Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Classical Curriculum

Does anyone have experiences using the Classical Curriculum (Trivium, etc) within a school environment? I understand it's used quite a bit in homeschooling, and can understand how it would be easily adaptable for gifted kids in that environment, but i'm currently looking at a relatively new school that has been created that revolves entirely around this curriculum, but where the folks in charge don't seem to have any direct experience with gifted children... it seems to lend itself, but could it be problematic? the developmental vs. chronological age question has come up... just curious...

thanks.

It could be great (it is a relatively challenging sort of curriculum) or it could be awful... like any setting, it depends on how it's actually executed.

The one difficulty I can think of off the top of my head is if they interpret the stages very strictly by age. I know among classical homeschoolers you occasionally get one who says "you are X years old and therefore you are in the Y stage. period." That's right up there with "12 year olds aren't developmentally ready for algebra. period." My issue isn't with the original statement (which is likely true for a large proportion of the population), but with the inflexibility.

If they're willing to adapt to the individual students a bit then I think it could be a great curriculum for gifted kids... definitely worth looking into!