Me fail english? That unpossible ...
Posted on 06/05/2009 12:07:11 PM PDT by LottieDah
Moshe Kai Cavalin, 11, graduates with honors from East Los Angeles Community College this week, but just don't call him a genius.
11-Year-Old Graduates From LA College Watch Video
Moshe Kai Cavalin, 11, is graduating with honors from East Los Angeles Community College this week.
"I consider myself a regular kid who works hard and does his best," says this only child of a Taiwanese mother and an Israeli father.
When Cavalin started college at the age of 8, he may have been the youngest person in class, but he ended up tutoring some of his 19- and 20-year-old classmates in math and science.
Astrophysics is his passion. Albert Einstein and Bruce Lee are among his idols.
Yet like a twist out of a Hollywood action flick, Cavalin combines his exceptional smarts with fearsome martial arts abilities: The preteen has won numerous national martial arts championships.
Up next for the tireless boy wonder: In the next take six months to a year he plans to devote himself to martial arts, write a book for kids on how succeed in school, and take up scuba diving.
Not on the agenda: playing video games.
"I feel it's a waste of time playing video games because it's not helping humanity in any way," says the 11-year-old, who wants to use his knowledge to change the world.
awesome post! thanks.
Apparently he's never played Grand Theft Auto.
Amazing! I STARTED College at 12, and people think that’s impressive. Youngest kid I went to college with was 10.
My hat’s off to this kid, may he go far in life.
I don’t think 11 year olds are supposed to be worrying about changing the world. That’s his parent’s job. I hope this child is being encouraged to be a kid, a very special one to be sure. I went to high school with one of these very young geniuses. He wasn’t very happy, I thought.
I’ll bet this kid is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy smarter than Obama and any of the others in his cabinet.
Hmm, astrophysics, martial arts...he just needs a rock band and a medical degree and he can be the next Buckaroo Banzai. He may just invent the Oscillation Overthruster.
Beating the living crap out of difficult physics problems, all without a stunt double.
as some FReepers say, “true ‘dat!”
How was he allowed to get through the system? By my senior year I had finished my freshman year at UConn, they wouldn’t let me leave! I had half days of study hall and got a part time job. That was my first inkling that there was something structurally wrong with the system.
He is fortunate the genders were not reversed! /ducking
I am always leery when I read someone has an urge to "help humanity" - not because it isn't an honorable goal, but because reality almost exclusively ends up showcasing a more unfortunate legacy for those both harboring these intentions and being so able to effect wide-scale change.
The NEA let this kid fall through the cracks. I’ll bet they are really upset about it.
Alright, where is the appropriate Doogie Howser pic?
if you've ever seen that movie, you just dated yourself. i'm 39, and remember seeing that flick as a young teenager. :^)
Hope he turns down an invite to the White House.
dude! a little sarcasm here. if you want to “help humanity,” and are studying how to kick the living crap out of another person, the only question i have, is “how do you reconcile the diametrically opposed ideals?”
To paraphrase Milton Berle, "I'll kill you one times ten to the seventh power times!"
-PJ
Of course, he was unhappy! He was in high school when he should have been in **college***! (Duh!)
Geeze! The government school can't let bright kids out of the government school prison. Hey! That would mean less work for the NEA.
By the way, every year there is a bill in our legislature to allow any child of any age to take the GED. That would automatically make them eligible for full admission to the community college and eligible for all the typical scholarships and loans. Every year the NEA manages to kill the bill.
The purpose of government schooling is NOT education. It is a jobs program for white collar workers with the lowest SAT and GRE scores on campus!
what’s the big deal? 3 years for an aa/ as degree - is the East LA college some kind of brain trust or special in some way?
good for this kid, but what will he do now?
Mmmmm... Buckaroo Banzai... Peter Weller... Robocop... Sigh...
What a little snob. Well, in his defense, that sort of thinking has probably been pressed on him by others and he doesn't know any better.
oy vey! growing old sucks!
My 3 year old just completed her doctoral dissertation in theoretical physics. I taunt her that her physics Phd will land her a nice job at McDonalds.
She responds in an obscure Mandarin dialect she picked up in nursery school, so I know she is probably saying something disrespectful.
Hey..my seventeen year old is an entirely normal girl chasing, video-game playing, fun-loving,-TEA PARTY ATTENDING, honor roll ALL AMERICAN boy.
And guess what? He is actually pretty happy!!
Awesome movie. I own the DVD, so I’m not admitting to being “dated.”
That book is only going to be bought by his aunts. He obviously can’t relate to kids and I bet they aren’t going to appreciate being preached to by boy wonder. Kids like to play video games, perhaps too much, but that’s life as a kid. How is martial arts helping humanity, huh?
Ha ha ha! Beats the alternative.
“...How is martial arts helping humanity, huh?”
You are correct, kids want to be kids and this one probably can’t relate to them. Maybe some of that King-Fu fighting can dispatch some of the bad guys who pollute our daily lives. Just a thought.
I’m close to 35, and I remember seeing it back in the 80s, as I believe it eventually wound up on an early cable channel called HBO. Recently I showed it to my wife since it was on Comcast’s onDemand in HD. She loved it.
I made the end credits song into a ringtone for her iPhone. :)
“Amazing! I STARTED College at 12, and people think that’s impressive. “
Did getting an early start on things in life make you more successful? What did you do after you got your undergrad?
Then you should definitely consider homeschooling.
Actually, Skooz, my homeschoolers aren't any smarter that the children of our government schooling neighbors. They were simply homeschooled and allowed to go at their own pace.
It is a shame. As I drive by our local government school ( which looks like a prison, by the way) I can't help thinking that the top 20% of the kids could also be finishing college at the age of 18 ( or younger).
Government institutionalization in their prison-like schools artificially retards emotional, social, and academic development. Homeschooling, on the other hand is the most natural and healthy way to rear a child.
Probably, not. Children who have been institutionalized for their schooling in prison-like government “schools” do tend to:
1) Have prison gang socialization skills.
2) Are artificially retarded in their emotional, social, and academic development.
HEY you’re from ohio too! i’m down in cincinati. while, in a way i respect your opinion that growing younger would retard our intellctual growth, it would allow me to lose a few pounds and wrinkles. :^)
I definitely believe that bright kids should be challenged. But I’m not sure that putting them into college at the age of 11 is the best way to do it. Being age 17 is very different from being 11—and your son sounds normal—he’s chasing girls. This 11 year old is worrying about the world’s problems. Many years ago, I was engaged to a man who had graduated from college before I entered it and finished med school before I was old enough to finish college. I see what it did to him. He walked out of the hospital when he saw a child die because, though he was brilliant, wasn’t mature enough to see what he experienced there. He was totally burnt out before he was out of his 20s and the last time I heard from him, had very bad health as well. He grew up too fast and he wasn’t unhappy. But he was exhausted. Some kids I’m sure can handle it, but an 11 year old shouldn’t be worrying about the world. He should be getting ready to chase those girls!
Maybe I’m wrong; it’s happened before:)
#2 and #1 on the Bell Curve.
Of course, I have to say here, that both my dogs could graduate from L.A. Community and one of them eats her own poop.
But, great work, Moshe!
How do you define success? Money? Maturity? Depth of understanding of the world about you and our culture?
Finishing college early ( at age 18) gave my kids more opportunity.
One is pursuing another undergraduate degree in chemical engineer, but she is now also a wife and mother. To earn this second degree she merely needs to take the courses in that major. This is a tremendous savings in time than having to start from scratch and she absolute has the background in math needed to succeed.
The middle child earned a masters in math at 20. She too is a wife and mother. As her children grow older who knows what direction she will take? Engineering? MBA? Teaching?
the oldest chose business after finishing his general college courses and Calculus III at the age of 15. Because college can be pursued at night and part-time, he was able to compete as a nationally and internationally ranked athlete. This schedule allowed him to travel worldwide. He also took off from school for a few years to work for our church in Eastern Europe. As a result he is completely fluent in Russian. He is again completing in his sport, and will finish his MBA in accounting this year, at an age typical for students who have gone to college full-time at the normal age.
Besides increased opportunity, flexibility, and a broader and deeper understanding of our culture, there is **money**.
The sooner a college grad can enter the workforce the longer he can work. Each year is worth ...hm?...$50,000 to $100,000 or more. Or...Perhaps he could retire sooner and that would certainly add to the quality of his retirement years.
The young man in the article mentions "helping humanity". Well!...That is exactly what most people do in our capitalistic economy. For those who chose to graduate early and enter the workforce they will be increasing the health, wealth, and enjoyment of the people they serve.
Martial arts would help to balance this kids’s life, especially if he studies Bruce Lee’s style, Jeet Kune Do. Sort of like “physical meditation.”
Reminds me of Revenge of the Nerds. I would have been more impressed if he graduated from Cal or USC. The first time he tries to pee out of the back of a hatchback on the way to a frat party, he’ll get a real education.
I don’t know about ‘more successful’ since I don’t have a ruler to measure it by. I ended up going into the computer gaming business right after graduation — and ended up doing more middleware and sims work eventually. Working loosely with NASA on a moon racing title right now.
I am now a Technical Director and earn a very good salary (6 figures) have a lovely wife and three children. Though the economy has almost destroyed the company I work for as well as my industry in general. So who knows how long the ‘good salary’ part is going to last.
Assuming my livelihood is not in jeopardy, I am planning to start my Master of Theology degree in the next year. So in a way, starting early with a Worldly Career and getting to where I am has made it easier to start looking into what I REALLY want to do with the rest of my life at the age of 31.
Go figure.
I think we’ve swapped stories before. Congrats to your kids, but mostly to you ... as you did an amazing job raising them :)
I was a registered nurse before I went back to college and graduate school to become the professional I am now.
I know of mature adults in the health field who have walked out of the hospital because of the things they have seen there. **I** am no longer a nurse and chose a different profession because of my experiences in the hospital. I too was **exhausted** and completely **fried** emotionally and physically.
So...Age here likely isn't the reason for your friend's unhappiness. However...He has a **big** advantage over someone who finds out that he can't stand being a physician when he is 30 or older. Your friend can more easily move into another field of work. He is younger and can financially more easily correct his mistake. Because I graduated from nursing school at a normal age, I did not enter my new profession until I was 32.
Also...He education is not wasted. He still has the knowledge and this knowledge will enrich his life even though he might not practice medicine In my case, my nursing education has added a valuable dimension to my life even though I haven't practiced nursing in 30 years.
My own children started with **one** course in the evening. They ( themselves) asked to take two courses the next semester. At this point they, themselves, asked to attend full-time. At this point **they** took full charge of their **own** class schedule.
Going to college isn't a problem if it is the child, **himself**, who makes the decision and paces himself.
As, for socialization:
My kids continued their typical homeschooing teen social life though nearly all of their undergrad years. Gradually, as they matured they made very good friends with the college students who were active in our church's college outreach program. We never worried about drugs, alcohol, and sex.
Also...While at the community college they made friends with the math tutors in the math lab. This is where they “hung out”. At 14 they were official (paid) math tutors at the college. Since they couldn't drive in their early years, I waited for them in the library.
The kids lived at home.
We’re terrible.
My kids are normally bright. Children by the millions could be doing the same if:
1) The NEA would let kids take the GED at **any** age. As it is now, the minimum age allowed is 16 to 18 depending on the state. This would allow bright kids automatic access to the community college and to scholarships and loans.
2) If parents could recognize that, yes ( indeed!), they **can** homeschool. It isn't rocket science.
I’m from Massachusetts, a loooong loooong time ago. But you’re right, now I’m in NE Ohio, south of Salem and west of Lisbon. Haven’t been to Cincinnati yet.
Honey, the only alternative to growing old is to achieve quietus, as if you didn’t know. ;-)
That was quite a compelling story about your doctor friend. Makes me happy that my kid won’t have the “genius” problem. Way back when we had to attend business dinners, so many people would fill the conversation with how wonderful, intelligent, off-the-charts geniuses their kids were. I wanted to drive a fork into my eye. It made me realize how utterly BORING those kinds of people actually are.
A fork in the eye?
Geeze! Then why are you reading a homeschooling thread, for heaven's sakes? No one here on Free Republic can force anyone to read a thread. It is entire up to the choice of the individual whether they open a thread or not.
Homeschoolers are on average far ahead of children who are institutionalized for their schooling.
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