A new definition of hard core

[fightingquaker13]

This is pretty amazing. The kid will either burn out or be the next Bill Gates or Bernie Madoff, but Yikes!
FQ13
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Two-Caps-Two-Gowns-But-Not-Too-Busy.html?yhp=1

[Shiv]

While this youg man has done an amazing thing, the thought that keeps running through my head is: How much academic achievement or scholastic effort was required for these classes?  I know that he couldn't have been taking classes like:  "The Simpsons and Their Impact on the Family Dynamic in Modern America", (don't laugh, it was offered at my local community college) but I know that with the workload during my junior and senior years of college, it took more than a day a week to finish what needed to be done, and apparently this was not just college, but high school work as well?

Like I said, I don't want to take anything away from the young man, I am sure he met the standards for his diplomas, but I would think that this would be more of a warning sign to academia as a whole to check their standards.

[fightingquaker13]

Agreed. There are two ways to approach college. One is to see it as getting a credential. The other is to see it as getting an education. I'm too old and too jaded to say one is better, because people have different needs. Its your money, your time and your life. Make your choice. But.......for me, I'm not in the business of providing credentials except in gen ed required classes. There I will pass you with an E for effort because I won't stop someone from being an engineer if they are willing to do the work to get through an intro to American government class. For majors though, its a different game. How different the game is though is often driven by the ethos of the school. Excellence with no exception? Demanding the best a student can do even if you make her rewrite the paper 4 times? Or just getting the cattle through the pen and onto the truck? It souds like cal tech might fit into the latter category if the kid was able to get through college and a full high school load in 4 years. Still, an impressive achievment.
FQ13