Category Archives: Eagle Buck-Pts

Two more governance experiments

Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Feedback, Guides

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.

Protecting Intentionality During Quiet Core Skills Time

Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Trouble

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Feliz Eagle Bucks

Celebration, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts

Having a classmate ask for an Eagle Buck is a great way to remind a studio-mate to  follow through on his or her commitments in the Contract of Promises.  In fact, just as in the real economy, it’s difficult to imagine how civil society can function without a currency of some sort.

From time to time, however, excess of Eagle Bucks can build up in the system.  If there are too many bucks in circulation, they lose their value, and intentionality suffers.

Today Eagles were given the choice to redeem Eagle Bucks for: (1) sports equipment for the class; (2) a cookie party or(3) donating to the less fortunate.

Thanks to the generosity of the Eagles and the ingenuity of Oxfam America, two chickens, two goats, a sheep and assorted water cans are now on their way to less fortunate families in Africa.

What a great way to spend excess Eagle Buck liquidity.

Freedom and Accountability Part II

Collaboration, Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Critiques, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Guides, Quests

James Madison wrote in Federalist 51: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

Our middle schoolers are no angels, at least not all the time.  But they are an impressive group of young men and women, learning to govern each other with a grace and dignity that few adults could match.

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Today we had a model Town Hall meeting: the choices well framed; each welcomed to speak; the rules of engagement enforced.

Starting next week, we’ll experiment with another self-accountability experiment, and see how it affects motivation.

First each Eagle will certify which weekly challenges from he or she has completed.  Then the Council randomly will draw one computerized deliverable (like Khan Academy) and another non-computerized deliverable (like a journal entry.) Each Eagle will be asked to publicly post his or her results for these deliverables and self rank whether the contribution was in the lower, middle or bottom part of the class.

There is no penalty for choosing not to complete a challenge, except the loss of points towards Eagle Bucks, and possibly missing the weekly adventure, if that specific deliverable was required to qualify.

The penalty for certifying you have completed a deliverable and done “your best work” if it’s obvious you haven’t, will be being sent home, no questions asked, since this is a serious violation of the community honor code.

Next week we elect a new Council, as other Eagles earn a chance to lead.  This Council will be missed.

Self-Reporting and Accountability

Collaboration, Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Critiques, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Guides, Smart Goals

We trust our Eagles to report whether or not they have completed a challenge and done their “best work.”  Human beings, however, are fallible, especially when given too much to do, in too little time, with special adventures being offered for delivering everything on time.

Last week we decided to focus on the importance of self reporting, and accidentally created a firestorm of confusion.

We paid special attention last week to self reporting in Socratic discussions, stressing the importance of reporting accurately and turning in “the best work you can do.”  On Friday, when it came time to qualify for this week’s special adventure, we read the checklist of deliverables item by item, asking Eagles to sit if they had missed an item.  Many Eagles sat down, acknowledging that they hadn’t completed one task or another, understandable, given the workload they’ve been under.  By the end, fifteen or so Eagles had certified that they had completed all the items.

Afterwards, a Guide checked the No Red Ink program and noticed that five of those who reported they had scored a 90 or above on this week’s quiz had not achieved this goal, according to the program’s dashboard.

A Council meeting was called, and the Council agreed that the misreporting was serious enough that the five Eagles would be asked to remain home on Monday, and decided to inform each privately to avoid embarrassment.

After the Eagles were informed, one Eagle showed one Guide a screen shot that showed he/she had scored a 100 and the dashboard had not accurately captured his/her score.  Another Eagle swore that he/she had finished with a 90, but the dashboard showed otherwise.  A third Eagle claimed to have accidentally done the wrong test and the dashboard confirmed that the Eagle had scored a 100, but on the wrong quiz.   The last two Eagles, as far as we know, did not lodge an immediate appeal.  Later, one would report that he/she had scored a 90.

At this point, with only a few minutes before Friday’s field trip adventure would begin, there was mass confusion.  It is important to note that there were several categories of errors: (1) An apparent technical glitch in the program; (2) A possible error in submitting a final score, either by the program or an Eagle not hitting “submit;” (3) An Eagle who had done the wrong test but accurately reported his/her score;  (4) An Eagle who reported a 90 but had no independent verification; and (5) One Eagle who said he/she just failed to listen/read carefully enough.

Which of these were “the dog ate my homework” errors; which were forgivable and which were more serious lapses?

Because of all the confusion and ambiguity, the Council voted over the weekend that all Eagles will be invited back to campus on Monday, and this incident will be put behind us.

Further investigation this weekend suggests that while some Eagles may have been genuinely confused, the computer program appears likely to have been accurately reporting scores all along, and that there is a high likelihood that several of the Eagles did not score a 90 or above.

As you can imagine, still lots of confusion and some hard feelings, which we will sort out this week, being careful to separate the personal issues from the governance issues and to prevent long term hard feelings or factions. Those with a personal issue with another Eagle will be encouraged to address the person openly and directly with a facilitated process, either in private or publicly.   Governance issues and strengthening due process in the studio will be addressed in a Town Hall meeting.

As parents, we’ve learned at Acton to listen empathetically; equip our Eagles with the right words, and then send them back into the fray to sort things out for themselves.  It’s hard to do, but the best way to learn to cope and stay healthy in the real world, in high pressure situations.

Human communities are messy, but the Eagles (and Guides) are learning lots of important lessons, especially about self governance in an Eagle led learning community.

Subject: Freedom and Accountability Part I

Collaboration, Consequences, Core Skills, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Guides

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.

Whew!

Consequences, Core Skills, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Energy and flow, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Guides

Sometimes it’s helpful to realize just how much work our Eagles get done in an average day and a week.

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As one of the Eagles said recently: “It’s hard to explain to friends that I get a lot more work done than they do, even though we don’t have any homework.”

So here’s a sample from today:

  1.  Check your Personal Learning Plan and SMART goals to make sure you are on pace with your Khan math, reading and Learning Badge plan for the year.
  2. Finish No Red Ink grammar lessons 3&4 and make a 90 or above on the quiz.
  3.  Read the Newsela article on Massive Open Online Courses, score a 90 or above on the critical thinking test and participate in a Socratic discussion. A sample question: “In many countries, cell phones were such new innovation that they “leapfrogged” the old landline technology.  If other countries go to “new type schools” while America clings to old style schools, could that be a threat to America?aa ms 10.31 2aa ms 10.31 3
  4. Do independent research on Darwin; Evolution and Natural Selection and bring a great Socratic question as your entry ticket.  While completing an Art lesson in how to draw with the “right side of your brain,” listen to a college level lecture on Darwin.  afterwards, participate in a Socratic discussion. A sample question:                         “What exactly was the “turning point” about Darwin’s theory that made it so
  •  Man is not the center of the universe;
  • Creatures evolve and change over time or
  • Those with the best characteristics survive?”

5.   Answer the journal question: A rare bird is set to disappear in West Austin because of real estate developments.  Given Darwin’s theories, should we pass a law to curtail development and protect this species from going extinct?

6.  Write enough in your bestselling book to deliver a minimum of 50% of your rough draft by Friday.

7.  Role play how to deliver warm praise and make time to go to the Elementary School and provide “warm praise” to your individual group members.

8.  Be sure to clean the studio at the end of the day, since we don’t have a janitor.

Whew!  No wonder the day seems to go by so fast!

Eagle Buddies to the Rescue

Collaboration, Consequences, Covenants, Critiques, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Feedback, Guides

Today marked an important turning point for Acton Academy.

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Ten Middle School Eagles began guiding in the Elementary School, helping the ES Eagles set and record daily SMART goals.  Each SMART goal group will have a learning contract and every Eagle will work hard to remain in Socratic mode and respect the Rules of Engagement.

Most importantly – no adults involved.  Eagles guiding Eagles.

Beware Eagle Buck Inflation

Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts

Eagle Bucks are the Acton Academy currency.  You earn them for brave or kind acts or by delivering excellent work on time; you lose them when a fellow Eagle asks for an Eagle Buck as a consequence for behavior that falls outside the community standards.

Early this year, we made an error by setting the rewards too high on the weekly points tracker.  Eagles who were reading several books at a time began ten or more Eagle Bucks a week, where two had been the norm.

Now getting called for an Eagle Buck meant less, because you had plenty to spare.  Community intentionality began to suffer.  What to do?  Just like the Fed, we decided to drain the excess reserves from the system and ask Eagles to trade in old currency for new.

When the new policy was first announced, one Eagle, remembering an economic simulation from last year, cried out: ‘But will that cause the Acton Great Depression?”

Thankfully, it didn’t.  We auctioned off the rights to some special desks; Eagles bought cardboard partitions they could use and decorate; a few special Lego creations drew high bids.  Inflation plummeted.

Today we exchanged the old currency for a new one, and tightened up the points system for earning new Eagle Bucks.  We also adopted a “three strikes” policy, setting serious consequences for Eagles whose behavior repeatedly left them with a negative balance. Then came a Socratic discussion about why Eagle Bucks were so important in our community.  some of the responses:

“So we can have our own currency.”

“To provide consequences.”

“To give us self-worth.”

“To reinforce that with freedom comes responsibilities.”

“It’s our system of rewards and punishment.”

“Motivation.”

“To keep us in check.”

“Compensation for our hard work.”

If only American Politicians understood the reasons for a free economy as well.  Perhaps someday soon we’ll have a much wiser generation to replace them.

Out of this world

Celebration, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Exhibition, Hero's Journey, Motivation Hero Debate, Quests

Work hard; play hard. That was this session’s motto.

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Yesterday we worked hard, with the Hero’s Motivation Debate and Personal Learning Plan Exhibition.  Today, when the Eagles arrived we announced a surprise: We were all invited to ride the train downtown to see Gravity, a hauntingly beautiful new movie about space, with award winning cinematography.

A perfect prelude for Session 4, when we’d be studying the motivational effects of “feeling small” – standing on the edge of the universe as we build rockets, versus “feeling big” as we explore a microscopic world and perform chemistry experiments.

There was a twist with today’s trip, however.  The Eagles paid for the outing, popcorn,  lunch and drinks with the Eagle Bucks they’d accumulated during the semester.

A “well earned” celebration indeed.

Slouching towards intentionality

Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Distraction, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Trouble

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.

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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?'”

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

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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.

 

 

The Perils of Leadership

Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Town Hall, Trouble

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Today was the first Town Hall meeting of the new Council.  Let’s just say it was a little rocky.

During the meeting, the Council gave into the demands of a few loud voices calling for the easing of standards.  Allowing music back into the classroom.  Voting out the existence of Evidence Tickets (voluntary examples of work designed to help Eagles manage their many commitments.)

Bread and Circuses would have come next. Except the Council doesn’t have such broad authority.

There is a signed covenant covering music – parental approval is required.  Plus the Eagles already have failed to hold each other accountable for music distractions – another violation of a covenant they had promised to uphold, and already forgotten.

Evidence Tickets are a part of the curriculum, which Guides have the right to design and propose until Eagles take on the responsibility of creating their own courses.

So later in the afternoon, the Council had to apologize to their constituents for failing to do the hard work and preparation required to be leaders, and for allowing the Eagles to take that first slippery step towards a lowest common denominator.

The first real lesson of leadership.

 

An Election Update

Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Town Hall

Since Eagles run our Studio, Council elections are much more important than at traditional schools.  Energy is high as preparations continue for Thursday’s speeches and election.

Today, we combined our overarching question of the year, “What motivates a hero?” with the campaigns by asking: “Can an Acton election be earned or bought?”

The ten Eagles running for office were charged with collecting Eagle Bucks from classmates for violations of the Rules of Engagement or Community Standards (“Can you ask for an Eagle Buck while still being encouraging?”) and allowed to award Eagle bucks for extraordinary acts of kindness or accountability. (“Can you resist the temptation to try and bribe your classmates?”)

The results were impressive.  Only a handful of Eagle Bucks were collected or awarded, but the room hummed with energy during Core Skills and Project Time.  One Eagle accumulated 35 skills in Khan Academy in a single day.

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The Eagle Buck tally was tabulated and displayed along with campaign slogans.

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Campaign posters continued to proliferate.

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One group began to offer political consulting advice – for an Eagle Buck fee.  Another took a poll of likely voters – again, charging for their service.

All of this while still working hard on reading, reading, arithmetic AND finishing writing a Eulogy and Epitaph.  Civil society in action.  Alexis de Tocqueville would be impressed.

Inspiration, Intentionality and Excellence

Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Town Hall

The high end prep school of the late 1990’s featured a didactic curriculum and a cadre of well trained teachers. Today that seems, well, so “old school.”

Given the resources available on the internet, crafting a world class curriculum today is more about curation than creation.  There’s simply so much great material to choose from, and quite a bit of it is high quality.

Even better, you can equip students to choose challenges for themselves, and order the experiences in a way that appeals to their individual learning styles.

Teacher training is an anachronism too. Peer-to-peer exchanges are far more powerful than having a gaggle of lecturing adults hanging around the teacher’s lounge.

What remains difficult is keeping our Eagles inspired, intentional and aiming for the highest quality work.

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Today we tried something different.  Taking volunteer Champions, Eagles who would take responsibility for different parts of the studio and learning areas.

Just another experiment in helping young heroes take control of their education.

today was only penultimate

Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Hero's Journey, Socratic

…yet kind of hard to top.
This morning we decided to add an additional mile to the Official Summer Session Tues/Thurs 2-mile outing. An extra mile on the water, that is-  paddling around the mysterious island in the wide, easternmost part of Ladybird Lake.

photo-7IMG_0608photo-8Energized by their morning adventure, the Eagles set to making portfolio boards for themselves and their new Running Partners, to help insure that the new Studio will be a welcoming, joyful space to come together in again this September.

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Then it was time for a final bit of reckoning- which Eagle had accrued, and maintained, the highest number of Eagle Bucks this school year?  The top three winners got to choose music for the party tomorrow, the flavor of cake we’ll enjoy (thank you, Ellie!) and one other surprise.

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This penultimate day of the academic year day ended with a surprisingly rigorous (a guide was surprised, anyway) Socratic discussion about the Hero’s Journey and how best to introduce the concept in a meaningful way to our incoming Eagles in the fall.  This penultimate blog post will end with a less Socratic question: can you tell exactly who is tipping whom into the lake??

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Rapid Prototyping a New Scoreboard

Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Journey maps

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The pictures above may not look like much, but they represent a fascinating experiment.

One team of middle school Eagles is rapid prototyping a new scoreboard for the school – visual displays of SMART goals, Running Partner critiques and examples of work-in-progress for Math, Reading, Writing, MyHJ, Civilization and other projects.

Displaying information in a clean visual format that is easy to use is no simple task – just read Steve Job’s biography to see how hard Apple works on problems like this.

Yet our team of Eagles is working diligently to collect customer feedback, mock up prototypes and hold Socratic discussions to create increasingly powerful displays.

Rapid prototyping. Without doubt a 21st century skill.

The Beauty of Competition

Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts

Why does spontaneous order work in the classroom and society?  Because individuals in community, learn to compete; to launch efforts to serve the community while also helping themselves, without being brutish and nasty.

A few months ago, one Eagle started a store at school, selling snacks for admittedly high prices.  Still, with a monopoly, she did quite well.

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Yesterday, a competitor opened, with lower prices and different offerings.

Neither Eagle is selling health food – these are middle school efforts, not adult directed activities.  Nor has the original entrepreneur lowered her prices – at least not yet.  But healthier food and lower prices will emerge, if the individuals who make up the market demand it.

Competition within community, that’s what makes a health civil society.

A sprint towards reality

Core Skills, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Portfolios

Whew! Another Acton Academy session completed.

Weeks and weeks of “intentionality” – this session’s battle cry –  sprinkled with fun and intense learning.  One Eagle captured it perfectly: “This session seemed to fly by in a day.”

The Salem Witch Trials; assembling portfolios; serious reflection; anticipation of next session’s adventure – it was a busy, high energy, intentional final week.

Not every Eagle finished with an apprenticeship; a few have been rejected several times and now must go to “Plan D, E and F.”  Not every Eagle completed the lofty end of session goals, so our special group outing was postponed.

Sure, it would have been easier if we had adjusted the goals, so everyone could win.  If we made exceptions so there was a fairy tale ending.  If we made sure our Eagles won the game every time.

But that’s not the way the real world works.  Our goal isn’t college ready graduates, nursed on “straight A’s” and cheap self esteem.  Not poseurs, nor those who hide behind false perfection. Never “cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”

Instead, our goal is to equip and inspire Eagles to succeed and fail – fighting a worthy fight; becoming who they were meant to be; building deep and nurturing relationships.

Heroes who will change the world, real world heroes who are willing to accept – and even celebrate — the bumps, bruises and disappointments that reality demands to make a real difference.

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.)

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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.

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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.

How do people learn?

Apprenticeships, Consequences, Culture, Detective Quest, Eagle Buck-Pts, Guides, Hero's Journey, Journey maps, Launches, Quests, Socratic

How do people learn?  An important question, and a reminder that “teaching” and “learning” are only loosely connected.

The article below summarizes some of the most recent discoveries about how people learn: http://www.farnamstreetblog.com/2013/01/how-people-learn/

Here’s what we’ve found at Acton Academy:

1.  Deep learning requires context.  This means having a clear visual  “journey map” and milestones ON THE WALL  that our Eagles can track. (“You are here; Here’s where we have been; Here’s where we are going and WHY it matters”); plus a diagnostic Framework (“Below are some questions you can ask to decide what to do next.”)

2.  Every launch must put students “in the shoes of a protagonist” facing a decision that will matter in their lives, and somehow will shape their identity and determine their destiny.  Otherwise, who cares?

3.  Our primary job is to set the rules and incentives so as to shape the learning environment.  Then let the students learn through “learning to do.”  Experiential learning is best; Socratic discussion next best.  Experts/lectures are allowed, but Eagles can access this information on their own.

If we deliver:

1.  End goals that add richness to our Eagle’s Hero’s Journeys;

2.  Maps and milestones.

3. Frameworks; and

4.  Enticing rules and incentives;

then great learning happens.

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Here’s a photo of this morning’s launch. Below an example of a Mind Map for the upcoming Apprenticeships – Eagles learning to create their own visuals.

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Of course, the ultimate goal is to equip students to create learning journeys, frameworks and incentive systems for themselves and others,  so the “learning to learn” becomes a deeply imbedded habit, and one that spreads exponentially.

from Luddites to Las Vegas

3D Game Lab - Probability, Civilization, Collaboration, Core Skills, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Math, Quests, Reading, Writing,

Are you more likely to be disappointed by your laptop or by your best friend?  Does it feel worse to be disappointed, or to disappoint someone else?  If you don’t keep yor commitments to the community, who are you letting down- your running partner or yourself?  Tough questions met with candor and courage by our brave Eagles.

So, back to that laptop… or not. The middle school experimented with 30 minutes of Luddite time, focusing on (analog) reading and writing, before plugging in for their SMART goals,daily check-in and their online work.  Collaboration reigned, writers brainstorming monster story plots and presenting drafts for informal peer critique, and math geniuses unleashing their exponential  powers of encouragement.

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Sometimes it’s Yurt time, and the MS is always grateful when that time rolls around. Ms. Laura launched with the news that scientists have discovered a powerful correlation between happiness and gratitude.  After a quick survey of Thanksgiving fun facts, including info about the persuasive letter written to President Lincoln that helped make Thanksgiving a national holiday, students eagerly shared their family Thanksgiving traditions and had the opportunity to write their own letters of gratitude.  Those that chose to tackle History Challenge #2  took us back to ancient Rome for some detailed analysis of similarities and differences between their culture and our own, and earned a treasure from the Yurt Treasure Box for their efforts and courage.

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Ms. Anna launched today’s probability quest with a video addressing the Monty Hall problem.  Initially as confused as the general populace, the Eagles has a collective Aha! / Eureka! moment as they absorbed the implications of the probability swap.  Then they got to play games to further their insights, poor things.  At the end of the day, Mr. Jeff asked:  If you take a chance and lose, is it gambling or investing?  What about if you take a chance and win?  What if you break even?

Eagles will have a chance to test their hypotheses tomorrow afternoon, when the classroom is transformed into a casino, complete with free sparkling cider for all players.  Do you have to be in it to win it?  Who knows when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em, and can they back up their instincts with evidence?

And most importantly- who will hoarde/hold out out to cash their accrued chips in for an Eagle buck, and who will choose to spend them on donuts?  All bets are off, from this blog’s point of view.

Striving for Excellence and Galileo Galilei’s Trial

Art, Communications, Eagle Buck-Pts, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Film, Galileo Trial, Math

Our Eagles love learning and being with each other.  Now it’s time to aspire to excellence.

Inspired by Po Bronson and Ashley Merriman’s NutureShock and Ron Berman’s An Ethic of Excellence, we are turning over even more responsibility for managing the learning environment to the three member Council and the Eagles themselves, but providing them with language to hold each other accountable (see below):

We also introduced a new accountability system run completely by the students themselves:

In Core Skills, students began planning and executing their Khan Academy lessons for the next nine weeks, by which time we expect every AA MS student to have demonstrated mastery in arithmetic and the other AA Elementary School Math skills (many students already have accelerated past this.) Ms Abigail continued guiding students in writing the storyline for their the “Past/Future” film project.

Ms Zoey continued the self portrait project in Art.

Ms Anna introduce the Galileo Trial debate, where over the next several days Eagles will research and assume roles to recreate Galileo’s dilemma of whether to advance or abandon his heliocentric paradigm, with real world consequences for all – either lost freedom for Galileo and his friends (lost free time) or lost riches for the Church (a loss of chocolate coins.)

Researching the trial of Galileo.