Session 1, Week 3
All systems go! A statement made popular in the 1960s when referring to missiles and other vehicles launching into space. It has now come to mean a state of readiness for immediate action. CHOICE is full of systems. Systems which allow the heroes to create and maintain the learning environment they desire. It takes time to brainstorm and decide upon many systems, but a smoothly running, ready for action, learner driven environment, is worth that investment of time. Three weeks into the new year, the heroes are fully immersed in creating and practicing their systems – and still having a blast!
In the Spark Studio there are many concrete systems that the heroes are embracing. For example, before we go inside, the spark heroes clean up all the materials. Each House (squad) has one section of materials to gather. When heroes feel called to help out with another section, they take on the call to pitch in.
During the CHOICE work cycle, heroes look forward to tackling Dumbledore’s challenges.
As our days play out at school, the heroes are noticing things we could improve. They discuss how to best address it, and vote on promises to make our community flourish.
In the spark studio we have a small tool box full of things the heroes can use to fix things. For physical wounds, it has Band-Aids. For emotional wounds, it has a hero made, “I Can Calm” book, and for disagreements there is an “I statement” template.
The Spark Studio also has many systems that are not concrete, step by step systems. For example, the system for building our tribe is our biggest focus this session. We practiced working toward a common goal this week as heroes played a game of human pretzel and worked to untangle themselves. 
Heroes also practiced building their tribe as they work hard to clean up a mess they made. The task was hard and time consuming, but these heroes worked together and supported each other – the love of community was strong.
The system of learning in a Montessori style. The heroes are continually curious about the Montessori works. They have been working hard to find the balance between working individually and collaboratively. They are learning what kind of environment helps them to be most successful.
The system of being an ally on our Hero’s Journeys. This week, Heroes from the Fire Studio came to listen to Sparks practice their reading skills. We’ve also had wonderful support from CHOICE parents. Discovering who your mentors and allies are, is a beautiful process. The Sparks are learning how to be mentored to, and then in turn, to mentor others.
The older the heroes get, the more freedoms they experience, and the more systems they create for themselves. In the Fire Studio, heroes have spent a lot of time creating and completing their Rules of Engagement – the system of rules and consequences that guides their discussions. The Fire Studio is now moving on to create their Contract of Promises. What should individual/silent Core Skills look like and sound like? What types of behaviors should happen inside the studio vs outside? What is the best way to hold each other accountable to our promises? These are only some of the questions the heroes wrestle with as they work to create the system of promises and related consequences that they will make to one another to guide their entire studio.
Heroes are getting more and more familiar with Journey Tracker and its system of badges, challenges and goal setting. While the computer can be a significant road of trials for some, there is also great satisfaction as heroes figure it out. It has been helpful for heroes to understand where challenges are housed in Journey Tracker (either in a badge or on the Weekly Tracking calendar) so that they can go back to finish a challenge if they need more time. We are looking forward to practicing our system of weekly goal setting in Journey Tracker with our parents!
Heroes are figuring out and enjoying the system of Individual/Silent Core Skills. Heroes are finding if they use the system it can be a great time of focus, concentration and productivity.
Fire Studio heroes are also using their system of conflict resolution – The Resolution Room. As a hero told her parent about a significant altercation she had with a fellow traveler, before the parent could ask what she was going to do to remedy the situation, the hero volunteered “So we had a Resolution Room after school together and now we feel so much better.” It is beautiful to watch young people use systems to help themselves. Ask your hero about the Resolution Room system. Even better, when conflict arises at home, do a Resolution Room together!!
During quest this week, the Fire Studio continued building their Tribe and learning to communicate. The Lip Dub plays a strong roll in both of these endeavors. Heroes break into their 4 houses for smaller group planning and then collaborate as a whole for the finale. It is due at the end of next week, so they will enjoy one more week of practice and filming!
Heroes learned another watercolor skill – color mixing. The variety of colors created was beautiful. Heroes also learned how to hold and use the angled tip on Calligraphy pens. Some heroes continued practicing this calligraphy skill all the next day – little did they realize they were also practicing the skill of intense focus!
The Studio Maintenance system is a monumental system to create each year. Deciding what “clean” looks like, who will do what task, how tasks will rotate, and how heroes will hold one another accountable is no small feat. The Fire Studio has been working hard at cleaning and fine tuning that system these first three weeks. You should see their studio before and after Studio Maintenance each day – it is no small miracle!
In the DELTA Studio there are some systems that stay pretty constant – Civ for example. Heroes do research, answer a Socratic question in paragraph form, participate in a Socratic discussion and then enjoy a hands-on challenge that brings history to life! This week heroes worked all through Civ and most of their lunch (totally by choice) finishing their funicular trains. It was so fun to see how engaged they all were!
Other systems adjust and change every year. For example, the heroes voted for consequences for their Rules of Engagement that no one has tried before. The first strike heroes receive = 8 push-ups (of whatever variety is a challenge for them). The second strike = a job from the “Extra Studio Maintenance Jobs” jar. The third strike = being asked out of discussion. Strikes will re-set each day. It is fun to watch the heroes brainstorm and experiment. They still have much to do in creating their other contract systems.
Quests have both stayed constant and have changed each year. Quests are one “system” of group learning, focused around particular topics that give the heroes scheduled time each day to dive into topics they may or may not yet be interested in and to practice different writing styles and skills. This year in quest we’ll be exploring such topics as electricity, fundraising, entrepreneurship, Communism, the legal system, disease, medical research, trip planning, and career fields. And we will be writing in persuasive, informative, narrative, and descriptive ways. It’s a system that provides novelty each session, but consistency in daily challenges and work time.
Tribe building is an ongoing, but not clearly defined system; one that needs continual nourishment during the DELTA Studio years. This week we laughed hysterically during the Caterpillar challenge, practiced group decision making and patience during the Marshmallow Tower challenge, and watched our Film Festival (lib dup) challenge start to come together. (We only have 1 more week till it must be submitted!)
No doubt the best tribe building this week came from the Shakespeare Festival. The ride down on the “Cow fart” bus was truly epic. It was so fun to be all together! And the timing of the break down couldn’t have been any better! It gave us the opportunity to practice doing hard things (walking a half mile uphill with ALL of our stuff) and keeping a positive attitude when things don’t go as planned – but we also didn’t miss out on anything we wanted to do. We couldn’t have planned it any better than that!!
Being away from parents, yet in a safe environment gave heroes a chance to practice decision making; risk management with climbing walls, crossing streets, choosing movies, going to bed vs staying up etc.
Early in the nights we had games such as cup stacking, mafia and dinosaur…
As the night/morning wore on, heroes choose between or rotated between the three movies they put on in different rooms…
Heroes enjoyed the plays to varying degrees, but all had an experience with Shakespeare – and an experience that they won’t soon forget!
Heroes have worked hard these first three weeks to create and learn their systems. There is still system work to be done, we are not yet “all systems go.” But we have made tremendous progress and are set up for a beautiful launch for the new year!!