The takeaway from this story is a condemnation of US higher education tbh. Exquisitely gifted 13 year old graduates from college with a major in physics & a minor in math — wants to apply for PhD programs but his parents can’t afford it https://abc11.com/elliott-tanner-college-graduate-university-of-minnesota-physics-major/11788944/
The place I teach is attached to a university, and all the kids are technically university students. They take some classes with us, and then pursue whatever it is that they're incredibly good at with the university. These kids' development tends to be very "spiky:" they'll be (say) doing graduate level math at 14, but only modestly better--and sometimes worse--than their age-peers at literary analysis. Giving them the opportunity to do high level work in their area of strength while also operating in a (relatively) normal high school environment with other kids who are like them is a huge boon, and results in kids who are dramatically less fucked up. We're an unusual school, but we're not singular; the options are out there (we're also public and free).
The place I teach is attached to a university, and all the kids are technically university students. They take some classes with us, and then pursue whatever it is that they're incredibly good at with the university. These kids' development tends to be very "spiky:" they'll be (say) doing graduate level math at 14, but only modestly better--and sometimes worse--than their age-peers at literary analysis. Giving them the opportunity to do high level work in their area of strength while also operating in a (relatively) normal high school environment with other kids who are like them is a huge boon, and results in kids who are dramatically less fucked up. We're an unusual school, but we're not singular; the options are out there (we're also public and free).