Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Who gets to pick and choose the kids' specialization ?

I don't agree with the premise (that early specialization is good), but setting that aside deciding what a 4th grader should focus on for the rest of their life feels like an impossible task.

You can't account for whether they'll like the more advanced subjects (i.e. they like 4th grade literature class but will bail at languistic analysis) and have no idea how they'll change even 3 years later as they hit puberty.




The child and their mentors could surely decide. If a kid doesn’t want to specialize, then they can defer until they’re ready.


At 4th grade I totally and definitely wanted to be a military jet fighter, and stayed in that phase for a solid 3 or 4 years. I'm pretty glad I learned other things as well.

Sure, making a decision is possible, and parents have the authority to deal with the aftermath. The same way some decide their kid will be an elite pianist and commit 100% to it as soon as they can.

But I don't see it as a sane path in general.


IDK what you're talking about. Clearly you haven't read: The Giver Divergent The Maze Runner

And all other sci-fi young-adult distopian novels where they clearly determine what 4th graders will be for the rest of their lives based on genetics. There are also some movies (practically documentaries, really) of the same books.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: