FAQs
Our goal is to facilitate deep exploration of students' primary strengths and passions—all while ensuring they build foundational knowledge in core subjects relevant to modern life (math, writing, entrepreneurship, etc.) such that a deficiency in any of these domains will never be the factor that holds them back.
What is the difference between The Collins Institute, Parrhesia.io, and Wizling.ai?
Parrhesia.io and Wizling.ai are educational platforms that can be used on their own, regardless of any work done with The Collins Institute.
Wizling.ai is meant for kids age five and up. It enables parents to provide their kids wtih an AI companion that knows their name and interests and directs conversation toward educational topics of their choosing.
Parrhesia.io is meant for kids and adults who are engaged in more focused learning. While it also offers conversational educational support, it does so in the form of Socratic tutoring and assessments (in addition to providing a massive skill tree of subjects to study, multiple-choice and written assessments, learning objectives, and sources for aditional study).
Students enrolled in The Collins Institute use Parrhesia.io to navigate and track their knowledge acquisition, however they additionally work with a Collins Institute proctor, get more strucutred mentorship, and leverage our network of advisors and mentors to embark on real-world projects that enhance their education while building their resumés and careers.
How do you define "gifted"?
We generally use the word gifted to refer to a unique combination of self sufficiency and passion.
The Collins Institute for the Gifted is focused on helping slingshot the potential of gifted children and adults. By gifted we do not mean "scores generally well across the board on tests" but the type of person with the capacity to change the future of human civilization. We look for students and fellows that either have unique tenacity, ambition, dedication to one subject, or even just raw talent.
Given that the Institute's platform, Parrhesia.io, is free and available to anyone, "gifted" does not describe who we allow to access our platform, but rather who would benefit from using it. A student without initiative to kindle will not benefit from our system.
How many hours a day does this program take a student?
This is a bit like asking, "how many hours a day does a marriage take?" The Collins Institute for the Gifted both takes 100% of a student's time and almost none of their time. The Institute is not like traditional schools in which a student sits down for X number of hours a day and learns Y thing. Instead, the Institute is about creating a lifestyle and mindset that allows students to learn more than they otherwise would being lectured for five hours a day.
How many hours a day does this program take a homeschool parent or tutor?
The Collins Institute requires fewer parent/caregiver hours than traditional homeschooling and more than legacy education systems. While much of the additional time will be somewhat ad hoc and based on the needs of the student, the Institute takes at least three hours a week of dedicated time from students' caregivers.
Can this a program be undertaken simultaneously with traditional school?
Anyone—students, adults, etc.—can use our platform, Parrhesia.io, to expand their knowledge. Parrhesia.io can be used as a supplemental tutor, helping students with subjects they've been tasked with studying at school, and it can also help students round out their knowledge in domains traditional schools neglect.
That said, The Collins Institute (as a holestic homeschooling regimen, complete with mentorship and projects) is only effective when a student is given the freedom to learn on their own. If an additional "forced learning" environment is created, students lose the bandwidth and freedom they need to both dive deep into self-driven knowledge acquisition and learn by doing thorugh real-world work, apprenticeships, and projects. The Institute however does pair very well with focused learning environments chosen by the student, such as coding academies, language immersion trips, and even programs like Synthesis.
Is this a good environment for children with disabilities?
With one of our founders having type two autism, The Collins Institute not only caters to neurodiversity but was shaped by it.
The Collins Institute is a perfect environment for some disabilities, negating many of the negative ways they can impact education, but presents an abysmal learning environment for others, amplifying rather than negating problems. We believe that many neurological differences labeled as disabilities should just be thought of as different ways of being that can be accommodated through a less structured environment.
Are you a nonprofit?
Yes, we are a 105(c)(3) nonprofit.
How can I donate / contribute?
We aim to be as collaborative as possible in the way we work with those who share our passion. If you want to see the Collins Institute's dream come to fruition, please reach out!