Session 2, Week 4
As the weather turned this week, it quickly became apparent which heaters were working and which heaters were not working around the school. For a few days it was pretty darn cold in some parts of the studios! It was awesome to watch the heroes handle the cold. Heroes put on gloves, hats, coats, and blankets (some of their own and some from the lost and found!!) and after a little complaining, just kept on working. Heroes felt the struggle, but didn’t let it stop them in lots of different ways this week.
In the Spark Studio this week one of our activity areas had golf tees, hammers, and pumpkins. The first heroes to the station were reluctant to end their turns. The heroes waiting in line insisted on working out a system to allow everyone an opportunity to participate without waiting too long. Emotions were high as the back and forth between groups went on a while, but no one gave up and eventually they decided to take a vote and came to a resolution.
In our upcycle area one hero became super frustrated as she was one of the last in line to pick materials and stated “all the cool things are gone!” She allowed herself to feel upset about her situation before deciding she still wanted to create something with what she had. As she created, several heroes came over and asked about what she was making. She turned what she considered unexciting materials into a little world that others were interested in.
Whenever a Spark learner completes a challenging goal in Montessori work cycle they are asked what they learned from that challenge. Some answers we hear relate to the actual works: I learned…how to count numbers, how to measure things, all the numbers that make 20. After practicing cursive handwriting one learner said, “I learned that I can learn about a new species of English!”
Other answers relate to the heroes themselves: I learned… that I don’t always get it right the first time, that I have to try again and again, that hard things are actually fun too, that I can do hard math problems, that I can make it harder and harder. One hero said, “My brain worked so hard that I’m sweating”. These heroes are learning to feel the struggle and keep on going!
It is inspiring to see how Spark learners problem solve. Sometimes they need a little more support working things out. The action of asking for support means they recognize the feeling/need for help. When a hero comes to a guide and asks for support (not to do it for them, but to support them) we applaud the feeling they have recognized in themselves.
The Fire Studio enjoyed some lively discussions about the US election process and suffrage, the meaning and act of R-E-S-P-E-C-T, recognizing, communicating and respecting boundaries and the ethics of A.I. in the field of photography competitions. It can be hard when you’re not called on or when you are outvoted, but heroes continue to share their awesome and differing opinions on so many different topics.
Many heroes coasted into Thursday’s Squad Meeting confidently, having achieved their weekly goals and a Green Freedom Level for next week. We love celebrating with heroes as they excitedly share with us how they meet their goals each day! Some heroes were disappointed in missing their goals this week and earning a Yellow Freedom Level. Which level will your hero be in next week? How do they plan to use their time in that Freedom Level this coming week? Do they plan to focus more deeply on a weekly goal they sometimes ignore? Would they like to get ahead in one area? Or will they take a breather and spend more time at EXPLORE stations this week? Green or yellow, we are all still learning and progressing.
In Quest heroes explored the difficult challenge of understanding how electricity is stored and transferred through battery systems. They are working on building efficient and powerful DIY battery systems called Voltaic Piles which can store and transfer electrical energy through simple metal and saline solution soaked materials. These battery systems are then being tested on their voltage power output and their ability to conduct electricity as a reliable source to power led lights.
In the Creator Time they have been devoting their energies to small group skit productions and will be continuing to write and produce and film these creative efforts over the next few weeks.
The DELTA Studio heroes have many different types of week goals. Some week goals like Blender, stop motion, podcast creation and a good book are “more fun” than other goals. Heroes are practicing (and struggling) with the self discipline to work on their highest priorities first, not just what is easiest or more fun. It has been a challenge for many this session. So the heroes experimented with a new idea this week. If they didn’t meet their week goals last week then each day this week they were required to write down their daily goals before Core Skills and come to a daily goals reporting session after Core Skills. I applaud their willingness to continue working on developing such challenging and life long skills!
At CHOICE the heroes begin learning a writing structure in the Fire Studio, that they continue using through the DELTA Studio. Some heroes have it down now. Others – especially those newer to CHOICE – are still struggling. We practiced this structure verbally in pairs this week. It was so fun to see the passion heroes have with important questions like “Should we start celebrating Christmas now or wait till after Thanksgiving?” : )
Does someone have to earn your respect or is there a level of respect that we should grant everyone simply because they are part of the human family? Heroes wrestled with this question before taking a deeper look inside themselves to honestly answer what individuals or groups they tend to be disrespectful to. We recognized this is a universal struggle for all of us. After identifying those individuals or groups, we wrote down how we have become accustomed to viewing them. One hero wisely recognized. “Everyone on my list I view as different than me.” What great insight! To combat our tendencies of treating others with disrespect we practiced looking again [“re = again” “spect = look” ] at these individuals or groups to see how we could view them differently that would result in us treating them differently. I respect these young people who are willing to engage in meaningful, self reflective discussions.
Quest is an area where heroes get to practice feeling the struggling and moving through it on a daily basis! This was a week of progression through those struggles. For example: Some heroes were finally able to identify a Quest that they were truly excited to work on. For some this meant breaking off from friends to work on what they were truly passionate about. It was exciting to watch. The boat group was able to determine that three cylinders on the boat had low compression, the heroes chose to forge ahead by removing the head and attempting a valve job. It was heavy just to lift the head out of the boat!
The motor sub group of the boys’ GoKart team fixed a carburetor issue and has moved on to redesigning the transmission from high torque low speed to high speed.
The frame sub group of the boys GoKart team was ecstatic about their welds this week!
As heroes put on gloves, hats, coats and blankets to combat the cold, I pondered what tools heroes use to combat other struggles. It is awesome to watch them use tools such as a growth mindset, an anti victim (or heroes) mindset, allies and helpers, and sometimes simply grit. Just as the heaters eventually turned on and the heroes warmed up, heroes eventually work through their struggles until they become easy. And at that point, its time for a new struggle to begin. I love this process!!