Doogiie Howser Was A Piker

Meet the family who sent six kids to college by age 12

Seth Harding grabs a two-handed rubber sword, adjusts his helmet made with electrician’s tape, and starts to teach. "Try to block her sword with the base of your sword."

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” I wonder.

“We’re peasants.”

“En garde!” Seth yells. The battle begins. He is bringing light to the Dark Ages.

At 7, when many kids figure they might be firemen, Seth announced he would be a military archeologist. His mom, Mona Lisa, encouraged that curiosity. "Wow! That kid was into this!" she marvels.

By 12, Seth was hanging out with students nearly twice his age, studying the Middle Ages at Faulkner University, near his home in Montgomery, Alabama. "How's he doing?" I ask assistant professor Grover Plunkett.

I'm just boggling at the idea of putting six kids through college, regardless of their ages...