How is BLC different?

Baywood Learning Centers

BLC is a very unique education alternative designed especially to serve the intense and unique needs of highly gifted children. This program was developed and created out of necessity. When our founder was unable to find an appropriate educational option that could serve her highly gifted child's exceptional learning needs as well as sensitivities, she took on the task as a social entrepreneur, community activist and change agent to create an education model that would serve her student and others who had similar needs. The highly gifted student adores learning. This is a need which must be supported and valued by the adults who have the intention and responsibility to educate them. At BLC we find the spark and feed it into a roaring fire. We nurture Curiosity. Curiosity is the ability to wonder and question, to have the courage and willingness to seek answers. At BLC we have a different philosophy: we value questions over answers, process over product; great questions over pat answers. Mistakes are honored as great teachers, instead of being treated as reasons for shame. Too many teaching institutions, aka schools or academies, focus on outcome-based education which is far too limiting for gifted learners. Gifted learners prefer the freedom to participate in developing their educational plans and be as self directed as much as possible. Since students are the biggest stake holders in this process, it's only fair that their voices are heard and included as an integral part of academic planning. We choose collaboration instead of foisting an institutional "one-size fails-all" plan onto our students. When learners take ownership of their education plan there is an investment that receives the learner's respect. By allowing that investment we avoid battles over performance, motivation and compliance. Our students enjoy executing their education plans because they participated in designing them.		One of the most distinguishing and unusual features of the BLC program for gifted students is our deliberate lack of credentialed teachers. We are not in the business of teaching. However, we will provide your student with the best opportunity to LEARN, learn, learn! We invite you to consider the difference between being taught and being an active learner. LEARNING is an entirely different matter than Teaching! Students at BLC have extraordinary opportunities to LEARN, learn and learn! Gifted children LOVE to LEARN, but are often not so keen on being taught. We see our job at BLC to be that of creating an environment that is condusive to learning and providing a support system that encourages high ability students' quest for knowledge. BLC is a LEARNING CENTER, not a Teaching institution. In fact, we are intentional about the fact we do not hire credentialed teachers. As wonderful as teachers are as people, the model of teaching fails gifted children because gifted children have an internal agenda that must be supported over the external institutional approach first and foremost. We have found that the best educators for gifted learners are Mentors and Masters^TM..