by Maria Corse
 
In our culture, we frequently place gifted children on a pedestal and presume that those bright and curious little people will live up to our expectations: high achieving, self-directed, read early, receive good grades, and that school is easy for them, along with many other commonly held myths.
 
Children, who are neurologically designated as gifted, actually, think and process differently than neuro-typical kids.  These children are defined as asynchronous, which essentially means that their brains, bodies, and emotions are all developing at different rates and times.  A child who wows us with their seeming ability to grasp the most abstract concept, at a very young age, is still - for all intents and purposes – a young child. 
 
Gifted children are often perfectionists, highly sensitive, and extremely intense.  They, many-times, have multiple on-going projects which are only occasionally finished.  These kids can fixate on one particular subject to a point that borders on obsession, or, they may have a thousand areas of interests, which they are exploring simultaneously.  They can also be learning disabled - which is defined as twice exceptional.
 
Providing the necessary resources and support is sometimes difficult, because they are different for each gifted child.  Experts do know that structure is important; however, flexibility is essential and one static age/grade based curriculum is not beneficial. Experiential learning is a necessary tool, including hands-on creative outlets related to art, music, and movement. They need to be constantly challenged with new concepts, themes, and games.  While reward and punishment are not great motivators, these children are often able to discuss consequences, because of their clear-cut sense of right and wrong.
 
Although not all children are gifted – I do believe that every child has specific talents and abilities that make them uniquely brilliant individuals. Within that firmly held philosophy, Deep Root Center offers an educational environment that is nimble enough to accommodate every child’s extraordinary aptitude with enough guidance to challenge them to question existing stereotypes. This methodology allows them to seek out divergent facts and opinions, as a means of enhancing personal knowledge, but, more importantly, also allows them to develop a receptive and accommodating world view. 

• Credit to: https://ihomeschoolnetwork.com/homeschooling-gifted-kids-entails/, a valuable resource that increased my understanding of giftedness exponentially.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By Maria Corse
 
This is a follow up to a Friday morning post on the DRC Facebook page, in which I began to ponder the distinction between educated and schooled.
 
Many, upon reflection, would proclaim that ignorance is the direct opposite of educated; I, however, while cognizant of the overarching reasoning, would rank schooled as the antithesis of educated. 
 
For the sake of argument, let’s unpack these three words.
 
Ignorance is merely the "unknowing" of particular pieces of information.  For example: I am ignorant about the intricacies of the legal and judiciary systems in the United States.  Despite my incomprehension of these particular subjects, I am neither stupid nor uneducated; I, simply, have never been interested nor taken the opportunity to learn how they are structured.
 
Education, in my opinion, is a combination of acute awareness, wit, and intellect.  It requires an active, inquisitive, and wide open mind --- a willingness to question authority and seek out knowledge, as well as guidance. It can be obtained anywhere, anytime, by anyone. Acquisition of knowledge is infinite, as long as you are continually interested and excited to explore new ideas and concepts.  It does, however, demand a dedication to learning from error, as well as success.  Education, quite plainly, opens innumerable doors to a never-ending world of possibilities. It is the greatest of all equalizers and the deadly enemy of apathy.
 
Becoming schooled, on the other hand, happens when people (students) are rewarded or punished for complying and obeying (or not) within a closed, coercive, and compulsory environment filled with set rules, and, finite, static information, which is presented by a teacher, and, then regurgitated on an exam or test.  Yes, I am quite aware that my definition of schooled could be (probably is), more than a little bit, controversial.
 
In our cultural experience, an education is gained by attending school. The end!  Every child is expected – actually mandated to attend that hallowed institution by the age of six, and, for the most part every single one of us has attended school for at least thirteen years of our life. Educated and schooled are interchangeable in our language and in our interpretation of intelligence. In fact, Merriam- Webster uses the words educational institution to describe school.
 
Despite the reams of overwhelmingly contrary definitions of schooled, including the esteemed lexicographers, as well as cultural dictates, I continue to stand by my personal interpretation based on direct and antidotal experience, as well as scientific research.
 
To be clear, I do believe an education can be acquired in our existing structure of school, though, only if the student is self-directed --- dedicated and open to asking questions and seeking out pertinent answers.  A successfully educated person, within this institutionalized system, understands there is usually more than one way to achieve the answer, as there is more than one solution to every problem (with the probable exception of mathematics). 
 
The possession of legions of facts and details from a variety of subjects, alone, does not mean you are educated or smart; understanding how to obtain the knowledge that is important and relevant to you --- does.