Should We Allow a 13 Year Old to Dual Enroll?

There is an interesting article in The Orlando Sentinel today about a home educated 13 year old girl who wants to dual enroll at a local community college here in Central Florida. This particular community college has refused to allow it citing safety concerns for such a young kid.

This brings me to my former job as the advisor for dual enrollment students at a different community college in Florida and how I would feel about this case. I can see both sides of this issue as a parent and as an experienced dual enrollment advisor. On the one hand you have a parent who wants to know where to go now with a very smart and gifted student. On the other hand you have college administrators who do not want to be sued.

The parents have offered to walk to any classes and even sit in on the class and the college says no. I know that this particular school does not allow dual enrollment students to take online classes without having a few in-class courses under their belts but I believe that this student does not want online classes anyway. As a parent I would be frustrated with the system as these parents are.

Here are the pros and cons of having a very young student on campus taking courses at the community college:

PROS:
*This child needs higher level course work
*She has taken college classes online from another venue, successfully
*There is no age limit in Florida statutes, it's up to the school

CONS:
*Most of the community college students punctuate everything with a swear word, usually F*
*Heck, many professors do, too
*The course work is ADULT including possibly R rated movie sections in humanities classes. It's 4 years before she can be allowed, in the theater, to see an R rated movie
*ALL of her information is confidential even from parents. It is the law . She is 13.
*Guys will "hit on" her. Most girls seem to look much older than they are these days

I would ask parents of gifted children to think long and hard about putting their child into a college class when they are under about 15. However, if there are waivers, to be signed by parents, and a parent walks the child to the classroom and waits nearby, then I think it should be OK.

That being said I HATED it when the top dog of the community college where I worked would reverse the dual enrollment director's decision about allowing a child onto campus for classes. If a parent complained to him, he would usually allow the dual enrollment and we look like total idiots. Why the heck are there rules? This led to animosity between the parent and the dual enrollment office.

Well, read the article HERE and you be the judge! Since I don't work there, I do not need to decide, thank goodness! I can see both sides!