鈥淭he word 鈥榚ducation鈥� comes from the Latin 鈥榚ducere鈥�= e (out of) + ducere (to draw). Education is not just about putting information in. We have forgotten that it, in fact, begins in the child鈥檚 heart.鈥� -Vince Gowmon

Wonderful things happen when educators employ child-led learning in their classrooms. My own children are not quite school age; Claire is 4, so my personal experience pertains to preschool. While searching for options, I visited a preschool where the teachers take cues from their students and help them navigate their interests, explore their creativity, and critically think about their ideas. One class was particularly interested in writing and storytelling, so the students, ages 2 to 6, contributed to a short story they worked on daily. Each child had a journal, and even though many of them couldn鈥檛 write yet, the teachers were of the mindset that all markings are important. Another class at the same school was interested in 鈥渉ow to get wood to stick together,鈥� and after working through a couple hypotheses 鈥� tape and glue 鈥� one child returned to school after a weekend with a new idea. He informed the class that as his family was driving, he saw houses being built, and his parents told him they used nails to get the wood to stick. In this particular classroom, the teacher created a station with a framed sign that read, 鈥淛ulian鈥檚 theory on how to get wood to stick together.鈥� The station was equipped with wood, hammers, and nails, and even the two-year-old students participated in the project. This preschool had a two-year waitlist.

I also visited a preschool where the teachers insisted that each child participate in a craft project, whether or not they wanted to. The crafts were primarily completed by the teachers, and I watched them coax children (who were immersed in imaginative play) into participation. The crafts felt forced 鈥� they seemed to function as keepsakes for parents rather than as tools to help students unfold. I鈥檓 sure many of you have experienced frustration with teachers and school systems that lacked the training and resources to help your children move beyond the standard subject material.

During the COVID quarantine, I somehow lost sight of my own educational philosophy for a moment. The internet has been brimming with all the creative things everyone is doing with their kids, and I have felt paralyzed and inadequate through it all. When my daughter鈥檚 preschool started sending home packets of worksheets and day-to-day ideas for activities, I clutched those scraps of paper and marched straight to the kitchen table with my child. Finally, I had found the structure I needed to conquer at-home preschool and live up to, well, everyone on the internet. Claire would emerge from her quarantine chrysalis as a polished and refined, well-educated preschool butterfly. I posted the calendar on the wall and announced that we would mark off each activity with a special sticker, and we sat down to conquer preschool. I pulled a worksheet out of the manila envelope. It was packed with bunnies and eggs and flowers and other spring-type shapes, and its instructions said to find six bunnies, nine eggs, eight flowers, and so on. I didn鈥檛 feel any measure of zen looking at it, and Claire didn鈥檛 hesitate before scribbling frantically while I tried to block her pencil, shouting, 鈥淣O! We have to find six bunnies!鈥� She also refused to rhyme three words with 鈥渂ee鈥� or find four objects in the house shaped like rectangles. She wouldn鈥檛 count to 20 three times, either.

I despaired. My Instagram feed was brimming with watercolors of irises and stained-glass mandalas, and I couldn鈥檛 even get my kid to rhyme with 鈥渂ee.鈥�

As I bemoaned my lack of creativity and inability to create structured learning during a phone call with a friend, she pointed out that Claire doesn鈥檛 like activities that are presented to her in a structured way. She might run around the house, singing an original song about unicorns, but the moment you tell her to sit down and rhyme with 鈥渉orn,鈥� she will respond by blowing raspberries and falling off her chair. The activities her preschool sent were probably fun for some of her classmates, but they didn鈥檛 work for Claire鈥檚 style of learning. I only wanted to check them off my list because of my own insecurity.

I want to help Claire dive deeper into her interests, especially now that I鈥檝e scrapped the picture searches and worksheets. In order to move forward, I had to experience an important epiphany: by putting pressure on myself to approach at-home learning with perfectionism, I subjected Claire to undue pressure and perfectionism. We made a few shifts. Instead of following the preschool calendar, we created a new calendar one week 鈥� she picked a subject she wanted to learn about and drew a picture of that subject for each day of the week. One day, we learned about flowers and embarked on a nature walk to find flowers to examine. The next day, we learned about mermaids, which led to many discussions about ocean creatures and life under the sea.

Child-led learning is especially important for gifted kids, whose basic education should include the type of acceleration that nurtures their particular gifts and interests. This is why Academy is so important 鈥� it allows gifted children to go as deep as they want into dynamic subjects that excite them. It places them among experts who encourage their excitement for a subject while helping them cultivate a mastery of it. Academy students have the space to think deeply about their subjects and discuss ideas with their fellow students and teachers. I have been inspired and impressed by my colleagues, who have transformed Academy into an engaging distance-learning platform. They have adapted quickly and efficiently to the needs of our community. Academy has been described as a 鈥渓ifeline鈥� for some 优蜜视频 families, and I imagine that it is even more so now, as families strive to meet the social, emotional, and academic needs of their children while balancing their own work.

I hope that 优蜜视频鈥檚 year-round resources 鈥� Academy, LABS, Gifted Support Groups 鈥� are a source of support for you right now. Parents, please have grace for yourselves. We are all doing our best.

鈥淭o take children seriously is to value them for who they are right now rather than adults-in-the-making.鈥� -Alfie Kohn

This summer was my first time at . I had two classes, Ocean Exploration and Around the Wor(l)d: Letters and Language.

On the first day of Ocean Exploration, I was the second one there. I didn’t know what to expect since this was my first time at 优蜜视频. I met my classmates and my teacher, Nicole. I quickly realized that this class was going to be one of the best classes ever! During this class, we learned all about amazing undersea life including coral and zooplankton. We also made up our own sea animals, and learned why grotesque trash shouldn鈥檛 be in the ocean.

It was SO fun! Every day my dad asked, 鈥淗ow was it today?鈥� and I burst out, 鈥淎MAZING!!!!!!!!!鈥欌��

On the first day of Around the Wor(l)d, we learned about syntax. Syntax is the order in sentences of which words go in. We talked about how different languages have different syntax. We also learned about Greek and Latin root words, and how they have a few similarities in spelling. Another one of the things we learned about was the language family tree, which shows how languages are related to each other. The best part of this class was that we got to invent our own languages!

At the end, I said, 鈥淟’acad茅mie est g茅niale!鈥� (鈥淭he academy is great!鈥�)

Taking 优蜜视频 Academy classes really did change the way I think. I am super excited to go back!

. Register by August 27^th!

Eli McLaughlin is a seven-year-old Academy student.

Louise is 优蜜视频鈥檚 Academy Coordinator. Academy offers K-8th grade students challenging enrichment classes that focus on exploration and application of knowledge.

This year, 优蜜视频 had the tremendous opportunity to host both 3-week Summer Academy sessions at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, that scholar鈥檚 paradise situated in the center of San Marino, known and loved by curious minds near and far, young and not so young! It was a boon to our community to enjoy this remarkable location, and more, to begin to appreciate how such partnering might enrich our classes further. As we conclude our inaugural Academy program at The Huntington, we look back at the summer sessions through the eyes of our most important critics: the Academy students themselves!

鈥業 LOVED EVERYTHING!!!鈥� screams the written evaluation from Simone O. on her post-program survey. Simone spent the summer in classes like Ancient Rome, Physics Lab, Planetary Astronomy and Scientists Like Me, devoting a fair amount of time in between with her nose in a book, a smile on her face and an eager commitment to staying for extra time on Thursdays to enjoy our mini-lecture series. She, along with the other friends she made, also described making new connections and 鈥榰nforgettable memories at The Huntington鈥�. As they hung out at lunch, shared stories and laughter, walked the gardens and dodged the sprinklers, they took time to tell us:

• We do unique, fun experiments and activities to further our understanding of demanding concepts, such as creating a diagram of the solar system made out of different food items to help demonstrate each planet鈥檚 qualities
• It was challenging intellectually – but in a good way!
• We鈥檝e understood art and art history through cool scavenger hunts in the gallery
• The teachers have been such a big part in our learning process. They have the ability to make learning fun and much more interactive than regular school
• We were inspired by scientists from the past by visiting the 鈥楤eautiful Science鈥� exhibit
• You get the chance to work at a pace that suits your own learning style and level of interest
• We understood the context of Bronte鈥檚 Jane Eyre through seeing and talking about key texts with a leading curator (even though the text was impossible to read!)

What鈥檚 more, the students told us that all classes were overall more in-depth and more specific than anything they鈥檝e had the chance to enjoy so far 鈥� as well as being interestingly inter-disciplinary! Feedback, so far then, suggests this time was, indeed, one of 鈥榩aradise鈥�.

Naturally, watching friendships develop and personalities emerge is, of course, a major part of the summer camp experience. For 优蜜视频 staff and Academy teachers, one of the most thrilling parts of the last 6 weeks has been watching our community of children grow intellectually, as well as socially, and grow to believe that their passions and interests are shared with others and could give them pathways to a unique future. Parents, too, have taken extra time to write and to let us know how glad they are to have 鈥榙iscovered鈥� us, that their child 鈥榟ad a blast鈥� and that their child 鈥榠s already asking about when she can take another class鈥�. In addition, as we evaluate, we love to hear your ideas for future classes, from Robotics to Botany, from Architecture to Art History; rest assured, we will continue to listen and respond.

The Oxford English Dictionary tells me that the lexical item 鈥楶aradise鈥� can be traced back to Middle English to the Old French word, 鈥榩aradis鈥�, via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek 鈥榩aradeisos鈥� or ‘royal (enclosed) park’. Having been on site at The Huntington did indeed elevate us and make us feel 鈥榬oyal鈥� and protected, but in a more modern sense of the word, as young scholars, our Academy students found their idyllic place and their idyllic state of mind in a safe and stimulating community.

Thanks to all who contributed their honest thoughts to this blog and to all who made this happen, and happen so successfully! It was paradise.

See more highlights from Summer 2014 Academy!

More information about Fall 2014 Academy coming soon! To stay updated on future offerings, join our email list.

Every gifted person has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts depicting the many faces of gifted by highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through 优蜜视频 programs. Devyn is a high school junior and a Caroline D. Bradley Scholar. The program awards highly gifted students with a four-year scholarship to a high school that best fits their individual, intellectual and personal needs. Here, Devyn talks about the many factors that influenced her educational path.

Devyn R.
2010 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar

In my application for the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, I described myself with the personal characteristic of 鈥渂eing extremely curious and having a thirst for knowledge.鈥� My seventh grade self wasn鈥檛 too picky about the things I learned; I devoured it all. I was a historian, a scientist, a pianist, a flutist, an actress, a linguist, a tap dancer鈥� The list went on and on.

As I moved into high school and my extra-curricular activities became more demanding, I realized that I had to narrow my focus. I still possessed a wild curiosity and an insatiable desire to learn, but I determined that my real interest lay in our ever-changing global society: diplomacy, politics, foreign languages, and world history. I have pursued these subjects to their fullest both in my high school and out in the world.

One of the major reasons behind this realization derived from my decision to study Latin in high school. The Latin program at my school was exceptional, and I soon became an avid classicist. I attended both state and national Latin conventions, where I met students from around the country who were just as enthusiastic about declining nouns, conjugating verbs, and reciting Ciceronian oratories as I was. I participated in Certamen, a quiz bowl competition with a classics twist, and my Illinois state team placed in the top five in the country. At this year鈥檚 state convention in February, I decided to take a more active role in Illinois Latin, and I became a student member of the Illinois Junior Classical League Board. I was very excited to have the opportunity to lead the Illinois delegation to nationals at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas this July.

The wide variety of student organizations that my high school has to offer also helped me determine my areas of interest. As a freshman, I became a member of my school鈥檚 Model United Nations team, seizing the opportunity to experience global diplomacy firsthand. Last year, I helped new members grow in their knowledge of Model UN conferences and parliamentary procedure. I also represented the sophomore class on my school鈥檚 Student Council and coordinated numerous events ranging from dances to a 鈥淪tate of the School鈥� address. I am eager to begin my next term as council treasurer this year. These two extra-curricular activities helped me realize my affinity for leadership and government.

The final piece to the puzzle of my identity came with a rather spontaneous decision to study a language completely foreign to me and to most other Americans: Arabic. In the summer of 2012, I decided to attend a month-long intensive Arabic immersion program run by the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy. I knew not one word in Arabic; I couldn鈥檛 even recognize a single letter. My family and friends were surprised, to say the least, at my choice of a summer camp, but I was ready for the challenge. I emerged from a hot July in Ohio hooked on the Arab language and culture. I was able to communicate in Arabic, fluently read and write the alphabet, and even prepare some traditional Arab foods. Until that summer, I never really knew what I wanted to do with my life; I had never identified that one thing that I absolutely loved. But in that month, I knew I had found it.

Since my school does not offer Arabic, over the past year, I have taken private lessons, which have been generously funded by my CDB Scholarship. I am thrilled every time I am able to recognize words through a shop window or search through Al-Jazeera Online and understand the headlines. Through my studies, I have come to appreciate the rich and diverse culture of the Arabic-speaking world, and I am very interested in helping to bridge the cultural divide that has separated the West and the Middle East for so many years. To this end, I spent a month in Jordan this summer, participating in a program that encompasses language study, leadership, cultural activities, tourism, and community service. I enjoyed the chance to speak Arabic 24/7, mentor young Jordanian students, and visit historically important sites like Petra and the River Jordan. I hope that this trip was just the first of many to the Arab World as I become more involved in diplomacy and international affairs.

I plan to continue to hone my leadership skills and increase my global outlook as I move through high school and into college. I am very thankful to have 优蜜视频 as a partner and guide along my journey.