by Dr Boyce Watkins

David Van Valen has a life that is built for legend. The young scientist and his family set trends years ago when he was accepted to MIT at the age of 13. While other kids his age were mastering videogames and hip-hop lyrics, David was preparing to dominate the future, taking a whopping 25 college courses while he was in high school, which he started at the “wise old age” of 10.

Halfway through the sixth grade, the work was just too easy. So, David’s mother petitioned to have him sent directly to high school. When the school said no, she simply did what any good parent would do: Worked around the system. She and her husband had David and his brother Joseph homeschooled for two years, giving them a far better education than the one they would have received in any public (or even private) school system.

By the way, Joseph (David’s brother) was also admitted to MIT at the age of 15. But that’s another story for another day. Let’s focus on David’s greatness right now, since two versions of this might be too much to digest.

David speaks plainly about the culture of hard work and discipline that his parents created in their home. He says that the training from his parents was “intense” and that he and his brother were always pushed to become the best that they could be.

“We studied math four hours a day and read four hours a day. Mostly we read the classics,” David said about his rigorous homeschooling lessons.

READ MORE via He went to MIT at the age of 14, and now he’s changing the world | The Black Home School.