Freedom inside Boundries

After finishing the first session at Acton, I’ve managed to better understand the Boundaries and Freedom system here, so I will share it with you. Be advised that this system is a bit complicated, but I’ve tried to make it as simplified and accurate as possible, so let’s begin.

The limits at Acton are determined by the guides, and they take form in a small number of rules. An Eagle who breaks them, gets a strike. These are the strike rules at our Acton:

1. Do not intentionally harm yourself
2. Do not intentionally harm other Eagles
3. Do not to intentionally harm the studio
4. Use the computers only for Smart-tech purposes (Eagles are not allowed to watch videos on you tube in the studio for their own pleasure, play computer games which are unrelated to the studies, etc.).
5. Do not demotivate others (an Eagle can always choose not to participate in the activity, but he is not allowed to ruin the atmosphere by saying things like “Oh, what a horrible game” or “You are all boring”, etc.).

A Strike can only be given by the guides, and this occasion should be relatively rare. After three strikes, the Eagle is asked to leave the studio and go home, and come back on the next day after writing a letter in which he/she describes whether he/she wants to be a part of the studio or not, and how he/she will make sure not to receive any more strikes in the future. After nine strikes, the Eagle is asked to leave Acton permanently, and will only be able to return the following year. As can be understood, the strike mechanism creates a safety circle around an ample space, which the Eagles can govern and design as they please.

So, what happens in this circle? The Eagles are responsible for the rules within the circle, as well as for following those rules. How do the Eagles hold themselves accountable for following the rules? This is the part where the Eagle Bucks (EB) come in. Each Eagle receives EBs according to his/her work throughout the week. For every 100 points (See an explanation about the points further down) the Eagles receive one EB (equivalent to one dollar). Eagles can lose EB if they don’t behave by the rules set by the contract. Only an Eagle can take EBs from another Eagle (not a guide!). For example: The Eagles in the studio are busy with their cores kills, and one of the Eagles starts singing and interrupting. The other Eagles can charge him an EB because he broke one of the rules in their contract. This is,in fact, an internal system, which allows the Eagles to be truly responsible for each other’s behavior and bring this responsibility into practice. If, for example, an Eagle claims that another Eagle bothered him, and the other Eagle disagrees, they go together to a mediation process – the Council. Only Eagles with the “Soaring” level of freedom can be in the Council (See a separate post about levels of freedom), the Council listens to both sides and decides who is right. According to the council’s ruling, it is decided which Eagle gets his/her EB taken away. EB is money for all intents and purposes, and the Eagles can accumulate it and buy gifts/games etc. The EB is important for the Eagles and they really want to accumulate a respectable sum which will allow them to do something meaningful with it. The EB gives the Eagles the motivation to work during core skills, and motivation to follow the rules. Moreover, it is a very powerful tool that enable the Eagles to hold each other accountable.

A final term relating balance and breaks is the points. The Eagles earn points for their work during core skills and writer’s workshops. For example, every 10 pages in a regular book earns a point, each page in a “badge book”, chosen by the guides, gives two points, each 1% of progress in Khan Academy earns 20 points, each 30 minutes in Alex earn 10 points etc. Roughly speaking 100 points equate to 5 hours of focused work. The points are automatically calculated by Acton’s designated system, and in the end of each day and week, the Eagles can see how many points they’ve accumulated.

It takes some time for the Eagles to understand this system, and sometimes the boundaries can only be understood after the Eagles go over them once, but in general, it’s a very well thought out and innovative system, which allows the Eagles to manage themselves in the studio without an adult being the “bad cop” as usually is the case in the traditional system.