When did you start extending yourself?

[Alexx]

Hello everyone, I'm just curious as to what I can do for my child at the moment. He just started year 7 and he says the work is really trivial to him.

At what age did you guys start tutoring etc.? Do you recommend he start now or is it useless now because they'll eventually catch up in school anyway?

I'm just lost at the moment and thought I could get some advice from top performers such as yourselves.

[Visionz]

I was doing extra curricular stuff in primary school. By year 7 I was the best at everything. I went off the rails in year 9 though. Put up with school til now. Only started to care at the start of this year (year 12) and ive been relatively successful.
Its all dependent on capability IMO. If youve got a bright kid itll eventually shine through. The best thing to do is encourage them, dont be pushy, and make sure theyve got a healthy balance between school and social life. Theres 5 years of secondary college before a students results actually matter. I think in this time its more important to make sure the person grows rather than just getting good results. Theres SO many twists and turns between year 7 and year 12 you rarely end up with the same kid by the end.

[Eriny]

I think it's pretty common for bright kids to not really care about school very much (anecdotally, especially boys!). My brother is a similar age, he's in year 8 right now, and I think he stays engaged at school by competing with his friends for the top marks!

I guess, to some extent also, it's really easy to see school as trivial because what you're learning isn't really put in perspective. Like, in maths for instance, you might be taught all of these concepts so that you can do all the problems in your textbook, but at the time you're never told about how useful maths is for developing problem-solving skills and logical thinking, which are actually really important things.

But, to answer your question, starting tutoring now, if your son would enjoy it, isn't a bad idea. He needs to be engaged though, otherwise it's a waste of time and money, I think. But there are also a bunch of other ways to learn things without getting ahead academically. Music and art lessons as well as hobbies generally are shown to be very good for the brain, especially if the kid enjoys it and can focus on it. Even something like after school/weekend language courses could be useful.

I don't think it's too early to start extending, really. But it's also something that he should want to do. Also, it's worth talking to his teachers too. When I was in about year 8 I was really bored with everything, so my mum spoke to some teachers and they would do certain things, like mark me more harshly, or even suggest different assignments to do. My English teachers were especially good at suggesting books to read. Also, some schools give bright students some time out from class to work on whatever the kid is academically interested in with a teacher, it's worth investigating if his school has a programme like that, because they're usually really good.

[shinny]

I started Maths tuition classes in year 7 and continued them to 8 and then stopped. Reason why I stopped after year 8 is because I'd already developed enough of a head start above everyone else and from year 9 onwards didn't really struggle much at all with Maths. My parents always had a philosophy of being 'one step ahead' and being about one year ahead in maths every year in school made it a breeze and also quite enjoyable. You ask whether they'll 'eventually catch up in school anyway'; well the point is, you don't want them to catch up - you want to be ahead of them. Those who are good at Maths will tend to say they actually enjoy it, while those who aren't will then tend to say they hate it. You don't see many people who are good at it who say they hate doing it. And obviously, enjoying a subject is one of the keys to doing well in it. Because of this, it's important to give your son an early head start I reckon to avoid them ending up in the self-perpetuating cycle of a hate for Maths. I don't think an extra Maths class every week or so will really skew your son's social life or anything too badly. Ask them how they feel about doing it though. If they really hate going, they're not going to get anything out of it so everyone loses in that situation really.

[schmalex]

Yeah, learning a musical instrument does help to improve the brain in a way that could be enjoyable. I don't really think extra tutoring makes a big difference by the time you get to VCE anyway.

[Visionz]

dont turn him into a nerd either because he'll become an outcast.

[littlebecc]

LMAO!

[vexx]

please don't let your child worry about school since he's so young and shouldn't care. it's grade 7... middle school is very unimportant, and anyone can do horrible these years and no work, bad grades and it won't make any difference to the future..

[littlebecc]

Let him have fun!

Because when the serious times roll, childhood is over 

[redemption_2010]

I guess what your son means by trivial is that theres a lot of subjects in the early years which may seem unrelated to what we traditionally assosciate with academics; PE, food tech etc. which are all fun and easy to get good grades in. They are good though to  develop life skills.

As for academics, i would suggest developing your son's english and maths skills early on, as a good foundation in these subjects is critical to doing well in VCE.

Tutoring is a good option, but can also at times be a waste of time & money. It depends on the service that's offered and your needs.

If not that, you can get a maths workbooks from bookstores like 'excel maths' or comprehension and writing skills books for your child to do in his time. You can also encourage him to read broadly, like 'The age' etc.  all of which will improve his fundamental literal skills.

Just see how his grades go and what his ambitions are before you dive into anything serious.

[darkphoenix]

If you are Asian, you will start as early as you can.

[Alexx]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

Yeah just to clarify with the people who asked, he does find the work really easy and I already let him out everyday as long as he wants.
Thats why I thought maybe i was being a little too lenient.

What years is it possible to apply for MHS? He says he wants to stay at his current school with his friends for a couple more years. Would it be worse for him to apply say in year 9 or 10?

[shinny]

What years is it possible to apply for MHS? He says he wants to stay at his current school with his friends for a couple more years. Would it be worse for him to apply say in year 9 or 10?

Pretty much any year from 8 onwards I think. Problem is, only the year 9 intake (sat whilst in year is determined by the admission test. From then on, I think it's purely based on sport and music merit as far as I know.

[schmalex]

There's an admission test for year 10 entry I think, after that you CAN get in, but you won't get first choice of subjects. Well, that's the case for Macrob anyway. Might be worth looking into.

[Alexx]

So is there a year 8 intake (sit the test in year 7) or is the earliest you can get in year 9?