UConn Rescinds 13-Year-Old's Acceptance

Henry Louis Gates' "The Root" ^ | 6 July | Desmond-Harris

[flowerplough]

Autum Ashante, a highly academically accomplished 13-year-old from the Bronx, N.Y., planned to start her freshman year at the University of Connecticut this fall. Now, her father says, the school has rescinded her acceptance, the Daily News reports.

Batin Ashante said that his daughter was "devastated" after university officials called him yesterday to deliver the bad news. "They said they now feel she's not academically ready," he said. "That's BS!"

When the story was first reported in mid-June, UConn spokesman Richard Veilleaux confirmed that Autum had been accepted to the school but said university officials were still waiting for the family to formally enroll. Autum -- a homeschooled student widely described as a "prodigy," who speaks four languages and has an IQ of 149 -- was widely praised by the media and blogosphere.

"I've got nothing but positive feedback," her father told the Daily News. "I'm her dad, and it just bothers me to see her go through this." He said the family had notified the school she'd be attending, raised funds for tuition and planned to move to Connecticut. They'll still go after receiving this news but will explore other academic options. "I'm fed up. They have insulted us and the work that we've put in," he added. "I'm not sure I want her to be involved with an institution that treats her like that."

[Mobties]

What’s that, you say? Automne Enchanté?

Can’t you just see the queue of sleazy tort lawyers, business cards in hand, competing to he’p this “victim” and her family from the Bronx? Scores of TV sound trucks too, and a loud rally headed by Rev’ren’ Sharpton. Why, I’m sure there’s plenty of room for cameo roles for Shumer, Obama, Rangel, and Weiner. This story reads like “Bonfire of the Vanities Redux”.

Tom Wolfe should be demanding royalties if this story stays on its predictable course.

[dawn53]

Let her enjoy her high school years before attending a college.

Sending her to high school is a bad plan. She needs to be challenged, and that's not going to happen in high school (genius or not.)

Our son wasn't a genius, but I had taken him as far in math as my "little brain" could handle, so we enrolled him at the local community college at 15. He passed the College Placement test at a level necessary to be placed in College Alg. and Comp I...beyond that there were no age restrictions.

He spent a couple years there, then transferred to the state U for his BA, and had his graduate work completed at a another university by 21...and again I state, he is not a genius. But he enjoyed the college classes, and especially the graduate studies.

Fortunately we have major universities in our area, so he could live at home.

Enjoying high school is highly overrated and usually involves a major waste of time for a student...he maintained an active social life outside of school with other friends. And at this point in his life (he's 23) has a great job, married, and enjoying life) He is so grateful that he has his education out of the way early on.

[Polybius]

"I'm fed up. They have insulted us and the work that we've put in," he added. "I'm not sure I want her to be involved with an institution that treats her like that."

I don't know what the exact concerns of the university are in this case. I can think of an entire laundry list of concerns that have nothing to do with I.Q. However, it sounds like the university is data driven and Dad is driven purely by emotion and a sense of entitlement.

Home schooling can take many different forms that can either broaden or restrict the exposure to the world outside of the nuclear family. Our home school in middle school consisted on my hiring a very good teacher with high academic and discipline standards (which included a strong, non-denominational religious curriculum - we are Catholic and she was Baptist). Once set up, other families flocked to our home school with other parents helping with the curriculum. A retired engineer, for example, helped teach math.

The bottom line is that our children were exposed to more than just our nuclear family quirks.

From the way Dad sounds and acts, I can imagine that one concern that the university might have in this particular case is:

[jpsb]

I trust IQ tests to measure intelligence about as much as I trust climate models to predict climate.

[momtothree]

“An I.Q. of 140 is generally considered to be “genius”

Okay... here goes! The article never really went into detail if she is global or not. My son attended a G.T. program in our county. His I.Q. is between 140-150 and there were classmates of his that made him look “average”. Did I see parents that pushed the academics of their kids? Absolutely... to the point of neurosis. Were their parents that helped their kids only when they needed it but focused on the fact that they were just kids? Absolutely. Most of his class are attending high school now and taking the honor classes and A.P. classes. A few of the math quants have finished all of the math classes that could be offered and are taking math (of all sorts)online or at a local college. However, they still attend a football game or participate in a high school club of their choice. They are still kids... just really smart ones. IMHO, if this girl really wants to go to college... then enroll her in a community college. Many people will say that their child is a genius and perhaps the UConn didn’t have the documentation to prove this child’s I.Q. was above 140. It isn’t an online test but a three day test done by an accredited group of neuropsychologists and clinical psychologists etc... and is quite expensive. The parents are kept completely out of the process after the intial interview. No testing is done at home or outside the direct view of the doctors. Perhaps my view of this situation is skewed simply because I have seen the I.Q.’s of 140-150 plus and have seen the 160 and up. Believe me, no one with any sort of experience with this wants an extremely high number... the higher the number, the more likely the person will need not only medication but life help of some form.

[MrB]

No father in my house :) would let a 13 yr old daughter go to a college environment, even if she were living at home.

[Macoozie]

Apply to The Bronx High School of Science. Potentially more academically rigorous than anything at UConn.

NY City’s immigrant population is a GOLDMINE of the future best & brightest from around the world. BHS of S is gem polisher for that mine.

Genius huh? Apply there, can’t get in? you ain’t no genius.

[Macoozie]

Apply to The Bronx High School of Science. Potentially more academically rigorous than anything at UConn.

NY City’s immigrant population is a GOLDMINE of the future best & brightest from around the world. BHS of S is gem polisher for that mine.

Genius huh? Apply there, can’t get in? you ain’t no genius.

[silverleaf]

yeah, it was all the “home schooling”

this little prodigy has done “real well” without govt schools -

this is “her” poem she read, at age 7, at invitation of public skrewls in Westchester - before aksing the kiddies to stand for the Black Panther pledge (and telling the white kids who stood up to sit down) ... all in the interest of promoting peace and racial harmony, yu know

“White Nationalism Put U In Bondage”

White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirate and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin
Drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with
Steel, tricks and deceit.

Nothing has changed take a look in our streets
The mis-education of she and Hegro — leaves you on your knee2grow
Black lands taken from your hands, by vampires with no remorse

They took the gold, the wisdom and all of the storytellers
They took the black women, with the black man weak
Made to watch as they changed the paradigm
Of our village

They killed the blind, they killed the lazy, they went
So far as to kill the unborn baby

Yeah White nationalism is what put you in bondage
Pirates and vampires like Columbus, Morgan, and Darwin

They drank the blood of the sheep, trampled all over them with Steel laden feet,
throw in the tricks alcohol and deceit.
Nothing has changed take a look at our streets

http://educationwonk.blogspot.com/2006/03/autum-ashante-child-prodigy-or.html

[EQAndyBuzz]

Take a home schooled kid who is 17 and toss him into a school with 20,000 kids it could get overwhelming. Now do that with a 13 year old.

Being smart and being mature are two different things.

[momtothree]

“IQ’s usually increase as you get older”.

As it was explained to me, I.Q. is I.Q. Wisdom and experience certainly makes us smarter and wiser but doesn’t increase our I.Q. (don’t worry... you sound super smart anyways)!!

[JimC214]

That or Stuyvesant. This kid is not your typical home schooled kid. This kid is so left wing, it's not funny.

[MrB]

If the kid is “ready” for college at 13, that’s 5-6 years that s/he could be taught some entrepreneurial skills and start a home business of some kind.

[momtothree]

“Apply to the Bronx High School of Science”

It sounds like her giftedness isn’t in science but literature and language. (Not that this is bad but specific).

[Will we know the moment]

IQ’s do not increase as one grows older, they diminish.

IQ = (mental age)/current age) * 100.

So if your mental age does not increase as you get older, your IQ will diminish.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

My 15 had a choice to attend college this year, and she chose to wait, she is bright but not mature enough even she recognizes this, so we will challenge her in other areas while is matures.

[momtothree]

Sounds to me like your teen is not only bright but has some wisdom as well. A great combination!

[stylin19a]

My son used to lose 30 IQ points from the school bus to my front door.

[101voodoo]

Ok, so hang the b*tch!

[wintertime]

Our family went through this.

My kids were accepted to community college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13. Getting accepted there was a long trial of bureaucratic hoop jumping by itself.

Then when the kids were 15, 14, and 13 we moved to a new state. Getting the younger two re-enrolled in college was definitely not straight forward even with having many of the general college courses completed and near perfect grade point averages. The state university, at first rejected the 14 year old but a few days before classes were to start they called and said they had changed their minds. She could attend. The youngest ( 13) was accepted to the community college.

In the end, the law stated that anyone with 30 community college or college credits would automatically be accepted by the state university. The older girl decided to finish her few remaining general courses at the community college, and the younger did her’s by attending community college and one year at a very expensive private college. The two girls both finished B.S. degrees in mathematics at the state university at the age of 18.

Honestly....Charles Murray is right. We should dump college for most people and move toward qualifying exams. Nearly everything the girls learned could have been put on the Internet, except for the lab courses. The quality would likely be better, as well. They could likely have finished sooner that they did, as well, and moved on to graduate school and an even earlier age.