Thanks doschicos. What do you mean take both from the get go? Wouldn’t studying two non-native languages for 3-4 years take too much time and effort?
She learned Spanish rather intensively, one hour each week day without vacations for 3 years from a private tutor in Peru with Skype. She finished a beginning level book, Gente Joven 1 & 2, and 20% of Gente Joven 3 before stopping it last year. Gente Joven 2 seems to be in typical first college semester level. She is ok with understanding Spanish grammar rules.
Just continuing on Spanish would be best. It’s her strongest and also the most useful both in helping English understanding and practical sense. But I was afraid that if she learns too much Spanish by continuing it 1~2 more college years before prep school, it goes beyond high school level (or it seem to be so to colleges) and she might have to study another foreign language during 4 years in high school, instead of Spanish. Must take most challenging courses and all, as everybody says.
At some schools its possible to do 2 languages, at others its not or difficult. It would depend on the school and what other classes your daughter wishes to pursue, options she might need to forgo.
I would suggest she do what is best for her know and pursue a course of study that she is interested in. She may - or may not - go to boarding school, so I wouldn’t overly plan now, making decisions based solely on that possibility. She wouldn’t be the first BS student to be well versed in another or several languages. The school will help you work out an agreeable course of study once admitted. Many BS have 4 to 5 levels of language study including independent study options.
As @doschicos says, you are planning too far ahead and overthinking. My school has six levels of Spanish (i.e. 2 years beyond AP) and there is the option of independent study afterward. In the unlikely event that your D exhausts the curriculum, colleges will not hold it against her.
The goal at this point should be securing admission to a prep school that meets her needs. Assume at this point that the lucky school will work with you and your daughter on designing an appropriate course of study that meets her needs. Until that happens, the hypotheticals are really not going to do you much good.
I do too much hypothetical and I know that it will be my undoing!
I have a doc file describing how daughter can get her AA degree next Spring and BFA in Sculpture by age 15. That was what she wanted since 7 and she followed it for last three semesters enjoying and excelling all college classes and CLEP exams taken. But now that the goal is within her grasp, she suddenly wants to be more generalized, take detours and explorer widely. She said she still would enjoy doing the BFA as sculpting is her favorite activity for now, but that’s not what she wants for her life anymore. I scraped the doc file as my cherished souvenir. I spent over hundred of hours on it.
How many people decide the course of their lives at age 7? It’s wonderful how you have supported and fostered her childhood interest, and wonderful that it is something she can continue her whole life. She will still need your guidance as she takes control of her own life, just not your direction or master planning. And maybe you can think of a childhood interest of your own that you could take up again now.
It was easier for me to figure out what to do when she said, “If I decide to be an artist, there is nothing you can do to stop me” at 7, and clearly proved that she was serious it by going all in to art. Now things are more complicated and clouded. Of course, there’s a line between overparenting and supportive parenting as former Stanford dean says. It’s a very fine line and often hard to see where it is drawn though.
You daughter sounds pretty darn terrific. However, unless she wrote your cherished .doc file herself, its existence could be construed as overparenting. Are you putting any of that energy into fulfilling your own creative needs?
CK made a similar statement about his childhood passion and was known at his BS for that talent – until junior year when he did a 180 and is off to college to pursue a profession that still has us gasping. I laugh at how foolish we were to assume our child truly knew what he wanted to do with his life regardless of how passionately he could express it or pursue it. Heck, I still don’t know what I want to do with mine.
@jwalche , I thought as much. Don’t let yourself disappear. FWIW, I have a creative daughter, too. I will never be as good an actor, singer, artist, or writer as she is already. But her example has led me into trying some things I was afraid to do when I was younger. Maybe there’s something that you never had the opportunity to do. This could be a good time to give it a try.
DS was in 2nd to 3rd year Spanish in 9th grade. It was a mixed grade class. His school had a track - first term was a review of 2nd year. If kids did well enough they continue to 3rd year next term. If not they finish 2nd year. Languages go up to 6th year and there is always independent study. 600 is a seminar which changes topics so it could be repeated.
