Alternatives for Gifted High School Students

Some high school students are ready to move on academically long before their peers. As stated in High School Alternatives for Gifted Teens, “It’s easy to find stories of 13-year-olds going off to college, but many gifted kids just aren’t ready to leave the nest early.” At the same time, they may have already finished or tested out of the regular high school curriculum. Author Suki Wessling suggests that students in this situation investigate

• Alternative schools
• Community college classes
• Private schools, if they can be flexible with your student
• The book, Serving Gifted Learners Beyond the Traditional Classroom: A Guide to Alternative Programs and Services 
• Online high school courses
• Homeschool 

In addition to the suggestions above, check out the OpenCourseware Consortium, which is a collaboration of higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world creating open educational content that is free to the public.

A student who finishes high school early might also take a year or two to pursue her passions in a very focused manner, furthering her studies in music, theatre, art, dance, language, cultures, science, etc.

The best solution for finding answers to any education dilemma is often a combination of possibilities.

Free Online Tutorials

The Khan Academy is a great, free resource for those who need help better understanding concepts in math, science, economics and finance, arts and humanities, computing, test preparation, and the college admissions process. It is also a wonderful resource for those who want to work beyond what is offered at school.

The academy was founded by Salman Khan (Sal) with the hope of using technology to foster new learning models. Sal has had a varied career in investment, venture capital, product management, and engineering. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School. He also holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and computer science, a BS in electrical engineering and computer science, and a BS in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked with students of all ages.

Over the years, this website has grown and now has a staff of highly skilled professionals. It has also partnered with, and provides content from, organizations such as The Brookings Institute, The Aspen Institute, numerous museums, and several highly respected universities. Posted on the website are more than 3000 free videos. 

This project has been very successful and had rave reviews. It is free of advertising, securing its financing through large grants and individual donations.

Whether you are a student, parent, teacher, principal, or an inquiring adult, it will be worth your while to explore this website.

MIT OpenCourseWare for High School

More and more of the country’s best universities are making OpenCourseWare (free video and audio clips, animations, lecture notes, assignments, etc.) available online. MIT has taken this concept one step further and created Highlights for High Schools, where materials are featured that are most useful for high school students and teachers. Many wonderful resources are available in the areas of science, math, and the humanities that include study materials, courses, test preparation, labs, and competitions. Many of the materials will help students study for AP exams.

The site also has just plain interesting, free courses appropriate for gifted high school students, including a class that teaches how to design sets for theater and one on designing toys (both under the heading of Knowledge in Action: Build Stuff).

There are also high school courses created by MIT students such as Guitar Building; a course exploring Gödel, Escher, and Bach; and Combinatorics, a fascinating branch of mathematics that applies to problems ranging from card games to quantum physics to the Internet.

Free University Video Lectures

Do you have a high school student who is ready for more challenging material or has a strong interest in a particular subject? More and more of the nation’s best universities are posting free videos of selected lectures on the Internet. Learning is no longer confined to the university.

iTunes

Once you have downloaded iTunes, go to the iTunes store and search for iTunes U. You will find an enormous selection of free courses and lectures from some of the country’s best universities.

MIT 

This site contains more than 9000 videos covering all subjects at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, plus guest speakers and events.

MITOPENCOURSEWARE 

Lecture notes, assignments, and online texts are available for over 2000 courses. There is also a special section titled Highlights for High School featuring MIT OpenCourseWare materials that are most useful for high school students and teachers.

Princeton University Lectures 

Includes lectures and special events.

University of California at Berkeley 

Videos include campus seminars, courses, and events.