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I'm very aware! I was amazed at the suicide rate. It's not something you hear about in the news.
Yes, unlike other schools, (i.e. NYU) Carnegie Mellon loves to keep this stuff extremely hush hush. Usually it's someone with poor social skills, no friends, and is overwhelmed with work. One guy killed himself when I was a Sophomore, another just killed himself this year. I had to hear about those events through friends - CMU wouldn't issue a press release or anything of the sort. I'm sure there were a lot more - nobody ever notices that these students are gone because they never noticed these students were there in the first place. These students usually live alone, no roomates, no contact with the outside world.
I have spoken to kids in the Ivies and CMU's workload is much more intense than theirs are.
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Originally Posted by Hopes
That makes more sense. I still think that you were better off to stay where you were.
Afterall, you were afraid of the bigger kids. That alone is an indication that it wasn't the right grade for you at that time in your life.
However, I definitely look back and say "what if"? Especially since I work in Finance - I would have graduated in 2007 (and not 2008), and I might have had a much more fulfilling job than I do now!
Yes, unlike other schools, (i.e. NYU) Carnegie Mellon loves to keep this stuff extremely hush hush. Usually it's someone with poor social skills, no friends, and is overwhelmed with work. One guy killed himself when I was a Sophomore, another just killed himself this year. I had to hear about those events through friends - CMU wouldn't issue a press release or anything of the sort. I'm sure there were a lot more - nobody ever notices that these students are gone because they never noticed these students were there in the first place. These students usually live alone, no roomates, no contact with the outside world.
True. True. The only way anyone hears about it is if someone at the school mentions it privately.
Some of the suicides are dramatic enough that the school can't keep it a secret from the other students though.
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Originally Posted by NYCAnalyst
I have spoken to kids in the Ivies and CMU's workload is much more intense than theirs are.
CMU didnt' get the reputation it has today by being an easy school. That's for sure!
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Originally Posted by NYCAnalyst
However, I definitely look back and say "what if"? Especially since I work in Finance - I would have graduated in 2007 (and not 2008), and I might have had a much more fulfilling job than I do now!
Look on the bright side! You would have been laid off from that fullfilling job!
I definitely believe in grade-skipping, particularly in public schools.
My son clearly needed to skip kindergarten and go to 1st grade, but the school said "we don't do that anymore." The next year in 1st grade, he was way ahead of his classmates and was sent to the 2nd grade for math class, and was put into the "talented and gifted" program, which was a joke. There is no way enrichment classes can take the place of an entire school day, encompassing all subjects. It also sets the child apart from his classmates, which might be ego gratifying for a few minutes but most kids just want to be with their classmates, doing what their classmates are doing.
By the time he was in 2nd grade, he was obviously way ahead again and just kept making steady gains. Several teachers approached the principal about it, he was tested, and it was agreed he should skip to 4th grade from 2nd grade. He tested at 5th and 6th grade levels in various subjects but for social reasons, it was decided he should not be advanced beyond 4th grade. We feel that was a reasonable decision.
There was some jealousy among his friends but they got over it. We have never regretted the decision and if the school had only let him skip kindergarten, all the subsequent drama could have been avoided.
If a child is advanced in one subject, then enrichment programs might suffice, but if the child is ahead in all subjects, he needs to be skipped a grade.
The OP's post sounded as though something was in the offing regarding a child skipping a grade. And, no, on LI, NY, districts haven't skipped a child in years. Not since the 70's. Maybe in other parts of the country such as the Midwest, but not in NY.
Regarding the rest of your post, you don't know what you're talking about. It sounds as if you're making it up. Once in a generation? How did you come up with that one? Extremely rare? Where do you live? In a podunk USA town with a population of 12,000 and an average IQ of 100, where an IQ of 125 is a big deal?
I've had plenty of experience with smart kids and our school system. Have two of them myself. Both of my kids have IQ's that are very high. They are grown now. My son tested out at 142 when he was 2 months short of 8 years old, and my daughter tested out at 136 when she was 7.25 years old. Both were invited to be in our school district's self-contained gifted and talented program for 4 years. Both went on to what you call a customized education.
Our IG program (gifted and talented) consisted of 2 classes per grade from third grade through sixth, with approximately 60 kids per grade. Not exactly one child per generation.
There never was a one-to-one teacher ratio setup. Not in IG, or junior high, or high school. Never heard of such a thing. Maybe when there's a district where there's one unfortunate smart kid who feels like a geek compared to all his/her other average/slow thinking students they're surrounded by, that's when one on one needs to take place. Perhaps that's what you mean by one in a generation.
My kids had plenty of company IQ-wise in our district. And if you don't believe it, look up Intel winners and Merit scholarship winners for the Three Village Central School District. I'm sure you'll find many more accolades for the district there won by numerous high-IQ kids.
My kids grew up in a University town filled with lots of professors, doctors, scientists, physicists, etc. And Brookhaven labs were 20 minutes away with their huge pool of scientists living with their smart kids in our district. My kids had plenty of competition. A large university with a large teaching population who had kids in our district, and all of those kids inherited their parents' smarts and their talents. A very large pool of "extremely intelligent", to quote you, children.
So, yeah, I do know what I'm talking about. Here in NY skipping isn't done. Period. But maybe in another part of the country where "extremely intelligent" kids are a rarity and once in a generation because the gene pool isn't that bright, skipping is done out of necessity.
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