Our Philosophy

Oak Seedling

If you’ve studied gifted education, you’re probably familiar with Gagné’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent.  Below is a diagram of how his model works.  Gagné believes that we are born with gifts, but we have to develop our talents through catalysts.  He believed, as I do, that talents don’t happen on their own.  A good analogy of a “gift” is an acorn.  Some acorns are carried away to fertile soil by some means to grow into a majestic hardwood tree.  Others that don’t find favorable conditions rot away and don’t amount to much.  By nature, every acorn was meant to grow big and strong into a glorious oak tree, so why is it that only a few of them reach their true potential?  According to the model, it’s chance.

To put it simply, our program exists to make your child’s environment more fertile by being intentional.  Parents like you are doing an absolutely fantastic job of providing for your gifted child and we are here to support your efforts.  We need to provide every morsel of support we can give to our brightest young minds because they truly are the future, and they are worth it!

Take a look at Gagné’s model below.  You can click on the image to make it bigger.

 Our Central Indiana Mensa Family Program aims to be one of the catalysts in your child’s life that will encourage and inspire their natural gifts to flourish into talents.  Simply being around other gifted youth and families while engaging in stimulating intellectual and social opportunities will make a difference.