Nurturing Indigo's through Education

[Eol007]

Hi Kerri,

Absolutely worthy of a new thread!

Personally my experience only covers adult education – having worked as a trainer in various roles and across a broad range of subject fields.

Personally I would find it difficult to begin to attempt to respond to your questions. But would like you would very much value learning about the opinion on this issue of educators, parents and most importantly the kids themselves!

Yet, I can appreciate that this is clearly a needs based issue - which may well require a analysis, public lobby buy in, and eventually a long term solution to be put in place to become effective. I am not familiar with primary and secondary education models in the States, although Montessori Schools do exist over here, and as far as I understand resides within the private education sector as well!

Good luck on this one – I for one will be fascinated to see how the resulting discussion here will unravel!

I think you are sowing some good seeds here!!!

Kind wishes,


Stephen []

P.S. See also New ADHD drug that has been launched in the UK. BBC news article: - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3767313.stm

[mackenzie]

You're right about the cost of enrolling our children in such schools.  It is, for most of us, out of our current financial capabilities.  I think that is why there are so many people that are home schooling their children.  I know that my sons school, while they ARe trying to deal with his uniqueness, are still following mainstream methods and i STILL have to put him on drugs which he seems to become immune to (mostly) after 6 weeks anyway.  It has NEVER slowed him down in anyway, just made him more open to reason.  I hope one day there WILL be a school system that is financially feasible that would allow him to learn in the more "hands on" approach than what they allow him at his current school. He is not the type to just sit and study by rote all that they require him to learn.  What an interesting topic you have started though I don't know HOW to get most mainstream school systems to adopt more of those alternative type schools systems.

[Avalon]

Lighthouse, I couldn't agree more that a complete overhaul is needed.
Since public schools are run by government funding, I don't see them changing the curriculm and their teaching styles to accomodate children who they look at as "behavior problems".  I'm saying this and I work for the government.

Not meaning to offend the parents who chose to put their children on medication, I can't seem to do that without feeling like I'm copping out as a parent.  And I think most teachers want "compliant" children in their classrooms despite the growing number of children on med's.  Instead of embracing my child's difference and intelligence, they try to suppress her differences and intelligence.  And instead of inspiring her, they try to change the way she thinks.

At this point, all I can do is be the best advocate for my child.  Even if that means having to confront their teachers and the administrators at their school.

Any suggestions would be helpful, I agree.

[Lighthouse]

Here are the overviews of some of the recommended schools for Indigo's:

Montessori Schools http://www.montessoriconnections.com/aboutmontessorieducation/aboutmontessorieducation.html

WHAT IS THE MONTESSORI METHOD
This system of education is both a philosophy of child development and a rationale for guiding such growth. It is based on the child's developmental needs for freedom within limits,  as well  as,  a carefully  prepared  environment which  guarantees  exposure to materials and experiences.  Through this, the child develops intelligence as well as physical and psychological abilities.  It is designed to take full advantage of the child's desire to learn and their unique ability to develop their own capabilities. The child needs adults to expose him to the possibilities of his life, but the child must determine his response to those possibilities.

The main premises of Montessori education are:

Children are to be respected as different from adults and as individuals who differ from each other.

The child possesses an unusual sensitivity and intellectual ability to absorb and learn from his environment that are unlike those of the adult both in quality and capacity.

The most important years of a child's growth are the first six years of life when unconscious learning is gradually brought to the conscious level.

The child has a deep love and need for purposeful work. He works, however, not as an adult for completion of a job, but the sake of an activity itself. It is this activity which enables him to accomplish his most important goal: the development of himself - his mental, physical, and psychological powers.

Waldorf Schools http://hem.passagen.se/thebee/waldorf/

Philosophy

Steiner schools have a unique and distinctive approach to educating children, aiming to enable each stage of growth to be fully and vividly enjoyed and experienced. They provide a balanced approach to the modern school curriculum. The academic, artistic and social aspects, or 'head, heart & hands', are treated as complementary facets of a single program of learning, allowing each to throw light on the others.

This is implemented by using art as a practice, and language to develop the feelings, by nourishing the children with the rich heritage of wise folk tales, histories, fairy stories, poems, music and games that are part of our world civilisation. This creates the cultural atmosphere in which the children are taught reading, writing, arithmetic, nature study, geography, science, languages, music and other subjects.

Steiner designed a curriculum that is responsive to the developmental phases of childhood and the nurturing of the child's imagination in a school environment. Steiner thought that schools should cater to the needs of the child rather than the demands of the government or economic forces, so he developed schools that encourage creativity and free-thinking. His teaching seeks to recognise the individuality of the child and through a balanced education, allows them to go into the world with confidence.

"The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility – these are the three forces which are the very nerve of education."

Rudolf Steiner

The unique quality of human beings is our capacity for conscious thought. Steiner schooling strives to support the development of well rounded human beings who are able to feel deeply and broadly, to think penetratingly and clearly, and then to act rightly out of conscious and free choice.

The best overall statement on what is unique about Steiner education is to be found in the stated goals of the schooling:

"Our highest endeavour must be to develop individuals who are able out of their own initiative to impart purpose and direction to their lives".

Rudolf Steiner


------------

Given these two models, (there are Freinet Schools too that have a similar model) What stands out to mee is that both of them are looking to the needs of the Child.  Although Montessori does not specifically state that it is also to further the spiritual development of the child, I believe this is implied.  It is my opinion that whenever a person is encouraged to be his or herself, to be who they are and explore their own interests, that is an inherent implied freedom to grow spiritually.

They respect the individuality of the kids and honor them as unique individuals, different from each other and different from adults.  

What I see as lacking in the public schools today (correct me if I'm just being cynnical [:O]) is that it is a method to get everyone to the same level of basic knowledge.  This in my opinion dulls a persons senses and invalidates a person who would otherwise have no interest in their problem subjects.  If I fail Trigonometry (which I almost did twice... just passed the course by 1 point the second time around) why should I be made to take it?  It is obviously not something I will ever use in life because it does not interest me and I have no use for it.  My husband on the other hand, is a physicist and loves Math period.  

Why through grading, am I given the subliminal message that I am a lesser person than the person who gets straight A's.  Perhaps my love is the Arts... Nobody would say that Michaelangelo left less of a mark on the world than Einstein yet the school system as it is today would celebrate the Einsteins in the classrooms and condemn the Michaelangelo's for not being "Academically Inclined."  Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, I'm sure even though some people might not like the guy, nobody can say he's a loser in the game of life.  These people all honored their truth and if we had a School model in the public schools that taught this, think of how much easier it would be for kids to really let their lights shine!

So, given that vague outline of what's wrong... what specifically is wrong?  What can be done?  How can we take the baby steps needed to bring this to the awareness of Avalon's employer?


 

Kerri

 

[Sentential]

Personally I feel that its the supressive nature of psionics that have failed Indigos. As a psyke, I felt for the longest while that if I *EVER* told anyone about my experiences, including my parents, that they would throw me into a loony bin.

That sorta anger and isolation has taken its toll on me, only now am I finally begining to heal those wounds.

IMO, the best way to nuture them, it to tell them that the things they see and experience, are real and they arent crazy. THe sooner that they see it as a gift, the better. Otherwise they will condemn themselfs (as I did) as being cursed, and wish they were normal like everyone else.

My .02c

[Moonburn33]

i would like to see hard statistics to suggest a new kind of personality type among people.  this whole indigo thing reeks of new age wishful thinking.  this isn't even a new idea.  timothy leary coined the concept of a "futant", which is, essentially, a person in the society that has new psychological mutations that could cause the entire society to move forward- if cultivated.  i don't think that you can say that the majority of kids are this personality type, due to the fact that i haven't seen any sort of hard scientific evidence for anything out of the ordinary.  all of these characteristics that are supposedly unique to these children have always been around.  the indigo children have always existed, as it were.

that being said, i think that the educational methods developed for these "gifted" children would benefit any child.

[Lighthouse]

quote:i would like to see hard statistics to suggest a new kind of personality type among people. this whole indigo thing reeks of new age wishful thinking. this isn't even a new idea. timothy leary coined the concept of a "futant", which is, essentially, a person in the society that has new psychological mutations that could cause the entire society to move forward- if cultivated. i don't think that you can say that the majority of kids are this personality type, due to the fact that i haven't seen any sort of hard scientific evidence for anything out of the ordinary. all of these characteristics that are supposedly unique to these children have always been around. the indigo children have always existed, as it were.

that being said, i think that the educational methods developed for these "gifted" children would benefit any child.

This may indeed be true... and I agree to set people apart by thelling them they are gifted or special is more damaging than not. Still, the school systems are broken and still need an overhaul.  What is the value for the individual of the grading process?  Certainly with the exception of those who truly excell in school (top of the class) this is not a positive and validating experience.  When you are a kid, for many kids, the report card is the document by which to measure yourself against all of your peers, unfortunately, many adults and parents use that same measure.  I've had people tell me that I must have at least been in the top of my class... I was far from it.  Never once made honor roll because I was not nurtured and after a while didn't care.  I was grounded for months on end because of a report card below par.  I just had no interest in the areas that I was being graded in.  In fact, I loved to sing and would have to skip a class every week to go to voice lessons on a rotating basis.  I refused to skip a class because my grades suffered and as a result, was kicked out of the choir because of my seeming lack of interest in attending my voice lessons.  I refused to skip the class because everyone else valued the grades in the other classes as more valuable so I used their opinions to make my decisions and ultimately gave up my love.

The system failed me... I did go on to college and graduated with a BFA from a highly regarded institution, however, I chose the courses, not some arbitrary government body.

Kerri

[Lighthouse]

So, I thought this was worhty of a new Indigo thread...

Given that there is a problem in the schools with labeling these kids with ADD and over drugging them to have them conform to the wishes of the school system, what are the alternatives other than private education which many families can not afford?  The 2 types of private school models that nurture these kids for their own talents and uniqueness are Montessori Schools and Waldorf Schools, these are also the models that Doreen Virtue suggests enrolling these children into.  Unfortunately, since the Indigo's are the majority in schools now, the entire system will need a complete overhaul in order to address their needs.  I've looked into Montessori Schools in my area and they are around $1100 per month for my daughter to go... my daughter is in preschool.  It seems to me that privatizing the educational system for Indigos is a mistake and the current model is broken.  If the majority of the kids are Indigos, shouldn't the public educational system follow the model of the Montessori or the Waldorf school model?

It has been my vision for a while that instead of taking them out of the mainstream educational system, maybe creating after school programs that help these kids and validates their inherent worth... Kind of like a supplementary learning model.  Maybe it there were supplemental programs based on a model for addressing the needs of these kids, it would be easier for the schools to copy that model and implement it in the overall shcool systems.  Of course this is the first time I have ever written this down so my thoughts on this are still formulating.

Here are my questions:
1. Where do you see the schools as failing these kids?  

2. What solutions do you think could be implemented to help educational institutions serve the greater needs of our kids?  

There are many people on this board who are still in school and who are Indigo Children (as opposed to us older Indigo's, I'm 33 and am one) as well as many people in my position who have indigo children and want them to be nurtured in their development.  I feel like if we want to see change, we need to be the change we want to see.  Maybe we can all in a way come up with a collective nurturing plan to help them forge their way... We come from all over the globe and together we can do anything.  [^]



Kerri