Category Archives: Speeches

A Heroic Year

June 27, 2014Celebration, Communications, Culture, Hero's Journey, Ranch trip, SpeechesSamsandefer

Masai warriors are fierce. Yet the traditional Masai greeting is a tender question: “Kasserian Ingera?” or “Are the children well?” The traditional reply: “All the children are well” signifies that life is good, because the children are growing and flourishing.

Thursday the middle school Eagles assembled at a nearby ranch for a celebration of the year, with obstacle course challenges, swimming and fellowship.

Late that night we circled around a campfire. Eagles reflected on the past months of hard work, describing how they had grown and sharing “greatest lessons learned.” Words of gratitude flowed from friend to friend, directly from the heart.

We welcomed dawn from a mountaintop, looking towards the horizon in silence, with reverence and anticipation for the year to come. On leaving, each Eagle made a sacred pledge to future growth, the growing pile of stones a group commitment to the individual dreams of each young hero.

Last night, we celebrated with parents and friends, listening to speeches from graduating Eagles. We left in awe of our young heroes, with great hope for the future they will create.

Kasserian Ingera. All the children are well indeed.

A Rube Goldberg Celebration of Scientific Heroes

April 6, 2014Exhibition, Pitches, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

As our end of session celebration, we invited parents and other adults to an exhibition honoring Scientific Heroes, the men and women who improve the world through creating new ideas (like Einstein); new inventions (like Edison) and new innovations (like Ford.)

Guests were asked to listen to one minute video pitches, to see which full length Eagle speeches they wanted to attend (there were six speech pods going on simultaneously) and then mingle among the various Rube Goldberg contraptions honoring different scientists. (Here’s a link to some of the video pitchers: http://vimeo.com/user26478640/videos )

The votes of the crowd would decide not only the best pitches, best speeches and best Rube Goldberg contraptions, but also whether the Explorer, Inventor or Innovator team would win the grand prize – a trip on Friday to see a documentary about how Vermeer’s paintings were made.

The speeches were terrific, as each Eagle stood in the shoes of a Scientific Hero he or she had chosen, and explained what motivated the hero to persevere through hardships and failures to create a idea, invention or innovation that changed the world.

The votes were tallied. There was a narrow margin between the three teams. Now it was time to trigger the first of twenty four sequential Rube Goldberg devices; for every device that failed, the corresponding team would lose 100 points.

In other words, the entire contest would come down to the reliability of the Rube Goldberg devices. (In the unlikely event that ALL the Rube Goldberg machines worked, everyone would win a trip to see the documentary.)

A drum roll; then the big moment. The first machines were flawless; then a vibration from a guest sent one machine off prematurely; then another failure and another. By the end, the Inventors won by a narrow margin.

Some Eagles were crestfallen; they had worked hard on their Rube Goldberg machines, adding redundancies and testing, only to seem them fail because of a quirk or unexpected error.

Of course, the odds were against them. Some Rube Goldberg videos require up to one hundred takes to reach perfection, even with professionals in charge. But the objective wasn’t success, but deep hands-on-learning to better understand what motivates a hero to keep trying, even after public setbacks.

Our Eagles certainly got a real taste of what it feels like to be a real Explorer, Inventor or Innovator. It’s very, very hard work.

Exhibitions and Eagles: “May I please do more work?”

March 23, 2014Communications, Culture, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Exhibition, Guides, Independent Learner, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

This week our Eagles will host an exhibition, including each performing a “Four Minute Speech in the Shoes of a Scientific Hero” in front of a roomful of adults.

Recently several Eagles requested to change the speech criteria to “no less than four minutes and up to eight minutes.” Quite a few had done so much research that they wanted more time to tell their hero’s story.

So what did we do? After all, Guides don’t answer questions.

We decided to turn the organization of the entire exhibition to the Eagles. The only two constraints:

(1) The total time could not exceed one hour, out of respect for our guests, and

(2) Speeches will be judged on “value per minute,” to encourage conciseness.

Speak up. Get more responsibility. Just like the real world.

A Pitch Session

March 20, 2014Communications, Consequences, Core Skills, Critiques, Culture, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

How do we decide whether the quality of an Eagle’s work is ready for an Exhibition?

Answer: the Eagle has to pitch to his or her studiomates, requesting a “green light” to proceed. This session’s Four Minute Speech; the 30 Second Video and Rube Goldberg device each required a separate pitch.

What follows a pitch? First, a warm/cool critique, offering affirmation and suggestions for improvement. Then, a vote.

What if the green light approval is denied? You go back to the drawing board, make improvements, and try again. That’s what heroes do when they fail: they get back up, dust themselves off, and get back to work.

Sir Isacc Newton, as seen through a Rube Goldberg Machine

March 14, 2014Art, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Quests, Rube Goldberg, Speechessandefer

How can an Eagle capture the ideas of a Scientific Creator in a Rube Goldberg machine?

Here’s a glimpse of one Eagle’s Scientific Hero, Isaac Newton. If you look closely, you’ll see that each step demonstrates one of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion, and ends with an apple dropping off the table.

Now imagine twenty four of these Rube Goldberg devices, lined up in a purposeful order, telling the story of Explorers of Ideas (like Newton), Inventors and Innovators; each triggering the next to begin.

A week from Thursday, we push the button and begin the journey.

Lights, camera…dress rehearsal

October 9, 2013Core Skills, Exhibition, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Motivation Hero Debate, Quests, Speechessandefer

Today was Dress Rehearsal Day.

Eagles formed in groups of six. Each debating pair faced off, one by one. Rock, paper scissors to decide who would start. The Opener had two minutes minimum; three minutes maximum “in the box;” then the Challenger followed.

Rebuttals came next; each side allowed two minutes to spot logical fallacies or attack with logos, ethos or pathos. Finally, one minute each to close, with the Challenger going last.

All of this captured on video, for later debriefing.

Some Eagles had too little material, and had to stand “in the box” (a taped area on the floor) until the minimum time expired, a reminder of what would happen on Thursday if you didn’t have enough to say. Some had too much material, and would have to pare.

Each Eagle received a critique; first warm critiques of praise; then cool critiques with advice of how to improve.

Then it was time to download and review the video. All getting ready for Thursday’s Debates and Personal Learning Plan presentations.

Soon “standing in the box” would be all too real, in front of a live audience.

Speeches that change the world

May 24, 2013Core Skills, Exhibition, Hero's Journey, Quests, Speech Quest, SpeechesAna, Charlie, Claire, Coby, Crayton, Ellie, Hayes, Jack, Mason, Sarahsandefer

Winston Churchill.

Martin Luther King.

Ronald Reagan.

At key turning points, great leaders use powerful words to change the world.

Yesterday, each MS Eagle gave an original ten minute speech, standing in the shoes of a great leader, at a particular place and time. Winston Churchill; George S Patton; Joan of Arc; Nat Turner; Sam Houston; Ethan Allen; Pocahontas; William B Travis; George Washington and others.

Over a six week period, draft after draft of the speeches were written, focusing on Ideas; Organization; Sentence Fluency; Word Choice; Voice and Convention (grammar.) Peer critiques were provided, but not one word of text was changed because of advice from an adult Guide.

Then time to verbally draft. To listen for which words had impact, cadence and flow; to eliminate others. To hone the delivery and solicit the advice of peers. Could middle schoolers really teach each other how to give powerful speeches?

Yesterday, we found out the answer, in front of a roomful of parents, elementary school Eagles and other guests. The results were stunning. Truly stunning. At times you felt that Churchill or Houston or Joan of Arc were in the room. The words were beautiful. So were the deliveries.

Then time for a celebration. A well earned celebration.

Our Eagles now know that when called on to give a world changing speech, they can deliver. Quite a skill to have in your quiver. Even more amazing that you and your friends taught each other how to do it.

“Blood, toil, tears and sweat”

May 16, 2013Communications, Core Skills, Culture, Exhibition, Quests, Smart Goals, Speech Quest, SpeechesMasonsandefer

A young Winston Churchill prepares to address Londoners during the Battle of Britain, 1941. Nothing quite concentrates the mind like a good hanging, unless it’s a fast approaching speech deadline.

The Acton Academy classroom is humming with intentionality. Energy is high. Deadlines are looming. There’s a hint of anxiety in the air – each and every speech must change the world by moving people to action. A high hurdle indeed.

A pause at the end of a busy day and a Guide’s question:

“What will be more important for your long term Hero’s Journey:

Setting and reaching milestones and long range goals?
Planning a trip to anywhere in the world?; or
Delivering a a speech that moves people to action?”

Some of the answers:

“I’ll use goal setting more frequently, and it will be an important skill for my Hero’s Journey.”

“Yes, and being able to plan a trip will come in handy, if I have to travel for my calling.”

“But the technology for trip planning will keep getting better; someday machines may be able to do it. A machine will never be able to give a speech that moves people to action.”

Where will tomorrow’s Churchill’s, JFK’s and Martin Luther Kings come from? Tune in next week for an answer, as a flock of aspiring heroes prepare to give their first world changing speeches.

Take me to your leader. (Beeeeepp…. Does not compute?)

May 4, 2013Civilization, Core Skills, Guides, Journalling, Quests, Socratic, Speech Quest, Speeches, Writingsandefer

If a Martian had shown up on campus today and presented that demand, the outcome would vary depending on the moment. Core skills? An elementary school guide who came in to verify the Friday pizza order was amazed at the intensity of the Eagles’ focus. Who led that?

The Socratic discussions during Civilization learning? Well, it depends on which question was put to the group. If it was “If you were a noble during the French Revolution, would you have joined the fight or stayed loyal to the Second Estate?” it would have been Sarah, who came up with the question, which was deemed by her peers to be worthy of discussion. Different question, different student leader.

If our otherworldly visitor had shown up during the journal reflection contest, it would have sought out Claire, who MC’ed the event (after a guide misguidedly tried to tap a student to MC only to be told indignantly that “we’ve already decided who’s doing it”).

Any Mars native who floated in at 2:45 would have been certain that the go-to guy was Crayton, who assembled the troops and set them to task with the surety of General Patton, the notable figure he’s delivering a powerful speech in the shoes of in just a couple more weeks.

And if the Martian had come during Game Time, it would have been certain that the committee of four guests from the elementary school (in the MS to guide our Eagles in learning a rhythm game) was where the power dwells. Happy Friday, and here’s to all the leaders of tomorrow!

Be Amazed

April 24, 2013Communications, Core Skills, Critiques, Culture, Hero's Journey, Quests, Speech Quest, Speeches, Writingsandefer

We expect far too little of our young people. Really. Even when we know they are geniuses-in-the-making.

Our Middle School Eagles just published a Mystery Anthology, and presented two copies to the Elementary Eagles, who have been competing to see who can devour it first. Today we received this email from on of the ES students:

Hi Ms.Abigail,

I have a blog called Read This! and I recently reviewed your storybook on there. I am sending you the link so if you would like to read it you can. The link is http://readthisnk.blogspot.com/

Sincerely,

Nikita

This afternoon, we found out a Middle School Eagle will have an editorial published in the Austin paper next week, as a result of her apprenticeship.

Finally, and most powerfully, today we asked our MS Eagles to “stand in the box” as they read the rough draft of their hero speeches. We even invited in a flock of Elementary Eagles as an audience, to increase the pressure.

Frankly, I didn’t expect much. It was a first draft of a difficult speech, performed by two of our more reserved Eagles, who had struggled with the assignment. The goal simply was to get them in front of an audience.

Then the first Eagle began to read, and we were all mesmerized by her words. And the the second Eagle delivered a powerful plea to save his homeland from invaders. In both cases, I promise you that anyone within earshot would have answered the calls.

Later, as I was describing the impact of the performances, one of my high powered MBA’s said: “It’s so good that you are teaching them such a critical life skill.”

But you see, we didn’t teach them anything. Each Eagle knew all along how to write and deliver a moving speech, in an original voice.

An eight year old with a blog, writing book reviews.

A twelve year old publishing an editorial in a major metropolitan newspaper.

Two moving speeches – each from a first draft.

Today, as most days, I didn’t teach at all. I learned something new.

Be amazed.

The Alchemists

April 23, 2013Communications, Core Skills, Hero's Journey, Quests, Speech Quest, SpeechesAna, Kenziesandefer

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.

Learning to communicate

April 19, 2013Communications, Core Skills, Culture, Journey maps, Launches, Speeches, Storytelling, Writingsandefer

How do you learn to write a powerful speech? To use your ideas and words to change the world?

Many schools focus on grammar, making sure every apostrophe and comma is in the right place. Certainly we want our Eagles to be able to write and speak in correct English, but we care even more ideas and having an original voice.

So how does one learn to write and speak in a way that changes the world?

First, we believe by seeking out, experiencing and critiquing world class examples, in the case of a speech, The Gettysburg Address or Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.

That’s why we are drawing inspiration from Corbett Harrison, a teacher who has developed a terrific set of modular tools that students can use alone or with peers to polish their ideas and words.

We’ll break down these critiques into six areas:

Idea – How original and powerful is the idea?

Structure/Organization – Are the ideas are sequenced and arranged in a way that is easy to follow?

Craft

Voice – Does the author’s style make you want to read more?
Sentence Fluency – Are there interesting sentences of different lengths?
Word choice – Are the words vivid and memorable?
Convention – Is the grammar correct?

Eagles will practice force ranking, discussing and providing evidence of these traits not only for Mentor Texts – great works that are provided or found, but also applying them in their own pre-writing, drafting, revising and editing – all with the goal of publishing a powerful piece or giving a world changing speech.

In the revision stage, Eagles will learn to self critique, and solicit and deliver peer reviews and expert critiques.

Writing, speaking and communicating through the visual arts are all skills that are “learned by doing,” in deep relationship with others, while referencing great works of the past.

Note that this requires learners with the courage to think, draft, revise, edit and perform – but not a teacher, at least in the traditional sense.

The Speech Quest

April 19, 2013Communications, Core Skills, Culture, Journey maps, Quests, Speech Quest, Speeches, Writingsandefer

At the end of this six week session, our Eagles will deliver a world changing speech: standing in the shoes of a historical figure, at a particular time, in a particular place.

Learning to move people, to call them to action, is an important skill for a hero. But the Speech Quest is about more than writing, polishing and delivering a powerful speech.

Eagles also will be required to use Expedia, Trip Advisor and other travel related sites to create an itinerary and budget for a multi-day trip to visit the city where their speech will be delivered, including touring historical sites, museums and other point of interest.

While planning the trip, Eagles will make a “bare bones,” “luxury” and “actual” budget, so they can learn to make the difficult trade offs in time, money, breadth, depth and comfort that traveling requires.

Also included in the Speech Quest is the requirement to create a Google Earth guided tour of the city, including street level views of the sites to be visited, including pictures, images and historical commentary (if you haven’t tried Google Earth – it’s an amazing tool.)

Even the introduction to these tools and the various adventures and expositions has raised important questions, like:

“Why do we travel?”

“Is it for new adventures and new experiences or to learn deeply about a culture?”

“Is it better to spend a little time in many places, staying in hotels, or to spend an entire week or month living with one local family?”

Learning to ask questions is as important as the final product. So is making difficult tradeoffs between time, money and goals. So is learning new cutting edge tools.

All a part of becoming a hero in the 21st century.

Changing the world through a speech

April 17, 2013Core Skills, Parent's Meeting, Speeches, Testing, Town Hall, Trouble, Uncategorized, Writingsandefer

“I have a dream…”

“Four score and seven years ago…”

“Ask not what you your country can do for you…”

There’s only one reason to give a speech: You want to change the world.

No photos from your latest family vacation; no boring PowerPoint slides to control your audience’s attention; no droning lectures to put people to sleep. Simply a moving speech that moves people to action.

Six weeks from now, each Eagle will deliver a world changing speech, as a historical figure, at a pivotal point in time, on a subject he or she feels passionate about. It will be an original speech, drafted, revised and crafted over a six week period.

Today several Eagles were called forward to stand “in the box” for ten minutes to speak on something they care passionately about. The lesson: giving a great speech takes passion AND serious preparation. You cannot just “wing it.”

Next came two hours of Improv training and practice. Because giving a world changing speech means letting go of your fears and saying “yes” to being comfortable being yourself on stage.

At the end of the day, our Eagles went to the Elementary School to present a gift of two copies of last session’s Mystery Anthology, and give each author a chance to pitch his or her story by reading a few lines.

How do you learn to give a world changing speech? You start by having the courage to get into the arena.

Active Imagination and the Hero’s Journey

March 5, 2013Collaboration, Core Skills, Culture, Hero's Journey, Psychology Quest, Quests, SpeechesKenzie, Masonsandefer

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.

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.
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.

Apprenticeships: Ready for Lift Off

March 1, 2013Apprenticeships, Communications, Core Skills, Hero's Journey, Pitches, Psychology Quest, Quests, SpeechesAna, Charlie, Ellie, Masonsandefer

We launched this morning by listening to Ronald Reagan’s Challenger speech and comparing it to Franklin Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address.

The goal is to have Eagles luxuriate in great speeches – soaking in the most powerful words, phrases and symbols as they listen and observe more intentionally.

Next session each Eagle each will choose a historical figure and write and deliver a speech as that character, at an important time and place.

This morning Eagles rehearsed and polished their final Apprenticeship pitches – determined to secure each a real world apprenticeship by April.

How do you grab someone’s attention early in an email, call or in person meeting, long enough to ask an important question?
How do you explain a complex idea like an apprenticeship, in just a few words?
How do you ask for the job; clearly, directly in a way that’s difficult to refuse?

Bravely, our Eagles explored these questions and prepared for the “Big Ask” next week.

Then, in the afternoon, ink blot tests and more Jungian dream analysis, the beginning of understanding the power of that FDR and Reagan’s symbols – and especially the Hero’s Journey — are deep inside each one of us.

Our Hero's Journey

Acton Academy Middle School and Launchpad (High School)