Should we let wunderkinds drop out of high school?

There's actually a third path: put smart kids in college early.<p>I went to a program at a state school in Southern California. It was pretty amazing. I was with about 120 peers (20-30 students per class year), who ranged from 12 to 18. We had a common room to go to between classes, so it ended up as a hybrid between high school and university – the more challenging courses of university, but with the peer group and social experience of a (very small) high school.

&#62; But the tech community may be different from other industries. Degrees are not necessarily seen as a hallmark of achievement and programmers are judged on their ability to type lines of code. You are what you create.<p>That is the key here. It is reasonable to not focus on education if you wish to pursue a lucrative, high-demand career in an industry that tends to care about actual skill a lot more than education.

God Bless America, is what I say. If you can make your fortune without years of study, why not.<p>And the title argument is ridiculous. Nobody 'lets' somebody else choose their life.

From someone who has tried to pursue this path: The answer is no. If your parents have it ingrained in their minds that college == success, and the idea that there are no alternative routes has set in, enjoy your mental starvation with a side of busywork.<p>The situation is even worse when one wants to work with computers. Minors plus computers OBVIOUSLY equals someone staying online every hour of their life, playing video games where you violently kill kittens. &#60;/sarcasm&#62;

High schools are like prisons to smart kids.