Category Archives: Trouble

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.

Welcome to the Disruptive Matrix

February 9, 2014Culture, Exhibition, Journey maps, Quests, Rocket Olympics, Science, Troublesandefer

Conventional wisdom suggests project based learning is the best way to teach STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.) Acton Academy takes this one step further, adding narrative and gamification to projects to create Quests.

Despite these high sounding goals, our recent Rocket Quest was a flop. The experiments, videos and equations seemed too structured – a series of old style science experiments disguised in Quest clothing. Our Eagles weren’t fooled and weren’t interested.

In our quest to make science more interesting, we’d made the journey too complicated. we’d forgotten that science is a curiosity powered, relentless pursuit of natural truths, no gimmicks required.

So we punted, “took the red pill” and posed two open ended challenges (the “red pill” is a Matrix allusion, for those of us old and lame enough to be Guides.)

Point the nozzle of a tennis ball machine straight up and fire. Then predict where the ball will land if the machine is positioned at 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 70 degrees from horizontal. No equations, videos or intermediate exercises offered. No trial and error allowed.
Shoot a pressurized water rocket – a two liter plastic bottle – straight up. Then predict where the rocket will land if launched from 30 degrees, 45 degrees and 70 degrees. No trial and error allowed.

An added incentive is that the closer our Eagles predictions were to reality, the more Rocket Points they could can earn, which then could be used to buy larger Estes rockets for next week’s Rocket Olympics.

Most Eagles had to purchase rockets in advance, increasing pressure because they had to spend points before earning them; any deficit would have to be made up using Eagle Buckets, at an unfavorable exchange rate.

In attacking these problems, Eagles could:

Use the equations of physics;
Locate a projectile simulator on the internet or
Pattern match parabolas.

The most dedicated teams could cross check answers from all three approaches.

Each Eagle group took a different path. Three groups made predictions for the tennis ball machine that were remarkably close to reality; the last two closed the gap after a misfire or two.

After success with the tennis ball machine, the water rocket experiment should have been a breeze. Simply apply the same equations and simulations a second time. Lesson learned: math is a “force multiplier” because it allows you to learn something once, and apply it again and again.

Here’s where the real world intervened. The water rocket predictions were 50% longer than the real world tests at 45 degrees. What had gone wrong? Guides were stumped.

The teams went back to their tracker programs, video tools that allow our young scientists to track the x-y position of a projectile at precise time intervals. They soon discovered that the rockets went up much faster than they came down, a discovery that made the simple projectile formulas useless.

Lots of conjecture followed: Was it that the two liter bottles lost mass as they rose? Did the rockets fall more slowly because they tumbled? Eagles drew from their experiences in mini experiments, began re-watching videos and checking the assumptions in formulas.

The room was humming with hypotheses being born. Formulas and simulators were tested with the new data. One team re-fired the rocket without water, to see if losing water mass really was the problem.

On an icy day when most schools had been dismissed for a snow day, our young scientists were out in the cold, firing rocket after rocket, trying desperately to squeeze in as many tests as possible.

This time the results fit with predictions! Eureka!

Our debrief centered on how good it felt for an experiment to succeed, and how dangerous this longing for validation was for real scientists. As one Eagle put it: “To be true to a scientific calling, you have to care more about truth than yourself.”

So real science is about never forgetting to “take the red pill.”

Quite a lesson indeed.

Wickedly Open Ended Challenges

February 4, 2014Culture, Exhibition, Quests, Rocket Olympics, Science, Troublesandefer

What do our young heroes need the most in science:

A specialized vocabulary to discuss a technical subject clearly and intelligently;
The processes, formulas or equations to solve a clearly defined problem; or
The curiosity and tenacity to tackle a wickedly open ended question?

In a way, these three types of learning track our promises to parents:

Learn to know;
Learn to do;
Learn to be.

Is it better to learn about velocity, acceleration and gravity from watching skill based videos; experimenting for hours with deeply immersive simulations or learning through hands-on trial and error?

We’ve struggled to get Eagles to engage with pre-formed problems, which haven’t piqued their imaginations, even when disguised as demonstrations.

So we gave up, and in desperation posed a wickedly open ended challenge:

Use a tennis ball machine to shoot a ball straight up in the air.
Using only this experiment, predict how far a tennis ball will fly if the machine shoots a ball at 30, 45 and 70 degrees from the horizontal.

Suddenly, the teams were engaged. Some Eagles dove straight into algebra and geometry; others searched for a simulation that would help; some just kept plugging numbers into formulas hoping the answer would magically appear.

Before long, it was clear that there were three problems plaguing the teams:

A failure to define the problem and goal;
Not knowing how to find and use a process, framework, formula or tool to help; and
Interpersonal conflicts between team members.

The most damaging of these was the failure to define the problem and goal. For many Eagles it was fire, ready, aim. The second biggest problem was interpersonal conflicts between team members. A distant third was the difficulty of solving the problem, once properly defined.

Isn’t that the case in real life? Aren’t most colossal mistakes usually a failure to recognize the real problem? Aren’t the biggest blunders often a result of talking past each other? How often have arguments between team members doomed a project?

So at least for now, open ended problems seem to deliver the most powerful learning. Even if it is a frustrating and messy process for the Guides.

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.

A Confession: We Made Rocket Fuel Boring

January 22, 2014Quests, Rocket Olympics, Troublesandefer

Here’s a confession: Acton Guides made science boring this week. Even more difficult to believe, we made investigating rocket fuel boring. That should be next to impossible.

Don’t let the picture above fool you. Yes, there was more energy around the rocket fuel challenge today, but not as much as their should have been.

How did we blunder so?

We thought about which science topics were important.
Then we designed experiments.
Then we added videos and math.
Because we were afraid the challenge might not be exciting enough, we tried to correct with extrinsic rewards.

Wrong; wrong; wrong.

Science requires two key ingredients: curiosity and rigorously applying the scientific method. If you have a burning question that deeply motivates you, the tediousness of the scientific process isn’t a burden.

This brings up a more fundamental law of Acton Quest creation:

Curiosity + Relevance + Fun + Group Interaction >>> (must be far greater than) the difficulty of the process to learn and apply.

Boiling this into steps:

Find out what raises a burning question in the minds of the Eagles;
Make sure it matters to future heroes who will change the world.
Raise the energy level by encouraging collaboration.

The more difficult or complex the process to be learned, the more energy you need from Curiosity + Relevance + Fun + Group Interaction. (Note – be sure to remove as much confusion and as many technical frustrations – like computer programs that won’t load – as possible.)

If a process is technical or complex, break it into parts, or be sure you have a particularly compelling exhibition at the end.

We’ll start correcting course next week, starting with asking Eagles: “What are curious about in the world?”

That’s where we should have started. Why do Guides have to learn the same lessons, again and again?

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.

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.

The Perils of Leadership

October 1, 2013Consequences, Covenants, Culture, Eagle Buck-Pts, Town Hall, Troublesandefer

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.

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.

These are times that try Guide’s souls…

September 11, 2013Culture, Guides, Troublesandefer

To steal a line from Thomas Paine: “these are the times that try Guide’s souls.”

The early euphoria of the first week is wearing off. Some students are working hard; others are not. Some are too noisy. The studio is messy, getting messier and beginning to have a slight, unidentifiable, yet sour smell.

If only an adult would step in and bring some order. We need an expert to teach. Eagles need some direction.

Eagles long for such authority, especially the new ones who keep pestering Guides with questions, even if reply is always the same: “Sorry, I’m a Guide, I don’t answer questions. I bet you can figure that out yourself.”

Teaching and learning are not the same thing. Barely correlated most days. Learning requires struggle. And failure. Even when it’s hard to be patient.

A Guide has four important tasks:

1. Applaud great effort;

2. Hold others accountable for their promises; and

3. Design challenges that are difficult and fun, including world class examples and the rules of the game.

The fourth task? That’s the most important one of all. To transfer the first three tasks to Eagles. If we step in as experts or answer questions or solve problems, we destroy the chance for Eagles to learn their own lessons.

Today we’re going to call for Champions, Eagles who are willing to step up and assume a leadership role.

Stay tuned.

Mood

June 18, 2013Culture, Troublesandefer

Why are Mondays so difficult?

Many days, the intentionality at Acton Academy is intense. Eagles are focused and concentrating so hard that you can feel the brain waves pulsating through the room. Even the extreme silence seems energized.

On these days, it’s easy to feel smug about how well the incentives, contracts and other cultural levers are working. The studio and its owners are a well oiled machine.

Then comes the breakdown. Eagles interrupting “flow” for trivial reasons. One Eagle shouting across the room at another about an Instagram picture from the night before. Horseplay erupts.

Of course, it wasn’t a well oiled machine after all, but a living, breathing organism. Learning is progressing, just not in the way a teacher would decree that it should.

Learning is messy.

Town Council, Property Rights and the Separation of Powers

May 18, 2013Civilization, Culture, Town Hall, Troublesandefer

An exchange of letters between diplomats. Tension, with the possibility of all out war. Misunderstandings. A flurry of activity within and between the leaders of two democracies. Finally, a peace treaty.

History class? Europe, just prior to World War One? No, just another day at Acton Academy.

It seems that Middle Schoolers are disturbing the peace of Silent Core Skills for Elementary Eagles, especially now that spring has come to Austin and classroom windows are open. Likewise for the Middle Schooler’s Silent Core Skills when the Elementary Eagles are on free time. Plus, disagreements about the intensity of dodge ball and how younger Eagles can be included in Middle School games without the risk of injury.

Town Council meetings can be unruly, even to the point of wasting time – just like real world democracies. But eventually conflicts get worked out, property rights are re-established and civil society is sewn back together, stronger than it was before.

Next fall we’ll grow from twelve Eagles to twenty five in the Middle School. Time to revisit the US Constitution and hold a Socratic Discussion about how the separation of powers might help the Eagles create an even more effective governance system.

It’s one thing to read about the Founders. Quite another to be a Founder yourself, and face their same struggles. No question which approach better prepares the leaders of tomorrow.

Road Work

May 7, 2013Core Skills, Culture, Excellence-Best You Can Do, Hero's Journey, Independent Learner, Math, Troublesandefer

The road gets slippery, and people stumble. How do you get back on track? If you, like the Acton Academy Middle Schoolers, are committed to independent learning and being on a Hero’s Journey, you might refer back to the standards that you have set, dig into the specifics of how those standards look and feel in action, and recommit with deeper intentionality.

The Eagles believe that striving towards excellence is an important part of what defines their community. But what are the signs of that? And how does it feel- what are the symptoms?

Respect topped their list of characteristics that distinguish them from any other group. Nice word, but what does that look like? How does it feel?

After brainstorming specifics, they discussed how to bring these back into the classroom to return the bar to where they prefer it (quite high). So, how’d they do? The group ranked itself at a (low) 3 on a scale of 1-10 coming into the morning. By closing, they’d climbed to an 8-9, and left the classroom with enthusiasm about striving for a 10 tomorrow.

Everyone has off days, and no road is always smooth. The Eagles are learning how to attend to the rough spots, then get right back to the business of their Hero’s Journey. Maybe, some days, that IS the business of their Hero’s Journey.

And speaking of Excellence…. Congratulations to Claire, who became our first Eagle to nail her Khan goal (2.5 weeks ahead of schedule!). She’s looking forward to taking a break from all that math… so she can move on to a couple of weeks of intense computer science. No wonder Hayes commented, “I felt really respected when Claire took the time to help me on math”.

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.

DST

March 12, 2013Culture, Energy and flow, Socratic, Troublesandefer

The discussion this morning was terrible. Low energy. Lethargic.

Even Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address couldn’t penetrate the fog. Uncharacteristically, no one seemed willing to participate.

What to do? Simple. Ask the Eagles what was wrong. So I did.

The answer: “Daylight Savings Time.” Everyone was tired and grumpy from getting up one hour earlier.

The solution – an unscheduled fifteen minutes outside in the cold air, running and jumping and playing. Then back to work, with new energy.

It’s one of the secrets to Acton. When something’s not going well, we ask the Eagles. And then let them solve the problem.

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!

“That’s mean…you’re better than that.”

January 30, 2013Covenants, Culture, Hero's Journey, TroubleCrayton, Jacksandefer

It’s starts with a passing remark between friends. Perhaps even something misheard. Feelings are hurt but unexpressed.

Later, something biting in response, disguised as humor: sarcasm.

No matter the cause, the effect is corrosive. Soon, a friendship may be lost. Later, it may cost a marriage.

Are unkind words merely a rite of middle school passage? We think not. We believe our Eagles can transcend petty meanness.

Over the years, Acton MBA students have done thousands of “Stars and Steppingstone” interviews with successful people from 30 to 85 years old. If you listen carefully, the older, wiser role models will all tell you the same thing, that near the end of life, you will ask some form of the following three questions:

Did I contribute something meaningful?
Was I a good person?; and
Who did I love and who loved me?

Monday, 14 year old Maria Teresa’s story reminded our Eagles of the first question; that each is expected to change the world in a meaningful way.

Tuesday, we examined the second question, what it means to be a “good person” and how sarcasm and passive aggressive behavior are small acts of cowardice, the easy way out. Acton heroes are expected to confront mean remarks head on, so relationships can be repaired.

One young Eagle even had the courage to gently but firmly confront a friend, in front of the entire class, using the new techniques of conflict resolution we had practiced. A genuine act of bravery for both parties.

By the end of class, nine brave Eagles stepped forward with a bold promise. To wear honesty bracelets for one week, as a commitment to call out and stamp out mean comments, so as to make the community stronger.

Can middle school students really build a far healthier community than most adults?

We believe they can and will.

Writing their own stories, in every way…

January 11, 2013Core Skills, Culture, Detective Quest, Launches, PE, Place, Quests, Storytelling, Trouble, WritingAna, Charlie, Ellie, Kenzie, Pacesandefer

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

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

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

Ms. Anna and Ms. Terri challenged the D.I.T.s (that’s Detectives in Training) to learn the science behind fingerprinting and analyzing data from footprints left at a crime scene. Also a great lesson in following directions, as it turned out, and in cleaning as you go.

Tomorrow, a look at goal tracking for the week, a Town Hall meeting, the journal reflection contest, history in the yurt and a more meaningful version of (offline) Game Time.

Don’t Mess with Acton

January 10, 2013Culture, Launches, Troublesandefer

We’ve been struggling with afternoon clean-ups. The Tragedy of the Commons. Our promises as Guides means we don’t want to intervene from above.

All of this raises an interesting question. What works best for motivating a team – the carrot or the stick? Or something else?

Yesterday, we opened class with the “something else:” Showing a series of the “Don’t Mess with Texas” commercials.

In the 1980’s, Texas faced a crisis: its roads and beaches were littered with garbage. Large fines hadn’t helped. Neither had encouraging better behavior. But as our Eagles quickly realized, the “Don’t Mess With Texas” commercials appealed to Texas pride; Texans are different; we love Texas; therefore, we have too much pride to litter.

Our Eagles decided to appoint a committee to draft their own series of commercials to encourage Eagles to do a better job of cleaning up. Here are their first drafts:

Learning math; writing; science and other subjects is relatively easy. Properly motivated, Eagles love to learn. Learning how to motivate yourself and others? That’s a subject that takes a lifetime to master.

But our Eagles are off to a good start.

probability and the choices we make

October 30, 20123D Game Lab - Probability, Culture, Quests, Troublesandefer

This afternoon, Ms. Anna launched a new series of probability-based Quests for the MS’ers. After discussing the concepts (and even the morality) of games of skill vs. games of chance, students relished the opportunity to expand their own informed opinions based on their Quest discoveries.

Meanwhile, back on the Commons… The Elementary School, with its rigorous yet self-generated standards of decorum (specifically in the areas of focus, sportsmanship, and cleanliness), has threatened legal action against the Middle School for a perceived defamation of brand image. The MS will meet tomorrow morning in a Town Hall format to discuss these accusations and formulate potential responses.

As they weigh the potential outcomes of various possible actions and reactions, they will likely indulge in the quintessentially human hobby of also considering probable counter-moves by their fellow travelers/adversaries.

Stay tuned!

Relaunching the learning community

October 17, 2012Culture, Hero Story, Hero's Journey, Smart Goals, Troublesandefer

Monday was a difficult day in many ways; it seemed many of the new learning habits had worn off after a week off. Not surprising, since new habits take more than a few weeks to deeply imbed.

Our response: simplify; provide perspective; appeal to heroes; reinforce shared accountability.

First, to simplify. Some Eagles were overwhelmed by five or more types of assignments they had to juggle – an issue that would vex many adults.

So we regrouped deliverables under three headings: Core Skills; Projects and Quests; and MyHJ and the new Learning Badges.

Next, provide perspective. That meant a new map, a wall display we could use to track progress, as we addressed four defining questions: Who am I?; What promises must be made and kept?; Who is walking with me?; and Why am I here?

We’ll use this display to mark our journey, moving from experiences designed to track: “Who am I?” – and exploring individual Gifts; Joy & Flow and Opportunities – and Core Skill practice to identify which Apprenticeship will be right for each Eagle in the spring.

Appeal to Heroes: we started the morning with a video on Richard Branson and a quote from Thoreau that “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Did our Eagles aspire to lives in a cubicle?

Or taking on life as an adventure, like Richard Branson?

Branson started the first of his 400 companies at 16. We went around the room, and asked each Eagle how many years between their current age and 16, and what would be the most important this week to get them back on the right path?

Finally, accountability. We put renewed emphasis on tracking SMART goals, and the responsibility of Running Partners to hold each other accountable.

Before long, the learning community was humming with energy again.

Our Hero's Journey

Acton Academy Middle School and Launchpad (High School)