WHO ARE THE INDIGO CHILDREN? They are powerful children born in large numbers since 1970, brought to earth to bring great change and peace. They are wise beyond their years and are the pointers for the direction of humanity. They can easily use both their left and right brain, as they are artistically gifted and also technologically advanced. Indigo children are here to offer their extraordinary gifts to the world. They need our support. They need schools that are encouraging, nurturing, and empowering. These children are passionate, creative, and vulnerable. They are highly sensitive and sometimes resist conformity, which can lead to difficulty in school. Parents of Indigo children know the frustration of having a child who has lost their spirit because they were not recognized and understood. I know firsthand the sorrow a mother feels when her intelligent and creative child becomes depressed and withdrawn. By age eight my oldest son, an Indigo child, simply refused to go to school anymore. I will never forget the day we sat in the school parking lot as tears streamed down his face (and mine) as he refused to get out of the car. I made a decision in that moment that never again would I not honor his inner spirit.

Before having my sons, I was a high school teacher in the public school system. My heart broke as I was told to treat these wonderful beings as though they were all the same. I followed my intuition, however, and treated each student as unique and specially gifted in their own way. Though I had great success with my students I wanted to stay home with my boys during their early years. This is when I first met Sally Carless, director and founder of Global Village School. At last, through distance learning, I was able to follow the philosophy of education that I always knew to be true: that each child is not the same. And each child has many unique talents and abilities.

Global Village School (GVS) is an accredited international K-12 home school diploma program with a creative flexible approach and an emphasis on peace, justice, diversity, and sustainability. Global Village provides children with an atmosphere that nurtures their individual gifts and empowers each student to be capable, confident, and a wise steward of the planet. Imagine the kind of adults these youth will become as they are provided with learning experiences that value peace, compassion, justice, sustainability, appreciation of diversity, and the living of an authentic and meaningful life. Imagine the kind of world they will create…

Founded in 1999, Global Village School represents a radically new model of education that combines alternative educational methods and philosophies with the goals and values of progressive social movements. GVS aims to effect change at both the personal and global levels by educating individual students about the problems and possibilities facing our planet. The distance learning model enables students around the world to participate.

Global Village cultivates a supportive atmosphere for many different kinds of students whose needs have not been met during their previous school experiences. Many are delighted to discover a school that shares (and can help implement) their desire for a more just and peaceful world. Josh, a 2004 graduate, is a good example of this. Currently attending college, he has co-created a fair-trade clothing company that supports a women's cooperative in Nicaragua. Josh reports that: “My experience at Global Village was great, and without question it put me on the path I'm on today.”

Others choose GVS for academic reasons; some need to work at their own pace or want to delve deeper into subjects than traditional classroom settings permit. A Missouri parent is grateful for the way she has been able to provide such a relevant education for her 6th grade daughter:

Global Village School has been such a blessing for our family. ...We like that we are able to inject our values into our daughter’s education. For instance, we were able to grow an organic garden, landscape our new yard, and create a compost pile for food and yard waste – all of which was part of Luna’s Science homework. Currently, we’re working on a project that centers on the upcoming election in the hopes that we can show her how important it is to participate on many different levels, including voting. We not only want her to identify what’s important to her, but also to act on it. We’re able to teach her the things that we feel are of value, while fulfilling her educational needs in a way that directly relates to our lives. Just as we’re able to adjust the way we implement her education, using methods that work best for her as an individual.

Because Indigo children are here to bring change they have a warrior spirit. They cannot conform to a school system they know intuitively is not reflecting integrity. Many adults, who resist change, misunderstand these trailblazing warriors who live by intuitive thoughts and feelings. These students are branded with labels like ADD, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, or “just plain lazy” and are often sedated so they will conform to the very system that they came here to change. Sadly, they lose their beautiful sensitivity and warrior spirit when medicated. Students like these thrive when they take part in a program that adjusts to accommodate their interests, talents, and learning styles. The Global Village system allows young people to rediscover their natural abilities and love of learning. Jacki, a 10th grade Indigo from California created a special project for her biology course. She proclaimed, “It's so amazing- without amino acids we couldn't live! … I just think it's so fun learning about this kind of stuff. That love ended when I got into 8th grade and now it's back again! Yay!”

Global Village families choose between structured text and online curriculum; fully customized curriculum based on their individual interests, needs, and learning styles; or – for those who are already experienced homeschoolers – using their own curriculum. A wide variety of courses are offered. Peace, justice, diversity, and sustainability themes are woven into core academic areas (English, Science, Math, etc.). Students become familiar with effective strategies of inspirational role models like Gandhi, King and others through courses such as Reflections on Peacemaking, Global Spirituality and Activism, The History of Civil Rights in the U.S., Literature of Diversity, Planetary Stewardship, Human Rights, Peacemakers, and Service Learning. GVS Service Learning converts theory and idealism into meaningful action in the students’ local communities.

Global Village teachers assist each student individually and provide feedback, support, coaching, and documentation. They are a diverse group, and have worked with students of all ages in many educational settings including public and private schools, Waldorf, Montessori, outdoor education, cultural and arts education, and American Indian education programs. Teachers are selected for their commitment to the Global Village vision as well as for their flexibility, skill, and compassion. Many are on their own spiritual paths, and take particular delight in working with children who are unique and dare to march to the beat of their own drum.

Global Village students earn elective credit for many different kinds of life experiences, such as traveling, participating in cultural events, performing in community theater productions, pursuing a career in athletics or the film industry, or starting their own business. GVS youth engage in a wide range of activities, including: studying anatomy and alternative medicine, working on a presidential campaign, volunteering at a botanical garden, publishing an alternative newspaper, working on documentary films, learning their tribal language and traditions, and operating a home recording studio. Self empowerment is another key component of the curriculum as a high school parent from California wrote: “Global Village has been key in supporting our children in self-empowered learning. They bring their creativity and dreams, and you have helped us with the framework and structure to allow their learning to be meaningful and real. Kudos for helping us navigate a path for deeper knowledge and connection. Having you available for phone consultation was immensely helpful; a touchstone as we tapped into what we knew was real education – and support for helping our children follow their bliss and passion. You have given us a year to hold future educational experiences up to as a standard of excellence.”

Traditional methods of schooling often have a way of shutting down students’ creativity. It does great harm to children when their potential is stifled, and it does great harm to the planet when its future stewards are numbed, pacified, and disempowered. As one 9th student from North Carolina discovered: “So what did I learn from all of this??? I learned how to have my own opinion. It wasn't an easy lesson to learn. If a teacher wanted me to read a lesson in public school, they would want me to answer questions about the reading, and they would never have asked me my opinion about it! That is something that I really liked about this school... that it made me feel like my opinion mattered.”

We live in both a crucial and exciting time, where higher levels of consciousness and the awareness of interconnectedness have the chance of bringing peace and love to the New Earth. This time calls for a new visionary type of education that empowers, informs, enlivens, and plants the seeds for a peaceful and sustainable future. Global Village School answers that call, as it presents a place for students around the world to cultivate their gifts and passions and be who they came here to be.

To learn more about Global Village School please visit the web site: www.globalvillageschool.org/. You can also contact the school via e-mail (info@globalvillageschool.org,) or by phone (805) 646-9792.