TPP 190a: Dr. Melanie Hayes Talks About Her Big Minds Micro-School and Educating 2e Children
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
42 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 8 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What inspired Dr. Melanie Hayes to create the Big Minds micro‑school for twice‑exceptional learners?
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Hey there, it's Debbie. Today's episode is a special re-release of a favorite conversation from the archives. Unless you're a longtime listener of the show, there's a good chance you haven't heard this one before. And even if you have, you just might get something completely different from it this time around.
If we don't acknowledge that they have these extremely high intellects And they're being asked to rein it in, you know, so you've got this racehorse that's locked in a stall all the time. That is so damaging to who they are as a human being and what their potential is.
Welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. And I just have to say, welcome to a new decade. This is the first episode not only of the year, but the first episode of the 2020s. I'm gonna have to get used to saying that, but I kinda like it. I'm your host Debbie Reber, and this week I am talking with Dr. Melanie Hayes, an expert in gifted education and the founder of Big Minds, a micro school designed for twice exceptional learners. Dr. Hayes holds a master's in gifted education, a doctorate in educational leadership with a focus on twice exceptionality, and is also the parent of two differently wired children herself.
In our conversation, Melanie shares her story of going from teacher to homeschooling parent to doctorate to school founder. We also discuss how the educational model and philosophy of Big Minds seeks to support the intellectual, social, and emotional well-being of two E students. And Melanie also shares some really practical and doable strategies for how these needs can be met in traditional educational settings. As you'll hear, Melanie's insights are profound. They're rooted in professional, academic, and personal experience, and her passion for supporting the two E population runs deep. I hope you enjoy our conversation. And now let's get to the interview. Here is my conversation with Doctor Melanie Hayes.
Hey Melanie, welcome to the podcast. Hey Debbie, thanks so much for having me on your podcast. I'm looking forward to this, especially having finally gotten a chance to meet you in person at Bridges Twee Symposium. I guess last month and I'm just excited to learn more about your work and clue listeners into your school and I guess as a way to get started, maybe just take a few minutes to introduce yourself. I've already read your official bio, but tell us a little bit h about how you introduce yourself and and what you do.
Sure. Well also I just wanna tell you I'm a mutual fan of both Differently Wired and of the Tilt podcast. I think You're doing some really amazing uh support for everybody. who has differently wired kids around the world. So thank you for that. Oh, thank you. And you know, I think I got started the way most of us do. I have uh two neurodivergent children. Um I had twins at forty one. And I was a public school teacher at the time, so I took time off after they were born and Uh, stayed home with them and then we went back we all went back to school happily for kindergarten and my kids who are eighteen now jokingly say they're kindergarten dropouts. because we only made it through about halfway through kindergarten.
Um And it it was actually at the time pretty devastating for me because I had this career as a teacher and um I thought my kids would do great. We were in a really great school, one of the distinguished schools in the a very sought after community in California. And um My daughter was severely bullied, and my son just completely shut down. Um, what happened with my son was he was doing fifth grade math and read at a twelfth grade level in kindergarten.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Dr. Melanie Hayes to create the Big Minds micro‑school for twice‑exceptional learners?
0:00–5:26
2
How did Melanie’s experience as a teacher and parent lead her to leave public school and start homeschooling?
5:26–10:09
3
What challenges did her children face in traditional schools and how did those shape the Big Minds model?
10:09–15:26
4
How does the Big Minds attachment‑and‑strengths‑based model differ from conventional curricula?
15:26–21:07
5
What practical strategies does Big Minds use to meet intellectual, social, and emotional needs of 2e students?
21:07–26:35
6
How can teachers and parents support 2e children in traditional classrooms without a micro‑school?
26:35–31:05
7
What advocacy tips does Melanie suggest for parents navigating IEPs and school systems?
31:05–36:44
8
Where can listeners learn more about Big Minds, Dr. Hayes’ book, and resources for twice‑exceptional kids?
36:44–42:17
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids