is this??</p>
<p>I went back and looked at the other thread. I see you said he could test out of alg and geo but didn’t think it was a good idea, but you plan on alg in the school yr and geo next summer. I only skimmed it earlier.</p>
<p>But, you do already have academics scheduled for next summer. Your plans seem out of order to me. Math should drive the science sequence and alg should come before physics. </p>
<p>You seem to have your own plan. I am not sure why you are asking. </p>
<p>He took AMC8, math olympiad, SAT. His AMC8 score is not very high in 7th grade. But i think he can do better. After this year AMC8, he will focus on AMC10</p>
<p>Yes the original plan is geometry first then physics. But high school told us not to take geometry for credit before the summer of his 8th grade. Otherwise he needs to take geometry in 9th grade. So next summer he will take geometry</p>
<p>I don’t see what the rush is. I went to a very rigorous PUBLIC high school, took algebra 1 and geometry in middle school, Calc BC junior year of high school, honors physics freshman year, honors chem sophomore year, honors bio junior year, and AP chem and physics C senior year (I took two sciences instead of MV Calc and just started math again when I got to college). I went to a school where it was actually very common for kids to do that and double up on sciences to raise their class rank, however I never took summer school. If I had I would have regretted it because taking another AP (Bio) would not have beneffited me. </p>
<p>There is really no reason to try to take every AP in high school since most times the college course is better. Also for courses like physics there may also be an honors version which is usually smaller and more rigorous. AP courses, especially if they are taught to the test, just don’t compare to the college courses as they are often very watered down.</p>
<p>Double up on science is not allowed anymore in our district. The best choice is only one year ap physics C Me only.</p>
<p>Aargh! “Mature brains and conceptual ability”. Spend time socializing with friends. His brain and abilities are likely far beyond his chronological age- definition of gifted. Agree that AP courses are watered down compared to top colleges, including Honors at flagships.</p>
<p>Sounds like your son is enjoying himself. Gifted kids are different. What seems tough to even bright kids is at their level. I presume he enjoys being with the other students- he gets to socialize with his peers, people with the same interests…</p>
<p>My son attended WCATY gifted summer camps in WI. Started when he was 13 after his freshman year of HS (the younger age/grade programs didn’t interest him- and there was a conflict in the age/grade requirements. I complained about how he fell through the cracks- hopefully they adjusted for kids in his age/grade situation in future years). The major problem was when he came home after 3 weeks being with his gifted peers and considered his parents stupid (where did he think he got his brains from???). </p>
<p>The different strokes… comment resonates with me. Hopefully your HS can accommodate his special needs (high achievers have them as much as the low end of the Bell curve). </p>
<p>Let him continue this as long as he chooses to. Don’t worry about being out of synch with his agemates. And- if he doesn’t do that well, so what? He challenged himself instead of being bored silly.</p>
<p>OP hasn’t said her son is enjoying himself, nor that this was his choice. Only that he likes physics.
In general, I don’t have an issue with wise tiger parenting; some challenges are worthy and can encourage some stretch. But this thread seems really about what mom thinks and wants. The hs isn’t good enough. I don’t see a conversation evolving with OP, just posts.</p>
<p>Um…we don’t know if the KIDDO is enjoying himself…or not. All we know is that the parent is enjoying having his kid do these physics courses. The parent says the kiddo enjoys talking about physics…but if THAT is the only topic the parent discusses, the kid would have no choice.</p>
<p>There are plenty of programs for gifted kids that address their interests and unique needs that are NOT summer school courses.</p>
<p>Yes, I worry about what the kid wants. How does he feel about giving up his summer to learn Physics? And what else is he doing this summer? </p>
<p>I was the child you wanted, OP. I sought out and begged my mom to take all kinds of summer science classes. They were fun for me. But there was no high school or college credit connected to the courses, even though sometimes the classes were college classes, and the work was done in the class itself. Besides a little reading to do at home, the classes weren’t that time consuming. And in the rest of my time I was riding my bike to the pool, hanging out with fiends, flirting with boys, reading novels, and watching bad reruns on TV. There wasn’t the hyper focus I feel coming from you. My life wasn’t planned out. I was making the summer class choices, not my folks, and if I stopped being interested in Physics and started being interested in History or gardening or even just Boys, my parents would have been supportive. (Okay, maybe not so much with Boys.)</p>
<p>He is a kid. He is young. Relax.</p>
<p>I don’t think the parent has any idea if the kid wants to do this or not. That’s not the point in this family.</p>
<p>Yes it is possible this kid likes physics, but even so, taking a summer course which crams a whole year of high school physics into a summer is not a useful or fun thing to do. While it may give this kid a first exposure to physics, they won’t get nearly as much out of a summer course as they would out of a year long physics course.</p>
<p>While I do think that physics should be first for kids who are advanced in math, there is really no rush for all of these physics courses. It’s more important to be efficient with courses. Taking honors physics and both APs in high school is a complete waste, the both serve a purpose and someone who is going to take physics later wouldn’t get much out of physics B. It also sounds like the OP has a fixation on test scores which is not necessarily what you should be thinking about when trying to build a foundation in a subject.</p>
<p>If the kid decides they are really interested in physics, there are more than enough opportunities to get ahead in college. I started taking grad classes when I was a junior after simply doing the honors sequence freshman year and everything else I was supposed to (I didn’t have another major and only had a math minor so I could devote a lot of time).</p>
<p>Lots of kids take advanced academic courses during summers. These become just a line on the application. Tippy Top adcoms aren’t looking for 7th grade SATs; that will be ancient history. </p>
<p>Before anyone assumes you get into the “best” colleges for being a freaking genius, (or, ha, trying to seem to be one,) they should be smart enough to read what the colleges themselves have to say about the qualities they seek. Surprise! A prodigy who has noting else to rest on but these programs or those scores, can be at a disadvantage. I won’t name these colleges, their blogs, I don’t think we should. OP should be doing that looking, not assuming this is all hierarchical. Not falling into the “special snowflake” thinking.</p>
<p>My opinion:</p>
<p>You are being too tough on him.</p>
<p>He needs more of a math foundation before taking these physics classes.</p>
<p>You are worried about the wrong things. He is obviously bright but needs time to develop socially. Consider putting him in boy scouts or some other social/service organization.</p>
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<p>This was my concern, too. From the scores and background the OP has posted, his math doesn’t seem all that strong to me. Is the OPs boy is some math whiz kid who is thinking at a whole different level from a normally bright 12 year old? I don’t get that from her posts. If he were, the OP wouldn’t even be asking her question about the course being right for him. She would be letting him be the driver, as the parents of highly gifted kids learn very early. She would be having trouble keeping up with him, not worried about whether she’s pushing or being too tough. </p>
<p>@thumper1 He isn’t even in 8th grade lol</p>
<p>Before I registered this class, i think it will use Conceptual Physics: The High School Physics Program, which will focus on concepts. Now this class is more advance in math than I expect. But I think he can continue since he did very well in the first two weeks. He will not only study physics in one summer. At least he will have a full year AP physics C class in 11th grade.</p>