Category Archives: Distraction

Two more governance experiments

April 30, 2014Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Feedback, Guidessandefer

Yes, everyone dislikes Eagle Bucks and those who ask for them. Few people have warm and fuzzy feelings about petty regulations or overzealous Mall Cops on Segways. Plus governance disputes seem to eat up far too much time.

Yet without a few simple rules and small fines, what would happen to a society? Would peer pressure alone prevent people from driving at dangerous speeds or rolling through stop signs?

We have just finished Part One of a two part experiment by abolishing Eagle Bucks for up to two weeks, starting last Monday. Bottom line, we only made it eight days. The vote to reinstate Eagle Bucks was nearly unanimous, and even some of the harshest Eagle Bucks critics have changed their minds.

Once we digest the lessons from this experiment, we may try one in the opposite direction – arming Guides with Red Cards. During this experiment, if a Guide sees an Eagle violating a rule adopted by the community, the perpetrator and his or her Running Partner will each owe double the normal penalty. And Guides will reserve the right to prospectively raise the fines for certain violations that keep occurring.

The idea here is that Eagles will have an excuse for asking for legitimate Eagle Bucks. Either I ask you, or both of us risk owing a double fine if a Guide has to intervene. This way, it becomes easier for someone who doesn’t care about popularity to draw crisp boundaries on certain types of disruptive behavior.

If this experiment proves valuable, eventually the Guide’s Red Card prerogative would be transferred to an older Launchpad Eagle, removing adults (but not authority) from the governance structure.

Broken Windows at Acton

March 24, 2014Consequences, Culture, Distraction, Guides, Troublesandefer

In the late 1980s, New York City was a mess. Trash filled many streets; aggressive “squeegee men” stopped cars, ostensibly washing windows, but really shaking down motorists for a protection payment; murder rates rose to all time highs.

A new Police Chief took over, and instituted a policy of “no broken windows,” a theory proposed by economist James Q Wilson that predicted that focusing on minor transgressions would lead to a reduction in more serious crimes.

The police cracked down on the squeegee men, subway toll jumpers and graffiti artists; before long violent crime began to recede too, a trend that eventually made New York City one of the safest large cities in America.

Last week we faced a “broken windows” moment at Acton Academy Middle School, when it came to light that several Eagles had been turning in “less than best work,” playing computer games during school and a host of other violations in the honor code. A rude response when being asked for an Eagle Buck had become the norm for some.

This lead to a morning launch discussing:

The Tragedy of the Commons – Common spaces not defended by private property rights or law will soon be abused.
The Rule of Law – Everyone should be treated the same under the law, no matter how popular, rich or powerful.
Broken Windows – Attending to small transgressions discourages larger problems later on; and
Logrolling – How a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” approach to lowering standards can have a devastating long term impact.

Yet even after this launch, standards continued to slip even more noticeably.

Eagles asked for a 360 Review, an anonymous survey designed to provide frank feedback to every member of the studio – from the Eagles to the Eagles. From the results – posted in a way that protected the identity of each person but allowed you to know your own scores – it became clear that there was a real problem with some.

What could we do about this as Guides? Our only right under our covenant with Eagles is to point out a slippage in standards, and ask them to remedy the problem. We tried that, but some of the leaders in the class had become so fed up with the transgressing group that they chose to focus on their own work instead of trying to lift up the community.

A few of the Eagles who tried to hold the line were treated more and more rudely by some.

Yes, in some ways this was normal adolescent behavior in America. A “whatever” attitude and being “too cool for school” and mailing in work are a natural defense again the sting of failure. Plus, everyone makes mistakes.

But Acton Academy is supposed to be different. A place where high standards and best work are celebrated; where a warm community cares enough to tell you the truth; where failing and making mistakes is celebrated – if you admit them and honestly try to improve.

The transgressions so far had been fairly minor, though several Eagles had begun to practice deceit and dishonesty on an all too regular basis. It was a reminder that here’s no such thing as perfect person, only people who make mistakes and admit them and those who keep making the same mistakes until they turn into more serious problems.

Because we thought this was a serious matter of principle and a turning point for the community, the Guides went on strike. We left the studio and promised to return once Eagles had put their house in order (while watching from a few hundred feet away, using our new video system to make sure everyone remained safe.)

The Eagle leaders leaped into action: designing a new Honor Code, Eagle Buck fines and clear due process and ultimate consequences clear for those who continued to violate community standards.

There would be a “reconciliation moment ,” inspired by Post Apartheid South Africa. Anyone who admitted a serious honor code violation, in detail, and offered an apology would immediately be forgiven and have the slate wiped clean.

The due process for someone who kept choosing to act outside the contract was made crystal clear. A serious honor code violation, if not immediately disclosed or later cleared by an appeal, would result in an Eagle being sent home for a minimum of one day. Repeated smaller transgressions that resulted in someone being in a negative Eagle Buck position for longer than three weeks would count the same as one honor code violation.

After the third serious honor code violation and third time being sent home, an Eagle would not be invited back (for every eighteen months of a clean record, one past honor code violation would be erased, giving each Eagle the chance to earn back a clean slate.)

None of us like to hear that our children have done something wrong. But just like adults, they will make mistakes all the time, some of them ethical mistakes. It’s by learning from the natural consequences of these mistakes, and asking for forgiveness, that a strong character is forged.

Honesty; transparency and caring enough not to let a friend get away with a lie, even if it is a small one. Then genuinely forgiving others when they stray, as we hope they’ll forgive us. These are the building blocks that make for a strong community.

We will continue to hold the Eagles to their promises and the high standards they set. And we will celebrate when our children’s friends hold them accountable for small transgressions, before sex, alcohol, drugs and driving make the consequences far more severe.

Protecting Intentionality During Quiet Core Skills Time

March 12, 2014Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Troublesandefer

Silent Core Skills time at Acton Academy means exactly that – a time of deep individual work that isn’t distracted by noise or activity in the studio. How do we protect such times of “flow,” when the right challenge can lead to deep learning at a rapid clip?

Of course, all intentionality in the studio begins with the Eagle to Eagle covenants and an Eagle Buck system that lets Eagles set and uphold the standards. Without a serious buy-in by all, there is no spontaneous order.

But even with this, protecting individual work time during Silent Core Skills isn’t easy. During Silent Core Skills time, you can hear a pen drop in the studio – literally. So even the smallest creak becomes a distraction. So we have “white noise machines” that help to block out distractions.

Sometimes minor distractions can build, until all intentionality breaks down. Here, the Yacker Tracker – a listening device that can be set to trigger an alarm when a pre-set decibel level is breached – is a big help. The decibel level is at a whisper for Silent Core Skills and slightly higher for Collaboration time; if the alarm goes off, the person who triggered it owes an Eagle Buck.

Finally, when all intentionality is lost, we can depend on our Elementary Eagle neighbors below to deliver a Red Card, meaning we’ve disturbed the rights of the Elementary Eagles to learn without being distracted. A Red Card costs the Middle School community 24 Eagle Bucks.

Layers of habit, protocol and individual and community rights, developed by Eagles, with a little help from technology. It’s one set of secrets as to why Eagles can learn at a 10X rate when engaged and in flow.

Zombie Tag Distraction

February 3, 2014Consequences, Core Skills, Culture, Distraction, Energy and flow, Guides, Troublesandefer

Building a self sustaining learning community is difficult.

Everyone begins with good intentions, but like entropy,intentionality almost always moves towards disorder. All will be diligently working, and then one bored studio-mate begins to amble about, distracting others. Like a game of Zombie-Tag, each person who is infected infects others, and attention and work ethic quickly crumble.

How do we reverse this entropy of learning potential without becoming controlling teachers? By clarifying rights and privileges, for Guides are allowed to insist that the covenants set by Eagles should be respected.

Eagles have the right to work individually and quietly on Core Skills, to meditate or even rest. Soon, however, most hit a flat spot with individual work. The going gets tough; an individual becomes tired or bored. He or she soon seeks the company of others.

Chance social interaction is like a quick sugar high, a cheap boost of energy. And while Eagles have the right to work hard individually or even to be bored, they do not have the right to distract others.

Middle Schoolers live for community. In fact, the love of community is far more motivating than the love of learning. That means that the privilege of collaborating can be used to encourage serious work.

Yet collaboration, poorly defined, becomes little more than hanging out with friends and frittering away time. Frittering away time is not a habit for heroes who want to change the world. So collaboration must be tightly defined as individuals, working toward a specific measurable goal, for a set period of time. Added to this antidote to bolster intentionality are weekly SMART goals and Long Term goals that cannot be adjusted on a whim.

we have created a new system to encourage and support these habits.

A Green Card means you have earned morning and afternoon breaks by being current with SMART goals (set and checked) and have reached your weekly Core Skills goals (reading, writing and math.) A Yellow Card means you have been respecting the rights of others to work without being distracted, and thus can collaborate with others if your are doing so in a SMART way.

Will this new approach work? Likely, only for a while. Yet it seems every step towards transparency and accountability more deeply imbeds the habits of grit and perseverance that will serve our young heroes well, and prepare them to create even more powerful systems themselves.

Lord of the Flies Returns

December 10, 2013Consequences, Culture, Distraction, Energy and flow, Guides, Troublesandefer

Today was complete chaos in the studio; Lord of the Flies; a lack of intentionality.

It was cold and wet Eagles couldn’t burn off energy outside. We were coming off the difficult American Revolution experience; Colonists had lost and there was lots of “bad energy” in the classroom. Even worse, a group had earned the right to another “roll of the Revolutionary Die” by doing extra work, and had lost a second time. Emotions were high, the Eagles on edge.

On Eagle failed to turn in an assignment on time and a Council member intervened on her behalf, pleading for leniency because of a computer glitch. Several Eagles protested that an exception would be lowering the standards; the vote was close to protect the standards.

The Intentionality Champion tried to reign in the Eagles but was ignored, partly because he equivocated and rambled. The studio become noisier and more chaotic. One Guide stepped over the line by refusing to show a visitor around the studio, because the chaos was embarrassing.

Then something miraculous happened. The Eagles began to self-reorganize. A new curtain was used to separate the room (one Eagle compared it to the Berlin wall.) Eagles, having found during the Revolutionary War that desks separated from each other seemed to lead to more intentionality. Individuals began moving desks into private clusters.

Eagles got back to work; the noise level dropped to a whisper. One group later requested to be allowed to leave for the High School to establish an even more intentional space.

The lessons? Almost too many to count:

Hard cases make for bad law. An unfair case, especially one that makes you want to bend the rules as a leader, can lead to a conflict between Justice (treat everyone the same) and Virtue (do what is right). A real world example of the Moral Frameworks we discussed last week.
Leaders must be clear, tough and uncompromising; but this is hard to do when you have to make rulings about your friends.
State’s Rights versus Federal Rights. Exactly what we have saw in the Civil War. Having small groups experiment leads to new discoveries, but risks fraying the principles that hold our Eagles together.
Above all, self rule by the Eagles may be the most important learning experience of all, if a Guide can ask the questions that lead to deeper lessons.

What should a Guide do? This is where being a Guide becomes an art.

Praise in private. Praise the leaders who took tough stands. Applaud their courage in holding the line. Encourage them to step up even more.
Constructively criticize to unveil the principles at stake in private. The Eagle who wanted to bend the rules for a friend needs to understand where this could head. The Eagle Champion who equivocated and rambled needs to understand how this affects his power.
Encourage Eagles to return to their frameworks and contracts when in doubt. Appeal to identity.
Set forth the historical examples above, and ask Eagles to describe the parallels in the studio. But don’t push too hard. Ask questions that demand difficult choices; don’t give answers.
Point out the power – and the danger – of separate communities. Encourage Eagles to protect the individual rights of the group without diluting the principles that make them a powerful learning community.

Tomorrow should be a day of deep discovery. Because being willing to endure chaos led to even more self rule, which will lead to more powerful revelations that a Hero can use. The Eagles earned their lessons.

A 360 Review: Is my self-image aligned with how others see me?

November 7, 2013Consequences, Covenants, Critiques, Culture, Distraction, Feedback, Guides, Troublesandefer

Last week we experimented with 360 reviews, a community building tool used at some of America’s top companies, like Apple and Google.

First, each Eagle was given the survey below and asked to rate every classmate’s Tough- mindedness (a measure of how they hold themselves and others accountable) and Warmheartedness (a measure of how encouraging they are to others) on a 1 (low) to 5 (high) score.

The purpose of this survey is to provide anonymous feedback to your fellow Eagles to help them become more “tough minded without being hardhearted” Level 5 Leaders.

Below you will be asked to rate each of your classmates on their “tough mindedness” and “warmheartedness,” each on a 1-5 scale.

Level Five Leaders are toughminded and warmhearted. They are encouraging, draw boundaries, set consequences and keep promises to themselves and others, while remaining cheerful and friendly.

Policeman hold firm boundaries but tend to focus on criticizing mistakes and individuals rather than praising behavior and progress.

Pushovers praise often but are afraid to hold people accountable; because of a lack of courage they do not help their friends grow.

Snarks make the poorest choices of all. They criticize and tear people down AND fail to hold themselves and others accountable.”

We collected the surveys, then summarized and plotted results on a 2×2 matrix (low to high Tough-mindedness versus low to high Warmheartedness) and made the output anonymous by substituting a number for each Eagle’s name.

Each Eagle then was asked to (silently) assess and write down where they thought their classmates had ranked them, before each learned his or her actual position on the graph (results were privately distributed to avoid any embarrassment.)

In most cases, Eagles accurately assessed where they would be ranked. Those in the lowest quadrant were the most accurate, while those in the higher quadrants tended to be more modest about their studio-mates’ opinions.

The effects on motivation? We don’t know yet. But at least each Eagle now has areas where they can improve, and a clearer sense of how their classmates view their contributions.

Subject: Freedom and Accountability Part I

November 4, 2013Collaboration, Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Guidessandefer

How do we provide Eagles with freedom and accountability?

We started the year with Evidence Tickets, individual examples of work Eagles were asked to publicly post to earn specified privileges. High quality work was praised by Running Partners, who also identified places where more effort was needed.

While this system encouraged accountability, having Evidence Tickets arrive unexpectedly made it feel to Eagles that they weren’t in control of their own schedules.

Now we’ve shifted to Challenge Envelopes, providing a week’s worth of deliverables at a time, allowing Eagles more control over their schedules (a suggested weekly schedule is provided, for reference, but Eagles can disregard this and tackle objectives in any order they want.)

Challenge Envelopes ask Eagles to check their long term Personal Learning Plans to set weekly goals for reading and Newsela (critical reading and critical thinking skills); journaling and No Red Ink (grammar) for writing and Khan Academy for math and learning badges for 21st century skills. Also included are a series of Quest related goals for “writing a bestselling book” and “entrepreneurial skills to help sell the book” once it’s written.

But how do we make sure that Eagles are doing “the best you can do” without reading and grading every assignment? That’s the subject of the next post.

Slouching towards intentionality

October 4, 2013Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Troublesandefer

Don’t let anyone kid you that building a self governing learning community is easy – for adults or middle school Eagles.

We’re still struggling with intentionality, and the Eagles not living up to the promises they made to each other.

Finally, noise became such a problem that it started distracting the elementary Eagles below, so we gave our neighbors the right to take 24 Eagle Bucks and a Mason Break/Charlie Break away anytime they are disturbed.

Yesterday, a “red card” signalling a violation was deliver on two occasions. 48 Eagle Bucks – ouch! We’ll see if these natural consequences from violating a neighbor’s property rights will help.

We also realized it was a mistake to make it too easy to earn Eagle Bucks, which takes away the sting of losing one for poor choices. So we’re making Eagle Bucks harder to earn in the future and asking anyone with more than ten Eagle Bucks to cash them in ( one Eagles Buck = $1) to buy something fun for their classmates.

Despite our struggles, lots of powerful learning taking place:

After hearing that we’re draining Eagle Buck liquidity from the financial system, one Eagle, remembering the “inflation game” from last year, asked: “Will this cause an Eagle Buck Great Depression?”

A parent sent this:”Last night, <our daughter> told us ‘I have just realized something so interesting and special! Did you know that so far NONE of the guides have taught me anything … It’s ME, I am learning everything on my own , all on my own?'”

Lots of collaboration in preparation for the Personal Learning Plan Exhibition and Debate next week.

Today we received a gift of some terrific books, and Eagles swarmed around the box, eager for new reading.

Next step – draft a clear contract between each Guide and each Eagle – something we should have done long ago.

Time for an intervention ?

September 23, 2013Consequences, Core Skills, Culture, Distraction, Feedback, Guides, Troublesandefer

Friday, not so pretty. Guides are prone to slip, under certain circumstances, into parental mode: almost as if our own parents are about to arrive, and cast judgement upon us.

For one thing, there was rain. What a joy! (Later in the weekend, neighborhood children reported on how their schools went into “lock-down” or that it was an “emergency”… I’m keeping mum on this).

Another thing: on Friday, work that Guides felt should be getting done was not getting done, or more precisely, it was not being logged as accomplished in the ways we expected it should.

So, at Acton, we know that our role as Guides is to very much step back, and hoping that we’ve modeled the standards the Eagles have themselves asked for, give a nod to the Eagles and their huge accomplishment in putting together a set of guidelines for the Studio, and trust that this will all play out in a manner that’s ultimately beneficial to the community.

But Guides are human, and we make mistakes. Mistake number one: neglect to trust. Trust the Eagles, trust yourself.

Mistake number two: don’t rectify mistake number one.

Friday, with concern that the standards of excellence were heading south in a way that would impact the whole Acton community (and affect the plans for the rest of the session), Guides had a quick pow-wow while the Eagles had lunch. Should we re-launch the afternoon and draw some new lines in the sand about what’s necessary and what’s optional? Eagles that hadn’t chosen to set their own goals or deadlines were putting the community at risk, and it might be time for Guides to step in. We should outline the consequences of choosing NOT to to do the work that we’ve asked them to do, and within the time-frame that we’ve created. Right?

Thankfully, wrong.
The intervention needed was actually a guide-to-guide huddle, a quick re-set of the most basic tenets that we adhere to in contract and in spirit, but that can slip without accountability. So after we egged each on to come to the conclusion that it was, surely, time for guides to get parental… we realized that we were suggesting that it’s time for guides to get parental. And the real intervention was Guides using each other as a checkpoint, to make sure that never happens.

Trust, trust, trust.

It will or it won’t be okay, but your best chance to make it work is to TRUST.

Tragedy of the Commons – Part II

March 8, 2013Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Guides, Troublesandefer

Want to take on an impossible task? Try transferring janitorial duties to a group of middle schoolers.

At Acton Academy it’s our Eagles responsibility to clean the sink, mop the floors and empty the trash – every day. With no help or intervention from Guides.

At first this took a great deal of patience. The room looked (and at times smelled) like a college dorm. But finally the Eagles rallied to form a cleaning crew and spruce up their new home.

Sadly, after a while enthusiasm waned and we slipped back into bad habits. That is, until the Acton elementary students wrote a series of letters complaining about the trash and how it was damaging the Acton brand. There was talk of an intra-school suit for damages, perhaps a Chapter 11 bankruptcy with elementary students as overseers.

The middle schoolers rallied again. But a few weeks later slipped back into slothful habits.

Then, a novel idea. We divide the room in half and separate the Eagles into two teams. At the end of clean up, the an elementary student serves as referee, with one of two choices:

Declare one side the winner. Winners go outside the next day during free time.
Declare the entire classroom “pristine,” which means both sides can go outside (Hasn’t happened yet!)

As shown above, the Elementary Eagles take great pride in their new responsibilities, and the room has never been cleaner.

We set the rules; Eagles decide whether or not to play. Even when it comes to cleaning the bathrooms!

Intentionality

February 26, 2013Collaboration, Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Energy and flow, Journalling, Math, Reading, Writingsandefer

Today we returned from break. Only eleven weeks until summer session. Time to put the finishing touches on our learning culture before we let new Eagles into our tribe.

The focus word for this week: Intentionality.

Acting with intention. Being purposeful. Tapping into your passions. That’s what heroes do.

So time to eliminate the trivial; to minimize the unimportant. Time to put all of our energy into learning. Time for a new definition of work times, based on a survey late last session, asking Eagles how we could reduce distractions.

So we created new definitions of the our Work Blocks. All Core Skills time is now silent. We added No Tech Core Skills time, where all computers are closed and Eagles simply read, write and ponder.

No interruptions are allowed – if an Eagle needs to collaborate, he or she posts to a Collaboration Request board. An added benefit – we now have a record of who is helping whom and why.

We also rearranged the desks in the classroom. All of this was based on recommendations submitted by Eagles.

Core skills time was incredibly focused and purposeful today. Deep concentration on “blacking out” Khan skills; serious writing; deep reading. Not a sound in the classroom.

In the afternoon, the launch of an exciting new project. But more on that tomorrow.

“Poppy needs help. Stat.”

February 3, 2013Culture, DistractionKenzie, Masonsandefer

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.”

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.

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.

Cardboard, Claire Boxes, Creativity and Joy

February 1, 2013Collaboration, Culture, DistractionClairesandefer

Some days the noise at Acton Academy can be distracting: the buzz of collaboration; critiquing and Rosetta-chatter.

So an Eagle-inventor took cardboard and duct tape and created the Claire-Box, a personal cocoon named after it’s inventor. Claire-Boxes became quite popular.

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Austin, bright and sunny.

Eagles rushed outside for lunch. Soon Claire-Boxes were converted into cardboard sleds, and the hillside was filled with Eagles sliding, riding and rolling together on cardboard magic carpets, laughing and screaming with delight.

Destruction of school property? Hardly. More like transformation. And clinging with all your heart to childhood play.

Hard work. Creativity. Friends. Enjoying the gift of a warm spring day. Pure joy.

Thank you for the lesson and the memory.

Friday’s Lessons Learned

January 19, 2013Apprenticeships, Civilization, Core Skills, Culture, Detective Quest, Distraction, Hero's Journey, Journalling, Math, Quests, Smart Goals, WritingClaire, Masonsandefer

At day’s end, Eagles reflected back to lessons learned from the morning’s weekly wrap-up, discussing the amount of effort they’d put into their work vs. the amount of payoff they received in terms of personal achievement and our classroom points-tracking system. In Core Skills they determined individually which work to focus on to best reach the goals they’d set for themselves on Monday.

While all journaled in hopes of winning the weekly writing contest (congratulations, Kenzie!), some focused on Khan skills, others on their Mystery Fiction writing, others on their Apprenticeship Quest work including some beautifully rendered Mind Maps.

Looking for tools to increase focus and help in their pursuit excellence, some students experimented with making their own “Claire Boxes”, named for the Eagle who first had the idea of creating a sensory-deprivation space to block out distraction and help her dive deeply into her independent work.Later in the History Yurt, all Eagles were able to enjoy special personal space with our new eye pillows; Eagles lay back with the lavendar-scented pillows weighing pleasantly against their eyelids and listened to stories from 17th Century England, including the military and political strategies of Oliver Cromwell during and after the English Civil War, and a look at daily London life through the diaries of Samuel Pepys. We learned that one of our Eagles’ ancestors was likely the actual executioner of King Charles! All students are working towards learning about their ancestry as part of their ongoing series of History Challenges.

Enjoy the three-day weekend and have a Happy MLK Day, see everyone on Tuesday!

Whew!

December 21, 2012Culture, Distraction, Energy and flow, Portfoliossandefer

Hard work. Last minute scurrying. Lights. Adrenaline. Showtime. Celebration.

Then, the morning after. An energy hangover.

Some Eagles are distracted. Others listless. A few, uncharacteristically sleep in.

Others build protective walls in order to recharge, an innovative approach to self preservation.

All of this is a natural part of the ebb and flow of human creativity. Rest. A phenomenon to be explored; a ritual to be incorporated next year..

Some schools consider the week before Christmas a “dead week.” We’d never be that disrespectful towards time, but building in a purposeful lull to recharge does make sense; a time to just “be” for a few hours; a time for mindfulness; a time for rest.

Most of the afternoon we worked on Portfolios, synthesizing the work of three months into a celebratory narrative. Tomorrow we finish these portfolios, and begin to look towards the adventures of next semester.

Curiosity and hospitality

November 12, 20123D Game Lab - Probability, Culture, Distraction, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Place, Questssandefer

How do you judge the health of a learning culture? Two good measures might be curiosity and hospitality.

Our MS Eagles showed the first when recently sending a letter to the Elementary Eagles, asking various questions about why the ES learning culture works so well. The ES Eagles today graciously responded with a long and thoughtful letter, complete with attachments.

Hospitality was showcased today when the Eagles greeted Mia, a recent applicant who was shadowing before joining us this summer. Without any request from Guides, the MS’ers created a sign to welcome Mia, who as you see below, was well liked by all.

We are trying out a new trick in room design, cardboard “walls” that can be rearranged in moments to create semi-private focus space for one or two Eagles in core skills, and also provide more personal portfolio space. Just one of many experiments as we continue to design the interior of the new campus.

Finally, today we introduced normal and lognormal-power curves, and how “discovered” probabilities from each could be used in two challenges involving oil exploration and “guessing the height of the next person who comes into the room.” As you see below, lots of energy in the room.

Which challenge was investing and which was gambling? (The answer was deceptively complicated.) Which of the five heroes: Gauss; Galton; Pareto; Bezos and Hastings, made the most fundamentally important discoveries? Which ones used power curves and the internet to build large businesses? Which one will have the biggest impact on the world? Which one owns a spaceport?

All questions we will continue to explore and debate the rest of the week.

Self-directed, self-aware

November 5, 20123D Game Lab - Probability, Civilization, Core Skills, Culture, Distraction, PE, Questssandefer

Students entered the classroom to find a new desk arrangement, inspired by their own ideas about reducing distraction and enhancing productivity. This tool served them well as they applied themselves to core skills with quiet intensity (well, not so quiet after about an hour when the Rosetta Stone headphones went on… but they quickly worked out a plan that allowed the few who weren’t doing foreign language learning to still have the quiet they wanted for their own goal-striving).

PE offered a well-timed physical break. After the tough (but getting a little easier as we get a lot stronger) Acton Insanity work-out, volleyball was a chance to merge focus and sweat into a happy competition.

History came alive in the yurt post-lunch, when a special guest archeologist (and Acton mom!) inspired the Eagles with tales from her own Hero’s Journey, digging up the past to try to solve the ongoing mystery of pre-literate human culture.

During Project Time students were challenged by the probability quest projects as well as the basic human problem of sharing space and addressing your own needs without compromising those of your community. “I’m really disappointed in the way I acted,” one student volunteered during a quick critique session on classroom behavior during the Quests. (Her offense? Getting a little too enthusiastic about probability assessment!)

“This will help me later in life, when I’m trying to decide whether to take a risk,” another offered unprompted, as the lessons learned debriefing moved from behavior critique to real world application of concepts.

Last but far from least, this wonderful group of young adults modeled curiosity, self-management, and terrific discussion and critique skills for a young visitor who skipped kindergarten to learn more about what happens in a real middle school (and find out what the heck his mom does all day)- and were the most gracious hosts imaginable. Go Eagles!!

Tragedy of the Commons and de Tocqueville

October 25, 20123D Game Lab - Probability, Communications, Core Skills, Culture, Distraction, Film, Questssandefer

Why can a few distracted students infect an entire learning community? Why is it so hard to keep the classroom clean?

Today we opened with a video on the Tragedy of the Commons and a discussion about why public spaces so often are abused. This was followed by video on Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, followed by a discussion of how a civil society helps intermediate between individuals and government, civilizing the first and restraining the latter.

These discussions, and observations by our MS Eagle “industrial spies” of the alien culture in the AA Elementary School, led our Eagles to propose changes in the classroom architecture and governance. Now we have “quiet zone” three sided cubicles (see http://rubble.heppell.net/places/ ) in one area and two other dedicated classroom areas, each with its own Mayor in charge of maintaining “focus.”

All of this led a a burst of productivity: in Core Skills; in 3D Game Lab and in the Film Project.

Intense focus in Core Skills.

Working on story boarding the Film Project (thanks to Matt Hovis for yesterday’s expert advice!)

Working hard to unlock the final “Does the past determine the future?” challenge in the 3D Game Lab quest.

Our Hero's Journey

Acton Academy Middle School and Launchpad (High School)