In Boston We Call this ‘Wicked Smaht’

Posted on June 11, 2008 by Jennifer Brady

UMassOnline DIrector of Marketing, Jennifer Brady Stepping over to the lighter side for just a moment, meet Benjamin Harris. He’s 15, and he’s a junior in college.

Benjamin scored 1,300 out of a possible 1,600 on his SAT - including a nearly perfect math score - when he was 12 years old. He took Calculus 1 when he was 13 and finished Calculus 3 last fall.

That’s from this article entitled, “Math whiz eases onto the fast track,” appearing in the Baltimore Sun. There’s an interesting twist to Benjamin’s story. Benjamin started taking computer science classes at Anne Arundel Community College and did distance-learning through the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. During the next three years, Benjamin leaped seven grades. Benjamin took most of his classes online - he and his parents thought it would be awkward to take them with older students…

File this under, “Distance learning meets yet another unique need.”