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Comment by ckz | Hacker News Reader

An interesting argument I've heard recently (but haven't yet come to a personal conclusion on, so don't take this as an endorsement):

Emphasize math for older kids when their brain is better prepared for abstraction (some even argue age 10+!). Emphasize language and character for younger kids, especially because at _very_ young ages that's really what they're soaking in anyway.

The logic here being efficiency. An older child can learn in a week what a preschooler may drill for months. Cover some math facts in primary school to build a strong foundation, but strong language skills compound against _all_ education and should come first, with a heavier shift to advanced mathematics later in schooling.

Again, don't know if I ascribe yet (I was accelerated in math at a young age myself) or how this really looks in the real world, but definitely an argument that wise people make in good faith.

Probably impossible in a standardized school setting. :)

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This is pretty much exactly how the public education system is structured here in Switzerland. Early years focus primarily on socialization, multilingualism, literacy and basic numeracy. Then as you move through later elementary school to middle and finally through the Matura phase there are rapid accelerations and bifurcations. If you can keep up you continue on the path to ETHZ and other top Unis. If not you move into the trade or technical school or lower Uni tracks. There is a chance to come back but the baseline expectatio. Is that about 20% of students will go straight through the Matura process. If you complete you have basically free access to any university in Switzerland. ETHZ is something like CHF800/semester. But the trade and technical school path is also good IMO. It’s appropriate.

It’s also not a perfect system but much much better than what I grew up with in the US compared to what I’m seeing now with my son here.

Scott Alexander hosted a book review on this subject recently, “The Educated Mind” by Egan. I’m interested in exploring these ideas too.

https://astralcodexten.substack.com/p/your-book-review-the-e...

Here's an old educational experiment that supports the idea of literacy before numeracy: http://www.inference.org.uk/sanjoy/benezet/three.html

Some would say Math is a language. And I agree-- teach a 2nd language to kids before they reach 12. But I would also want to teach my own children advanced math during that time, if possible.

From what I've read in passing, it seems some former soviet countries of Eastern Europe & Russia teach advanced math to students a few years earlier than the US does.

It seems that private South Asian-majority schools in certain cities-- such as Houston-- also teach advanced math earlier than public schools.

This idea that abstraction can only be leart at 10 is the most bullshit I've heard today. I was doing moderately advanced equations at 7 and it's also widely known great chess player started being great way under 9. Where is that nonsensical idea come from ?

Don't delay children.

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