On September 27, 2007 our son was accepted as a special student into a local college. He initially attended an honors algebra course - achieved the highest average and subsequently accomplished the same feat in a pre-calculus course the following semester. Additionally, as an 11 year-old being honored by the College's Mathematics Department, this special occasion caught the attention of the local media.

This year, particularly the fall of 2008, our now 12 year-old, 4'8 student has completed his first year on a college campus. The novelty of it all has yet to wear thin as he still has to leave for class early enough to allow time for handshakes and inquiries, but in his own words, he wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Although people like to quickly assign descriptions like genius, profoundly-gifted, etc. to our son, Stephen, like so many other children who excel in academics, is a student who is parent-produced.
In other words, there were parents who formed the intent early in their child's life to nurture a talent or cultivate ability within them. Think of Earl Woods, Laszlo Polgar as examples. In our case it was academics and although some of us have taken the route of homeschooling, many have produced amazing beings through conventional educational methods. The point is, we as parents became proactive and refused to leave our child's academic development up to chance. Furthermore, we have also discovered along the way that it is possible to guide a child to his/her highest academic potential while creating a love for learning.

One interesting issue that is coming under increasing scrutiny is whether academic giftedness is an inherent immutable occurrence. There is mounting evidence suggesting that many kids identified as gifted were in fact taught by their parents early on in their childhood. My family's experience certainly can be counted among them. It is for this very reason that we tend to shy away from the word "genius" (and he too is uncomfortable with the description) because we are quite aware of the amount of effort it took to get our son to this point in his academic career.

Moreover, and this is paramount, there was very little demonstration of "genius" in his local school. He pulled all A's in his classes yes, but even his teacher at the time did not think that his performance in class warranted a grade-skip. Had my husband and I not had evidence of his academic potential by virtue of the assignments he completed at home, we would have accepted what the teacher had to say as our reality and our son would not have received the highest average in a college math course just three years later!

Our children's level of acceleration (our daughter will graduate from high school with honors at age 16!) had more to do with precise, consistent, deliberate instruction with optimization of development periods more susceptible to environmental factors. So parents do not be anxious about asserting your role in your child's education and introducing advance concepts into their child's learning experience. Yes, the local schools are there for a reason but learning...real learning that's pulsating, accommodating and unrestrictive could actually come from a person who knows the child best. After all, the parent is the one constant in a child's life.

I'm certainly not suggesting that neither a teacher nor tutor is incapable of providing a rewarding learning experience - talented professional educators are a treasure - but never underestimate the teaching power of a parent early on in a child's life. Not to be overlooked of course is the bonus of a communicative bond that takes place during the learning process that will likely extend into the teen years.

We should indeed be thankful for our right to a free education however, the local school should be a major contributor in your child's educational experience not the sole provider.

Michelle Brown-Stafford,
Accelerated Academic Strategist
[http://www.mocha-charm.com]