David Brooks offers advice on learning in today’s New York Times:

1.  “Say ‘yes’ to the subject that arouses a terrifying longing, and let the terrifying longing crowd out everything else.”

At Acton Academy, we call this “being in flow.”

2. “Look at the way children learn in groups. They make discoveries alone, but bring their treasures to the group. Then the group crowds around and hashes it out. In conversation, conflict, confusion and uncertainty can be metabolized and digested through somebody else. If the group sets a specific problem for itself, and then sets a tight deadline to come up with answers, the free digression of conversation will provide occasions in which people are surprised by their own minds.”

This is the magic of  a Learner Driven Community, built and owned by Eagles.

3.  “The only way to stay fully alive is to dive down to your obsessions six fathoms deep. Down there it’s possible to make progress toward fulfilling your terrifying longing, which is the experience that produces the joy.”

This is the challenge and the reward of the Hero’s Journey.

Our mission is to equip and inspire Eagles to whet an intellectual appetite, one that drives them to master the skills, habits and questions required to change the world.