Stafford, what have you done to help him maintain a normal life? They're around my age, but mostly they're older than I am. STAFFORD: Mostly older, but when I go to my cousin's house, I'll hang out with him and his friends. NEARY: Do you have any friends with kids your own age, or are your friends mostly older, or.? And home-schooling, where it was just my sister and me, it was just better for me.
Crowded areas and loud kids - it's overloading for me. STAFFORD: I don't like a lot of people in one spot. I was actually happy that I wasn't in school. Did you, at any time, feel that you're missing out on something by not being in a regular school? NEARY: Now, Stephen, when you're being home-schooled, obviously you were a whiz in mathematics, as your mom said, I guess other subjects as well. But the one that was more receptive to our situation was Morehouse. BROWN-STAFFORD: Well, actually I tried the neighborhood high school and I was advised that, you know, maybe we should try some other things, just to keep them pre-occupied. NEARY: So, you went immediately to the college. And I sought the assistance of Morehouse College. When it got to the point where he started teaching me some of the things, then I knew I was in trouble. It was actually when Stephen turned 11 and my brick wall was algebra, too. NEARY: And is that the point at which you saw, well, I need some help at that point or. NEARY: I still haven't mastered algebraic concepts. And we learned that Stephen had master - or he had mastered algebraic concepts that early. BROWN-STAFFORD: Probably when he was six. NEARY: How old was he when you first realized that he was really moving along at an accelerated rate? So, I continued to home school for as long as I could until I couldn't anymore, particularly in the subject of mathematics, I needed help. We knew that he wasn't getting much out of the experience. But when we tried to put Stephen in both the private school and a public school, it just, it didn't go well. One thing led to another and, believe me, we did not intend to home-school as long as we did. And so, when I talked to my husband about it, he advised, he said, well, just go ahead and advance him. But I noticed that Stephen was finishing out workbooks a lot faster than expected. And so when Stephen turned four, we were working out of workbooks. BROWN-STAFFORD: Well, initially, I've always worked with my kids when they were very young, when they were toddlers, somewhere between two-and-a-half and three. Stafford, I want to ask how this sort of came about, because I know you home-schooled Stephen. Do you live on campus or do you go home everyday or. Anything else another 13-year-old kid would do. STAFFORD: I play a lot of video games, play the piano, the drums, watch TV. NEARY: Do you have time to do anything else? What do you do in your spare time? STAFFORD: Well, I currently have a dual major in biology, mathematics and computer science. STEPHEN STAFFORD (Sophomore, Morehouse College): Thank you. Thanks to both of you for joining us today. Here to tell us what life is like for a teenage academic whiz are Stephen Stafford and his mom, Michelle Brown-Stafford. While other boys are navigating the world of middle school and lunchroom high jinx, 13 year old Stephen Stafford is charting his own course as a sophomore at Morehouse College. Today, we want to talk about making academic leaps, not just getting skipped a grade or two, but even entering college at a very young age. We visit with a diverse group of parents each week for their common sense and savvy parenting advice. They say it takes a village to raise a child, but maybe you just need a few moms in your corner.
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