My parents taught me how to read and do some relatively complex math prior to kindergarten - today I feel that I owe nearly all of my academic & career success to that.
Of course, your first point is valid - this was only useful because I was lucky enough to have amazing teachers who took the time to issue me a tailored curriculum at a significantly higher level than my peers. I had teachers and programs which allowed me to stay at a cutting edge until early high school when these initiatives existed naturally (and I had the resources to explore intellectually outside of school).
More than that, it gave me a ton of confidence as I found things easier than my peers.
That's not to say that all of this didn't come at a cost - my social growth was definitely stunted. Instead of playing sports I did homework, and instead of sleepovers with friends I worked on school projects.
In the end, I wish I'd had a bit more balance, but I'm really glad I was lucky enough to have the opportunities I did early. I truly believe our ability to learn slows down every single day, and the early years are most formative.
Of course, your first point is valid - this was only useful because I was lucky enough to have amazing teachers who took the time to issue me a tailored curriculum at a significantly higher level than my peers. I had teachers and programs which allowed me to stay at a cutting edge until early high school when these initiatives existed naturally (and I had the resources to explore intellectually outside of school).
More than that, it gave me a ton of confidence as I found things easier than my peers.
That's not to say that all of this didn't come at a cost - my social growth was definitely stunted. Instead of playing sports I did homework, and instead of sleepovers with friends I worked on school projects.
In the end, I wish I'd had a bit more balance, but I'm really glad I was lucky enough to have the opportunities I did early. I truly believe our ability to learn slows down every single day, and the early years are most formative.