Session 2, Week 1
Last year the DELTA heroes were given a survival scenario where they were on a hike and dangerous lightning and wind arose. The heroes were asked what they would do. It was fascinating to listen to many heroes who said they wouldn’t turn around because that would be giving up and they don’t give up. Would giving up and turning back have been the wisest decision in that scenario? Very likely. Other times we watch heroes give up because they are choosing to be lazy or not resilient; they later regret that decision. Fast forward to this summer and I was listening to a podcast that one of our CHOICE parents was a guest on. The podcast topic was the Hero’s Journey. Our CHOICE parent discussed how sometimes on our journeys we pivot because we decide that is the best option for our journey – not because we are giving up. His podcast inspired this session’s question: Is it OK to quit? I look forward to exploring and grappling with this session question both in my own life and with the heroes. Along with a new session question, heroes were introduced to new quests and new studio focuses this week.
The Spark Studio had so much fun launching the session with a candlelit discussion. Inspired by Edison’s invention of the light bulb and his quote: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Sparks were pretty split in their discussion on whether it was ok to quit or not.
As I observed them working this week I noticed they amped up their commitment to working hard. Montessori work cycle was filled with dedicated learners. Studio maintenance was some of the best we ever had.
One of the highlights this week was a field trip to one of the learner’s garden. This learner’s Fire Studio sibling planned out an obstacle course, a scavenger hunt, and additional activities for the Sparks to do. They learned about a variety of plants, edible and not.
Our new focus for our CHOICE work cycle is Edison’s lab. We focused on energy this week. We explored kinetic energy with items from around the studio.
The launch heroes seemed the most interested in was learning about heat energy with hot air balloons. During CHOICE work cycle we saw many air balloon creations and experiments.
At the end of the week we felt like each learner walked away with new ideas of what passions are worth their time and what things are OK to pivot away from. We can’t wait for next week’s discussions!
During core skills, the Fire Studio heroes encounter many opportunities to quit each day. But as allies and helpers, they encourage each other to avoid the QUIT and lean into GRIT (the mixture of passion and perseverance found in successful people). The Fire Studio even began a daily practice of Grit this week! These 3 minutes of doing something hard each day (which will continue through the year), gives heroes an optional chance to build their resilience to keep going through physically hard things.
However, this session will also be an opportunity to discuss whether, in some circumstances, quitting is the better thing to do in order to focus on something else. I have overheard heroes contemplating that question aloud as they have discovered the “question of the session” on the wall. I look forward to what comments will emerge in Socratic Discussions this session.
The beginning of Session 2 also introduced new studio groups, new squad groups, new running partners and new EXPLORE tables! Currently there is a Nature table, Chemistry exploration, a reading game, US geography exploration, Coding and Duolingo – with more on the way!
During Quest we launched the Edison Quest in the Fire Studio. It is a 6 week quest which explores the life and contributions of Thomas Edison and introduces the heroes to various forms of potential/unused energy being converted into kinetic/applied energy.
Two Edison quotes motivating the inspirations in the Quest Lab:
“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
“There are no rules here …we are trying to accomplish something.”
This first week had the heroes tackling the challenge of building water wheels made from common household items and some inventive strategies. The objective for week 1 was exploring the basic process of converting water into energy …these efforts will be further explored next week as they will be challenged to turn their water wheels into useful tools converting the energy into pulley systems and then connecting them to motors and harnessing the power to generate electricity!
The heroes dug in and took full mantle of their inventing and innovating roles as scientists on a quest to discover and explore!
The DELTA Studio’s focus this session is on excellence. They were introduced to the idea through card stacking. Turns out every card has to be placed excellently if you want to build a tall, tall tower!
The DS heroes will examine excellence in many different aspects of their studio. This week they examined excellence in their Core Skills. What did we find: there has been amazing focus on ex works (shoe design, stop motion, blender) and perhaps some avoidance of math, writing, reading etc. – we could call this Mr. Resistance. To overcome Mr. Resistance, we are experimenting with actually using the various methods of planning they were introduced to at the beginning of the year and adding in daily accountability with your Running Partner. We also found that we needed a discussion on what “collaboration” actually means (goofing around, playing games, or quietly working together and helping one another). Heroes were invited to choose which they needed more of to make their Core Skills time more excellent: More respect? (As evidenced by not dragging others down with you into distraction or moving to a different area if you need to be loud) or More courage? (As evidenced by asking a fellow traveler to step out for a minute if they are being distracting)
Performance Time was introduced to the DELTA Studio this week. They self selected into three different groups: a band group, a mockumentary group, and a sketch comedy group. Each week for Performance Time we will begin with an improv game and then heroes will split into their groups to plan and practice. During Session 6 parents will be invited to a Performance Night where you will get to experience the heroes final productions! Stepping out of our comfort zones is awesome!
Heroes went to the park to play soccer for P.E. this week. Heroes self selected into two groups: Beginner soccer players & non beginner soccer players. There was some hesitation at first from the beginning soccer group. However, it was so fun to watch them come alive and enjoy the experience so much more than they thought they would. Stepping out of our comfort zones is awesome!
I had two favorite Quest moments this week. One was watching a hero who has been pretty unengaged in Quest up to this point, find a quest that he is passionate about – nature photography – and change from unengaged to totally in flow and even wanting to do it at home. My other favorite moment was walking past a group of boys huddled around a motor and then being startled as they erupted into loud cheers. When I asked the cause, they excitedly began explaining to me how they discovered what was wrong with their engine. I would tell you, but they know so much more than I, I didn’t really understand : ) It is inspiring to watch young people engaged in meaningful work.
The DELTA heroes are split into two groups for Civ. “9th graders” and “everyone else”. For communication purposes we call the “9th graders” civ, World Geography, and “everyone else’s” civ, Civ.
During World Geography this week one of the heroes who was losing her voice invited the others to work on coming up with ways to get clean water to disaster victims and get nutrition to chronically malnourished people in the world. They had some creative ideas. They also agreed that they want to volunteer at the local food pantry if possible. Two of the heroes agreed to inquire about it and arrange it if possible. They thought it would be the best way to understand what is needed before they organize a food drive.
During Civ this week, heroes discussed “Whether it was better for ancient civilizations to dominate or trade with their neighbors? and “Whether it’s ok to remove statues or monuments from the past because you don’t approve of something the person being remembered did?” It is so fun to hear the excitement and passion in their Civ discussions! Sometimes it sounds like a sporting event! After the discussion, heroes worked on their Egyptian death masks and checked on the progress of their mummified apples.
I love the first week of a new session. I love recognizing how much I missed the heroes over the break. I love watching heroes discover the new Quest. I love discussing a new question… Is it OK to quit? I have such mixed feelings on that question – that’s what makes it such a great Socratic question! But assuredly, we are not quitting the things that matter most around here: Young people working hard – and sometimes not working hard – on meaningful work while learning life lessons and having a blast doing it! Welcome to Session 2!