I totally agree with this too. And I think this goes for schooling at all levels - not just college. What might be a good school for one child might not be great for another.

I have really mixed feelings about this article. I wasn't quite the rule breaker in high school this boy was, but I did coast a bit. I kind of feel when you get to the level of AP classes, yes - you do need to be prepared to play the game a bit if you want good grades. Not as an elementary or jr. high student obviously. I wish I would have learned this at a younger age. Either that or arrange to have independent study and get graded a different way.

The mother did start this article by saying that you should home school your bright students. I'm obviously not saying that she's right. But maybe they did make the wrong educational decision for her son to truly shine? Maybe another school environment or home school would have been better for him. Especially when you contrast this article to the homeschooled young lady who got accepted to every college she applied including Harvard a couple weeks ago. You also do have to be a bit prepared to jump through some professors hoops at college.

Regardless, I don't think this is a disaster by any means. My brother got a technical degree from Iowa State and it is a very nice school. Coincidentally, he also was a bit of a coaster in high school. I also went to a large Midwestern tech university and had a great experience.

I read somewhere that the highest-stress jobs are the ones that give a person the greatest amount of repetition and boredom and the lowest amount of autonomy.

They were talking about adults, obviously, but that sure seems applicable to some school situations for GT kids. No wonder they're often exhausted and cranky!

Kriston - you are so right! DS would be wiped out w/ school and come home cranky. Over the summer, he was given the opportunity to take two MadScience camps back to back due to low enrollment in the aeronautics course. they gave a huge discount and said that if it proved too much for DS (then aged 6), we could drop one of the classes for a full refund. He was there from 9-4am, and had lunch w/ the instructors and the few kids who stayed all day. Well, the kid came home soooooo energized!!!! He was happy and talkative. Nothing like how he returns home from school.

We observed the same thing when we switched from public school with no real accomodations to homeschooling.

It's amazing the difference a challenge and a sense of control over one's life can make to an attitude!