My 3rd week

I concluded my third week at Acton and can say that the studio is starting to get into a routine, and being a guide feels more natural to me.

• Core skills – This week, the Eagles already got moving, and during the allocated hours for core skills, they sat quietly and worked in front of their computers. The pace at which some of them advance is amazing, and it is mind blowing to think that these Eagles could have sat in a regular class and moved forward at the class’ pace, while during a week of work in the studio, they’ve finished half a year of the curriculum!!! All the Eagles, at the moment, are “flying” (description in this post), therefore, they define for themselves whether they want to work on math, reading or writing and to what extent. Every day, the Eagles define what their daily goal is in every subject, and in the end of the day, they report their progress and the system calculates the points they’ve earned. These points show the Eagles’ progress, so it’s very easy to see if the Eagle got stuck, in which subject he progressed and how far. I will later write a more detailed post about the balance and break system of Acton, but the points are undoubtedly a significant part of this system.
• PE/Arts –Twice a week, for an hour and a half, the Eagles study arts and PE. In arts class this session, every Eagle assembled his/her own personal work desk from IKEA, shaved it and then painted it with acrylic colors as he/she saw fit and according to his/her artistic taste. The entire activity was led by one of the Eagles’ mother and it was great fun. We went outside with the tables while music was playing, and we all worked for an hour and a half and enjoyed every moment. In the above attached photo is my table. The Eagles’ tables came out great, entirely different from each other and represent their owners very much. The PE classes took place outside (The weather this week was perfect) and the Eagles learned a new game (very similar to “capture the flag”) which included a lot of running and ball throwing.
• “Contract game” – The Eagles carried on with creating their contract and it is nearly complete. This week’s discussions were about the right order of the rules and an attempt to understand whether some rules can be subsumed under other rules. The Eagles attempted to distinguish between the important and the unimportant and to make the contract be meaningful on the one hand, but not too detailed and nagging on the other hand. Next week I shall upload the final contract, and you will be able to see the high level of commitment and responsibility to which the Eagles got completely by themselves.
• Weekly reflection – Every Friday, the Eagles invest half an hour writing reflection on the past week. They must write about at least one activity, in the past week, that was very easy (comfort zone), two activities that were just in right level (challenge zone), and one activity that was too hard for them (panic zone). It was great to see how the Eagles went to take a look at the schedule to remember what they did this week, and their answers were very interesting. Reflection is a complicated thinking skill, and this weekly practice of the Eagles allows them to greatly develop it.
• Running Team Meetings – During the past week, Alden divided the Eagles in the studio into two teams, and a team leader was assigned in every team. I will soon write a post about the role of the leaders in the studio. For now, I will only say that the leaders’ role is to make sure that their teams function well during core skills, and, if need be, assist those who experience difficulties. During Friday’s core skills, every team leader sits with each of his team members to thoroughly go over the past week and analyze it together: Were each day’s goals they set challenging enough? What did and didn’t work in terms of learning strategies? How many points were earned each day and in which assignments? The goal of this meeting is to make sure that the Eagles analyze in depth the learning they’ve accomplished throughout the week and take relevant lessons for further learning. For me, it was amazing to see how a girl in the 5^th grade gives other Eagles feedback in such an accurate and empowering way. These conversations include reverse analysis, lesson learning, encouragement, motivation and even a kick in the butt, if needed. The fact that they are done by a 10 years old girl, is truly inspiring.
• Character Call-Outs –Last week, we did the first circle and every Eagle barely found even one thing to say. In yesterday’s circle, every Eagle said at least three things, and it was wonderful to see how the Eagles that received the feedback, felt empowered. The fact that the circle regularly takes place every Friday, develops their awareness, and naturally directs their attention to kindness and sharing.