Tag Archives: Kenzie

The Alchemists

Communications, Core Skills, Hero's Journey, Quests, Speech Quest, Speeches,

Being on a Hero’s Journey is not easy at any age.  Heroes face challenges, they fail and get up again, they take risks, they show vulnerability.  And they use their natural gifts and the tools they’ve developed along the way to guide themselves forward.

Changing the world is hard work, as is writing a speech that you’ll soon deliver in public.  Planning a trip for the first time can be a tremendous challenge, but even if you’ve done it before, troubleshooting all the potential pitfalls and organizing myriad details is hard work.  And can be extremely…. stressful.

Some say young people should be protected from stress; others say they should “learn to deal with it”.  Maybe there’s some truth in both approaches, but the Eagles have found a third way.  Drawing upon the work they did finding and understanding their own “shadow selves”, and then finding the gold in those shadows, Eagles are teaching themselves and each other to find the gold in the stress and transform those negative feelings into tools they can use to increase their focus and commitment to the tasks at hand.   Alchemize stress into productivity, using their gifts and the tools they’ve aquired along their journey so far? If anyone can do it, it’s the Eagles.  Foremost among those tools:  friendship.

Image

Our class journey into History became 3-dimensional for the Eagles on Friday, when they left campus for an expedition to the Alamo.  For an hour and a half, the Middle Schoolers explored the Alamo with an audio tour tool to use as they wished.  This was a terrific opportunity for them to exercise their skills as independent learners, sometimes exploring in pairs or clusters, sometimes going off alone to study details that grabbed only their attention. Some spent more time in the shrine, some became absorbed in the museum displays… and quite a few were captivated by the Koi.

At a given time, we all rejoined for a guided Alamo Battlefield tour filled with stories of early Texas history and details about the battle.  As always, Eagles came up with probing and creative questions that took the group deeper into the lives of the heroes and bystanders whose lives were changed by the events and decisions made.

Then a well-earned lunch on the Riverwalk, in a restaurant chosen by the winners of our series of History Challenges.  The two winners also had the privilege of choosing a streamlined menu with options within our budget, and the responsibility of navigating the group to the chosen establishment.  (Yes, we made it!).

The ride home gave all a chance to reflect and share surprises and take-aways from the Alamo.  Oh, and (at least in one car) to listen to music at exceptional volume.  Who says hard work and fun can’t go hand in hand?

Work hard. Play harder.

Consequences, Core Skills, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Math, Smart Goals, , , ,

Eagles work hard. Every week.

Want some proof? Since January each Eagle has logged an average of 1904 minutes on Khan – that’s five hours per week of activity.  And since each minute logged on Khan comes with another minute or so of focus, it’s really more like two hours a day of intensive math.

Some Eagles are quicker on math; others have to put in more time to master a skill.  Thankfully, every Eagle can move at his or her own pace.  And Eagles help each other, as long as they remain in a purely Socratic mode.

Our middle schoolers are on pace to master Arithmetic and Pre-Algebra by the end of spring.  Every Eagle. Not a passing grade of 70. Not even an excellent grade of 90. Mastery.  One hundred percent mastery.

At this pace, all of our Eagles would be through Calculus by spring of 2014.  Through Calculus. Before high school begins.  (Yes, they’ll probably slow down.  Still, a torrid pace.)

photo (274)

Here’s a shot of the Eagle Scoreboard, a compilation of their individual SMART goals, displayed for all to see.  It’s a visual reminder of all the hours of hard work in various subjects, with each goal set by an individual.

photo (276) photo (277)

Eagles work hard.  So by Friday afternoon it’s time for an hour of Monopoly or Life or even a few hands of poker.

Games?  Surely a waste of time. Absolutely, unless you are interested in critical thinking, mastering probabilities, learning about human nature or social skills.

Work hard. Play harder.

Just Another Friday (guest bloggers: the MS girls)

Culture, , ,

Today was a great Friday at Acton Academy Middle School.  After a focused, intentional day of learning and Socratic discussion, the boys left early for AirSoft.  The girls didn’t expect anything unusual to happen, but as soon as the boys left, Ms. Abigail had a surprise for us….as soon as the boys were out of sight, all the girls piled into a car, wondering where they were heading.  After a few hours we started seeing signs for Six Flags!!

Image

After we made it through the gate, we rode roller coasters 200 feet high going down at a speed of almost 100 mph!  After we were done doing roller coasters, we hopped on a bus and Ms. Abigail said, “We’re going to the airport.”  As soon as we got to the airport Taylor Swift was there!  The girls waved frantically at her, yelling “Taylor! Taylor!” but she ignored them because she’s a snooty famous person and she was in first class, while we were in regular class with a throwing up man, a crying baby and a whiny five-year-old kicking the backs of our seats and begging for a cookie.Image

As we were buckling up the stewardess came by and asked us if we wanted pillows for our flight to ENGLAND!  When we got to England, we were greeted by Queen Elizabeth.  Image

Then as we got to the castle, everyone from One Direction rode in on unicorns with bagels and cream cheese (butter for Claire) for all of us!  Image

Then One Direction started performing live and all the girls were eating bagels.  Then an alien rocket came down and took us all in their UFO back home!

Image

From Tribes to Prison

Psychology Quest, Quests, , , ,

Today we continued the Psychology Quest by recreating (with kinder and gentler oversight) the Stanford Prison experiment made famous by Zimbardo, with Eagles tribal loyalties still fully intact.

During launch, Eagles were informed that there were secret police among them, armed with the power to arrest for a “lack of intention” or even on a whim.  Tension was in the air during Core Skills.

Mid-morning, we paused to run the Prisoner’s Dilemma, and discussed what game theory can teach us about human nature; how “past determines the future” and the importance and fragility of trust.

photo (259)

Then, at 11 AM, one Eagle donned a hat, reflective sunglasses and a badge and made the first arrest.  Soon, another arrest followed and more Eagles were deputized to serve as jailers.

photo (261)

At first, all of those jailed were Oranges, leading to charges of prejudice.  Then a few Reds filled out the prison. Only a few Eagles remained as bystanders.

Grievances were filed.  Privileges taken away. Punishments levied.  Punishments increased.  Soon a few guards – surprisingly some of the kindest Eagles – began to let power go to their heads.  Duty became cruel delight.

photo (256)

One Eagle prisoner agreed to denounce his tribe (photo above as an Eagle changes his tribe colors); in a real prisoner’s dilemma bind, an Eagle ratted out an innocent classmate; another prisoner agree to become an informant in return for pay and privileges.

photo (260)photo (258)

photo (257)

Before long, a number of Eagle prisoners were in solitary confinement.  And even some taunting began.  It was time to call the experiment before things got out of hand. (Guides commented how eerily the posing mimicked photos from Abu Graib.)

During a lengthy debrief, it was clear that powerful lessons had been learned, like:

  • “Given power, a human will become an animal;”
  • “Power hides the truth;” and
  • “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

photo (255)

IMG_1765 (3)

Then it was time to heal the tribe.  In a powerful ritual, the Eagles tied their tribal bandanas to a rope that was used in a trust exercise, and then following a discussion about and photos from Abu Graib and how each of our shadows can cause us to treat fellow human beings as objects, we buried our shadow objects and reunited a tribe.

Understanding the power of Tribes and Shadows.  Feeling the power of a Shadow unleashed. Turning Shadows from projection to Gold.  All experiences that leaders who will someday change the world should experience, long before they hold the corrupting influence of real world power in their hands.

Active Imagination and the Hero’s Journey

Collaboration, Core Skills, Culture, Hero's Journey, Psychology Quest, Quests, Speeches,

As part of the Forensic Psychology Quest, Eagles today experimented with Active Imagination, a challenging technique invented by Carl Jung.

Building on their work in dream analysis and word association, Eagles learned to “daydream” in an intentional way to invite and record conversations with different archetypal characters inside them, revealing inner thoughts and conflicts and clarifying real world struggles.

While Active Imagination at first sounds somewhat “far out,” it was Jung who championed the idea of an inner Hero’s Journey as an important part of fully lived life, and many people have found the technique brings great clarity to important life decisions.

photo (243)

Theory aside, the Eagles were fascinated with Active Imagination, not only taking quickly to the technique, but begging for more time to continue the conversations with the characters who emerged from their unconscious.  Several learned extremely powerful lessons about themselves.
photo (241) photo (242)Add the Active Imagination challenge to a day where Eagles listened to and analyzed a Winston Churchill speech, and several guided younger Eagles in the Elementary School as part of their Learning Badge project, and it was quite an important day for our young leaders who someday will change the world.

Inner work and the dreams of heroes

Art, Culture, Journey maps, Psychology Quest, Quests, , , , ,

This week our Detectives-in-Training become Forensic Psychologists in training, as our Eagles begin to dig into their own inner worlds.

Why do some people keep repeating unhelpful behaviors?  How can understanding yourself make you a more successful athlete or a better friend?  How can you decide whether the boy or girl you just met is the “right one” for you or a passing infatuation?

All pressing questions for middle school students.

During the next five weeks in the Psychology Quest, we’ll explore dreams, the shadow self (projecting); active imagination, scapegoating and mob mentality, all as the Eagles began preparing for a reenactment of the Salem Witch trials with modern day forensics.

photo (225) photo (226)   photo (229) photo (230) photo (231)

On Day One of the Psychology Quest, Eagles were introduced to Carl Jung as a hero, and explored the unconscious, sub-conscious and conscious mind through word association, free drawing and free sculpting.

photo (228) photo (227)

A psychologist would have a field day with the symbols, archetypes and emotions that poured out.

Our Eagles also received dream journals and pledged to start recording their nightly dreams, for later analysis.

Let the dreams begin!

“Poppy needs help. Stat.”

Culture, Distraction,

A few weeks ago, as part of our Detective Quest, each Eagle was given a pair of rubber surgical gloves.  One especially creative Eagles filled a glove with water, then used a black marker to draw eyes, a nose and a mouth, and named his creation “Poppy.”

photo (198)

Poppy became a class pet.  When Poppy sprung a leak, students rushed to “save him,” even establishing an OR to perform “Poppy surgery.”

Soon more and more students created and adopted their own Poppies.  Even after we started charging a hard earned Eagle Buck  for a surgical glove, the mania continued.  Eagles were close to obsession over their charges.

photo (197)

At first, I’ll admit the whole episode seemed a distraction.  But after close observation, I believe there’s something deeper going on.

  • Middle School Eagles welcome having “life and death” responsibility over another, even a make believe pet.
  • Exercising such important care leads to a more closely knit community.
  • Plus, it’s fun.

Just another example of Eagles preparing, in their own way,  for making real life decisions that will change the world.  And a lesson for Guides who want to inspire and motivate Eagles to take on real world challenges.  They are ready and hungry to do so.

Learn Math; Forget Math; Learn Math Again

Core Skills, Culture, Detective Quest, Journey maps, Math, Quests

Learn math; forget math; learn math again.

Most of us learned math in school for a test; forgot the math; and learned it again when we had to use it in the real world.

Our first efforts weren’t wasted.  Modern neuroscience suggests our early work was  laying down pathways that made math easier to learn the second time.

Our experiences at Acton Academy are crystal clear on one count: there’s no more need for traditional math teachers.  With game based adaptive programs like Khan Academy; Dreambox; ST Math and Manga High, students can learn math on their own and teach it to each other much more efficiently and effectively than with a traditional math teacher. Plus, Eagles can move at their own pace and have a lot more fun.

Perhaps even more importantly, a 70% score isn’t “passing;” in fact, even a 90% score won’t do.  You have to work on a math subject until you master it, before moving on.

But let’s not kid ourselves,  In time, this mastery will fade unless the skill is used repeatedly in the real world, in a way that matters.  Only those neurological pathways will remain, waiting to be reactivated.

At Acton Academy, we try to put math skills to use as soon as possible.  Today, Eagles worked to gather measurements from shoe impressions from a crime scene; sample the heights and shoe sizes of classmates; and use probabilities and ratios to predict the height of a possible suspect in the Detective Quest. In doing so, they had to create their own approaches and formulas – some admittedly a little complex and convoluted, but in the end all coming to the same answer.

photo (172)

photo (173)

photo (171)

Will our Eagles forget this math too? Surely.  But they are less likely to forget the logic, reasoning and teamwork that was required to use the math to solve a real world problem.

This means our Eagles will want to learn more and more math and to put it to use, every repetition preparing another neural pathway, until the habits of math and science are deeply imbedded.

Writing their own stories, in every way…

Core Skills, Culture, Detective Quest, Launches, PE, Place, Quests, Storytelling, Trouble, Writing, , , ,

Do what you say you’ll do, or follow your conscience?  Do you have the courage to be honest about your choices?  In this morning’s huddle, Eagles discussed adding a West Point-style honor code to their governance documents.  At issue in particular is internet use during free time.  While exploring the repercussions of offering our bodies junk or nourishment, and to what degree the level of tidiness reflects the learning space as a “landfill” or a Studio of Excellence, this age group is facing decisions re drawing boundaries for their interaction with the Web.  Student-generated guidelines will be introduced tomorrow after a town hall-style debate, and the decision is firmly the students’ to make.  Guides and parents stand together watching this important process, reinforcing the message that this is serious, the community is involved, and we absolutely trust you to argue with each other until you create an agreement that’s right for you.

Today saw the launch of Thursday morning Writers’ Workshops.  First project, tying in with the afternoon hands-on Detective Science quest: write a great detective mystery.  Eagles brainstormed about elements crucial to a great crime story, listened together to a classic Sherlock Holmes short, then revised their megalist to create their own rubric of excellence in crime/mystery fiction.  Agreeing that a detective (whether casual or pro) is a crucial character, they used StoryMatic to jump start ideas for character generation.  Until they didn’t.  Whoops- a Guide set a guideline without thinking it through all the way to make sure there’s an ultimate WHY.  Naturally many students rebelled; they can smell bogus a mile away.  In this case, the students were set free to use StoryMatic, or not.  Ask your Eagle which they chose.  The MS’ers take this seriously at least in part because they know that what they do matters, and that they, as brave and thoughtful adventurers, are creating a path for others to follow.

New path in PE: after an invigorating awards ceremony with certificates for Olympic Champions (whoever exceeded their previous best by largest percentage increase) and trophies for Best Sportsmanship (congratulations Ellie and Pace!), down to the field for….. Wiffle Ball!

Ms. Anna and Ms. Terri challenged the D.I.T.s (that’s Detectives in Training) to learn the science behind fingerprinting and analyzing data from footprints left at a crime scene.   Also a great lesson in following directions, as it turned out, and in cleaning as you go.
Image
Tomorrow, a look at goal tracking for the week, a Town Hall meeting, the journal reflection contest, history in the yurt and a more meaningful version of (offline) Game Time.

Learning to Gamble – Not!

3D Game Lab - Probability, Exhibition, Quests, , , , ,

Friday was Casino Day at Acton, as Eagles spent the afternoon putting their new found probability skills to the test at Blackjack, Craps, Roulette and other games of luck (and some skill.)

Each Eagle traded in Eagles Bucks for chips, and kept careful track of the number of plays, amount wagered and won and lost at each game.  The goal was to decide which game offered the best odds, and why.


The overall lesson – games of chance are not a good bet.  Eventually, the law of large numbers means you will lose!

dragons and an election

Art, Communications, Core Skills, Culture, Film, Math, Reading, , ,

Tuesday mornings are core skills intensive, with an extra hour for students to work on foreign language, math, reading, and writing.  Today they also used some of that time to meet in their film crews as the deadline for getting their projects green-lighted for production approaches.

Image

Art provided a change of pace as students worked on their dragon drawings and studied dragon mythology.

It was election day, and a buzz of nervous energy permeated the room especially during project time when Ms. Samantha presented the opportunity to vote for or against an extra 30 minutes of morning silence in the classroom.  Many students were surprised when, despite some preliminary polling that indicated a likely majority against that extra 30 minutes, the final count was in favor of a full hour of silence during core skills.  Lesson learned:  a poll is a snapshot of the present rather than an accurate predictor of the future.

Apprentice scientists prepare for real world science

Communications, Culture, Film, Ranch trip, Science, Uncategorized, ,

We lightened the core skills workload today, focusing our Khan work on the Pythagorean Theory in order to get ready for our “applied science” ranch trip on Wednesday

Ms Abigail continued her discussion with students about what makes a good story, including a “save the cat” moment to make your lead character likable. Eagles will be practicing their storytelling, writing and filmmaking skills, first honing their scientific paradigm stories, and then shortly thereafter beginning work on a separate film project that will require them to create, pitch, write and film on the question: “Does the past determine the future?”

During project time, Eagles broke into teams to make sundials, inclinometers and star finders that they will use to execute real world science experiments on the ranch.

Becoming a writer

Communications, Hero's Journey, Socratic, , ,

Students have been writing in their journals every day; some have been writing a lot; others far less.  Today, we made our first major push into more serious writing.

After checking the day’s SMART goals in morning huddle, we dove straight into the writing project.

Eagles started by reading journal entries from four authors chosen by Ms Abigail: J.K. Rowling on inventing the word “horcrux;” Anne Frank’s diary;  a post from an eighteen year old learning a lesson about “eye contact;” and an entry from a college student about his cat. As they read, each student noted the most powerful parts of each selection.

Next, we had a short Socratic discussion on what elements made for strong writing: “being specific;” “describing sights, smells, sounds, tastes and touch;” and “connecting with the reader’s emotions” were among the student’s observations. We also discussed “man vs man; man versus nature; and man versus himself/herself” as different ways to describe classic conflicts.

We then adjourned for each student to spend fifteen minutes of solitude considering the question: “At the end of your hero’s journey, which question will be most important to you: (1) Have I contributed something meaningful? (2) Was I a good person? or (3) Who did I love, and who loved me?”

Eagles then had thirty minutes to turn their ideas into a rough draft. As shown below, some wrote at desks; some in bean bag chairs; others outside near the lake.

After the drafts we complete, Eagles broke into groups of three, to read their favorite sentences, and receive affirmation and coaching from their peers, reinforcing the “power elements” they had identified before.

Two and a half hours of a concentrated writing workshop had passed in an instant, with the students making almost all of the discoveries. In the “lessons learned,” a powerful series of ideas surfaced about “how to write” (learn to do); about how writing affects your hero’s journey (learn to be) and about how the process we had used to create and critique writing could be improved.

In the afternoon, Eagles focused on their new MyHJ assignments of finding a Guide and Running Partner, and core skills.

Building Community

Core Skills, Culture, Quests, , ,

At Acton Academy, we spend an enormous amount of time and energy the first five weeks building a powerful learning community, constructed by the students.

Today, we continued to establish the reading, writing (communications) and math rhythms for core skills, while Ms Anna launched the start of Project Time with a series of experiences that equip students to develop their own “rules of engagement” that will determine how the community governs itself.

Without knowing it, Eagles are absorbing the lessons and habits required to run a world class organization, while they learn.  Notice the intensity of concentration that’s already evident.