BAR HARBOR – There’s one in every classroom.

The bright kid who can’t stand still in the lunch line.

The boy who fails to complete routine assignments because he’s busy memorizing the scientific names of four dozen dinosaurs.

The girl who falls between the cracks of a traditional education system as she’s putting in hours of detention time.

These are the indigo children, says a Bar Harbor man who believes these misunderstood children possess special abilities being overlooked by mainstream schools.

“These kids have their own way of learning. They need to be able to express themselves, to explore their passions,” said Chris Kaiser, a father of four.

Kaiser and a handful of parents on Mount Desert Island are working to found an alternative middle school called Circle of the Sun Institute to meet the needs of indigo children on Mount Desert Island.

The name derives from psychic research indicating that these children have peculiar indigo-blue auras. New Age philosophers have made the interpretation that this generation of children possesses a deeper spiritual consciousness and has been sent by a higher being to solve the problems of the human race.

“These children know what they’re here for – they’re on a mission,” Kaiser said. “These are kids who are coming in to help us heal the Earth.”

The indigo child theory is beginning to permeate the mainstream, he said.

In recent books, authors such as Jan Tober and Lee Carroll claim that indigo children are often misdiagnosed as having attention deficit disorder or other psychological conditions.

Their description of an indigo child closely matches the criteria used by the National Foundation for Gifted and Creative Children to identify a highly intelligent child:

. They often have excessive energy.

. They struggle with absolute authority and may seem defiant.

. They get frustrated with rituals that do not require creative thought.

. They do not conform to systems and seek a better way of doing things.

. They can seem anti-social if they are not with their own kind.

But the full spectrum of 30,000 Web sites dedicated to discussion of indigo children advances that this combination of personality traits is something new – whether spiritual, societal or biological in cause – that is distinctive of the current generation.

In short, today’s parents are trying to understand a completely new type of child who needs a completely different type of education, Kaiser said.

“There are children out there who don’t fit the mold at all,” said Michael Good, a Bar Harbor biologist who is working with Kaiser to plan the institute’s curriculum. “They need a different learning style that isn’t offered.”

Kaiser and Good hope to accept their first students at Circle of the Sun next fall.

“For several years now, we’d get together and talk about some of the options for kids who aren’t making it in the traditional kind of school,” Good said. “A lot of these kids, they’re thought to be ADHD and all these labels – they just need another means of expressing themselves academically.”

Circle of the Sun will offer a democratic environment where all the students can work together on large-scale projects that they help design, Kaiser explained.

Tests and lectures will be abandoned in favor of hands-on activities. Grades and the competition they encourage will be replaced by a blend of cooperative learning and independent projects.

“Curriculum will be determined by the child – everything will revolve around the child,” Kaiser said.

The curriculum will incorporate reading, math and other disciplines into group projects that will include different worldviews and emphasize creativity, he said.

“I question traditional education’s approach of trying to teach children who are prepuberty to use their left brain so much. It takes them away from their spirit,” he said. Conscious thought, used in math or reading or writing, is from the right side of the brain, but spontaneous, creative thought is believed to come from the right side of the brain.

Kaiser proposes a curriculum that studies Mount Desert Island through the spiritual lenses of Taoism, American Indian spirituality and Hinduism.

“Social studies class was just who conquered who, and how did the royalty live,” he said. “It’s an old mentality that needs to be changed. We’re going to look at, and even live, the philosophies of the world.”

And the school will meet outdoors – as often as Maine’s climate will permit – to build a sense of stewardship for the natural environment.

“It’s a more experiential kind of learning, getting out there into the field,” Good said.

The goal is not preparation for college, but preparation for life through critical thinking and open-mindedness.

“We’re preparing them to be responsible, peace-seeking global citizens,” Kaiser said. “They’re so open and spontaneous at that age – their blinders aren’t intact yet. I believe every child comes in with a gift, with a purpose. What we want to do with the school is help children discover their path and live a passionate life.”

Although its curriculum might seem eccentric, the methods underlying Circle of the Sun’s philosophy are true to the middle school concept, said Wally Alexander, a professor of education at the University of Maine who serves as executive director for the Maine Association of Middle Level Education.

A preteen’s need for social validation is well-served by group work, and the pure middle-school philosophy calls for study units that incorporate the full curriculum into one big idea that students explore together, he said.

However, developing an integrated curriculum that manages to incorporate all of the basics into these units has proved difficult, he said.

“It’s not about replacing the foundation skills. It’s about putting the information into a context that has more meaning to the kids,” Alexander said. “There’s nothing in the philosophy that says that it should be dumbed down.”

In addition to the curriculum designed to inspire these children, Kaiser said, he hopes to teach concentration with Eastern techniques for achieving balance, such as yoga and tai chi.

He believes that such methods could help children who are mistakenly diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder, and even reduce the need for medication.

“Although I’m a physician, I like to think fairly holistically,” said Dr. Rae Dumont, a pediatric specialist from Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth. “We have to look at what we can do in all the spheres that we have control over.”

Environmental therapy, such as what Kaiser has proposed, can be effective for some hyperactive children, at some times, Dumont said.

However, medications such as Ritalin can help children learn how it feels to concentrate when they are used sparingly, and can be necessary for children who do not respond to lifestyle changes alone, she said.

Ten parents have expressed interest in the school, either by attending a meeting that Kaiser held earlier this month, or by contacting him directly.

Money, not interest, is the main concern.

Circle of the Sun has made several grant applications, including a proposal to Bill Gates’ education foundation, but has not secured any definite funding. Ironically, the school voucher system that President Bush has promoted could be the saving grace for this alternative school if it becomes law.

But even if their vision for Circle of the Sun is never realized, Kaiser and Good believe their ideas could be considered by the local education community to provide a more inclusive program for children of different learning styles.

“I think we should all be questioning what’s going on in our schools,” Good said. “It might force people to think differently – which is exactly what we’re trying to do.”