College at 11

Your 11 year old isn’t almost finished with high school and already taking college classes? What’s wrong?

This WCCO story last weekend on 11-year-old Lucas Kramer, who is already taking college classes at the U, is going to make those “my kid was student of the month” bumper sticker look pretty foolish (which, for the record, they already do since every kid is usually named student of the month during a typical school year.)

The story got picked up by Drudge (aka, the national news media’s assignment desk) and now the National Review Online is holding the lad up as an example of what’s wrong with the rest of us…

I recently discovered that, at my local elementary school, only 20 percent of fourth graders score at a “proficient” level in mathematics on state tests. Yet, as measured by those same tests, this is one of the best schools in the city! Imagine how low the scores are at the “bad” schools.

Young Mr. Kramer’s fame originally comes courtesy of the University of Minnesota Daily, which did a story on him last month.

Being at the University isn’t his first experience in college courses, but it does have the largest classes he’s experienced.

In spring 2011, Lucas took a physics course at Augsburg College.

“It was fun watching him help the 20-year-olds with his modern physics,” (mother) Angela said. “That I get a kick out of.”