Young geniuses ‘ just normal little boys’
Claretta Kimp wants you to understand this:
Yes, she gave birth to two child prodigies, and yes, they’re graduating from high school and college this weekend at ages 11 and 14, respectively. Carson, her oldest, is leaving Texas Christian University with a degree in physics and minors in Chinese and math. Cannan, the kid brother, will head to TCU in the fall to study astrophysics and engineering. The first wants to get a doctorate, the other wants to be an astronaut.
But as a mom, her sons’ academic achievements rank low among her favorite facts.
The brothers, she said, are also best friends, study partners and big fans of their puppy, Klaus. They wrestle and laugh and hold the door open for women. At home, Carson and Cannan do not fight, not even during their epic “Star Wars” lightsaber battles that make Kimp cringe. And don’t worry, Kimp tells the peanut gallery, their social lives are perfectly adequate.
“My boys have more social skills than most adults,” she said. “They are just normal little boys who do normal little-boy things.”
It was their brilliance, though, that first landed them in the spotlight.
Four years ago, at age 10, Carson was admitted to TCU in Fort Worth and he began classes as an 11-year-old. Today, he’ll become the youngest graduate in the university’s history.
Carson
Kimp, who studied early education and business at Southern Illinois University, said she converted the spare bedroom in their home into a classroom before Carson was walking. At first, he played with blocks there. But he was so excited to learn, the divorced mom said, that they created a set school period from 9 a.m. to noon, even though Carson would blow through the curriculum she planned in an hour. By age 2, he was reading books with chapters, and at age 3 he told his mom he wanted to learn calculus.
Kimp homeschooled Carson until he was 5. She knew he needed to “get out a little bit,” she said, but she struggled to find a school that was willing or able to accommodate him. She finally found a small, private Christian school that would take him.
Five years later, he graduated as co-valedictorian.
Then the search for a school willing to accept a child started all over again. They visited numerous college campuses, with Carson ultimately choosing TCU.
Physics professor Magnus Rittby became Carson’s mentor and, eventually, his research adviser. Rittby knew how to ease Carson’s anxieties, push him academically and, most importantly to Kimp, treat her son like the kid he is.
“This experience at TCU would not have been possible without Dr. Rittby,” she said.
Carson faced challenges most college kids don’t. His mom had to drive him an hour and a half to school every day in rush-hour traffic. Kimp walked him to and from class. And he had a 9 p.m. bedtime — 11 p.m. if he had to cram for a big exam.
Kimp eventually moved the family closer to campus, shortening their commute to eight minutes.
Cannan
Cannan started out on the traditional school route, but by second grade, he was bored and asked to be homeschooled. Kimp thinks her eldest son’s thirst for learning rubbed off on Cannan.
Even after she would complete lessons with Cannan, Carson would swoop in, demonstrating on the whiteboard in their home how to breeze through complex math equations.
Cannan later enrolled in the same private high school that Carson attended, but mostly worked from the TCU campus alongside his brother. Cannan even got to begin work on a research project with an astronomy professor.
Friday, he graduated from high school.