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Tidbits & Trivia
Birthplace of the poultry industry.
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Rhode Island
Gifted, Talented, and Over-Regulated
A Rhode Island member family recently contacted Home School Legal Defense Association with the following problem:
What do I submit for curriculum if I want to try something more along the lines of unschooling? Up to this point I have been writing curriculum and schedules 9–12 months in advance. This works well for the local school superintendent. However, we have found that the time we are about three months into our plans, my son has found new interests or sometimes the original topics turned out to be boring. . . My son is currently doing sixth-grade work while his age peers are in second grade.
Rhode Island’s “approval” law is burdensome for many families, but it is obviously inappropriate for a child who is four grades ahead of his agemates. Profoundly gifted children like this one do not need to be saddled with lesson plans made out nine months in advance. HSLDA counseled this family to concentrate on providing the best possible education for their child, and leave the school district to us. At first, the school demanded the same inappropriate documentation. After some reflection, however, the district finally decided it could get by with substantially less information.
According to at least one expert who works with profoundly gifted and talented children, over half of the children with IQs above 170 are now being educated at home. Profoundly gifted children need the freedom that home education affords. Rhode Island school districts should not stand in the way of excellence in education.
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