This Sprint is a limbo Sprint. Usually, there are six weeks to a Sprint. It’s fair to say that Malaysia has plenty of Public Holidays—among the highest in the world. But with the Election week and two overnight trips, there was 20% less time. 23 days versus an average of 29 weekdays.
Marine Science is as vast as our oceans—broad and infinitely deep. A single marine animal feature, like the dolphin’s intelligence, takes researchers decades of work. But the Eagles had only a fraction of their time. Our Eagles touched the oceans, coral reefs, shallow seas, deep seas, marine life and their chosen research topic. They were merely scratching the surface of the world of Marine Science in the 5+ weeks. At the end of every Sprint, the Eagles put on an Exhibition. They had to hack their way as Marine Science experts in a short span of time.
The Elementary School (ES) Eagles showcased their knowledge through both exhibitions presentation and journals. The Middle School (MS) Eagles had to dive deeper. Like entering the depth of the seas, there is more pressure.
Also, Ms. Caryn, our beloved ES Guide, was away from the ES studios from Wednesday. I (Jia Hong) was the replacement Guide. It’s always a pleasure to be with the Eagles. Fun, exciting, and always a learning experience. And it was a week filled with dramatic colors!
Ice Skating Motivation
There was plenty to do for an Exhibition. Speech, setups, booths, posters, journals, and so on. The Eagles discussed early in the week: what it takes to motivate them. They mooted for what was most dear—ice skating. They challenged themselves on high-stakes. Individual Eagles worked hard. Many helped each other. Their presentations were becoming smooth, the booths were becoming well decorated, and their ideas were coming together.
Alas, few Eagles were not ready. Group consequences are tough. Individuals who worked extremely hard with the aspiration of the juicy carrot will find disappointment when their groupmates don’t put in the same effort. It feels unfair. It feels unjust. It feels like one should blame the lazy groupmate. On the contrary, group rewards are much celebrated. Take event-triggered public holidays, like the 1992 Thomas Cup or 2010 AFF Cup. The beautiful thing is that intense emotions make great discussion topics. Discussions on motivation, on loss aversion, and on living as a community of individuals. Over time, better solutions will emerge through understanding and reflection.
Eagles were disappointed. But they made use of the extra time to practice and improve their work further. Eagles who had half-made presentation board got help. Eagles who had no scripts started writing. Eagles who had no decorations on their booth also put in work. Eagles who were ready still did a few things to improve. The Marine Science Exhibition has one distinct difference. All exhibits are individual (the previous four exhibitions this academic year were either pairs or groups). It was transparent if an Eagle worked hard. It was transparent if there were no journals, no fully-prepared posters, or half-baked presentation. There was no hiding. The intrinsic motivation of a public exhibition still triumphs over their ice skating, an extrinsic motivation.
Look at the bright side Eagles; you get to ice-skate with Ms. Caryn! 
MS stumbling along
Meanwhile, MS Eagles were pushing themselves hard through work, eating, and more work. They were rushing through their deadlines both for the exhibition and research paper.
Does it remind you of your college years, the day before thesis submission?
Friday Exhibition
What made a good exhibition?
“When we actually learn something”
“When we challenge ourselves.”
It was not merely success. It was stretching themselves. All the ES Eagles decided, they were going to do their exhibition without reading any scripts. That was the challenge they gave themselves. They also committed to smooth transitions.
The Exhibition started with Sufyan and Arjun introducing the Eagles. Then, each Eagle gave an elevator pitch. Just a mere 20 seconds to 1 minute, to attract the audience to their booths. Almost every Eagle expressed themselves naturally. Even the youngest ones held their words smoothly, convincing the crowd to come to their booth. They used rhetoric artfully. No sign of nervousness, fear, and no sign of pauses and hiccups. Just pure speak.
They were working hard to attract the audience to their booths. You just got to admire their hard work and attention to detail.
Next, it was the MS Eagles presentations. Their requirement: present a three-minute presentation and showcased their booth and research paper. It was challenging because of the limited time frame.
Many completed their research paper only the night before, and the display booth immediately after. Some were printing their research papers an hour before the exhibition. It was a frantic situation. No technical test, limited dry-runs, and no backup plans. From Murphy’s law point-of-view, they were set to fail.
But they showed up. They muddle through. One Eagle had problems with casting his presentations to the TV. You could feel the frustration in his voice. He sighed “aih” as he restarted his presentation. It was the third attempt. The crowd laughed with relief. It’s the real world. Better struggle now and learn how to cope in the storm, than to wait on a major one, like a scholarship interview. He coped with it and ended with an applause of encouragement.
The real meat of the MS Eagles work was their research papers. Here are some examples: Andre’s, Edison’s & Katelynn’s.
Next, the Eagles went to their presentation booths. They gave detailed presentations, and the audience drilled deeper into their knowledge. It was fun to hear about stories of dolphins, turtles, and penguins. Then, there was the bizarre and exotic marine life. Gulper eels, anglerfish, dragonfish, Spanish dancer, vampire squid, immortal jellyfish… the list goes on.
The audience (mostly parents) listened carefully and explored their curiosity with the Eagles. They asked questions, dived deeper to learn more. They also paid attention to their interests, and how the Eagles made the decision and preparation for their choice of exhibits.
The exhibition ended with a team clean-up. No clean-up, no lunch. There was the magic of working together.
It seems like the goal of the exhibition is one where Eagles exhibit and parents judge. The reality is that parents and Eagles learn together, within a learner-driven community.
See you in the next exhibitions! There’s an Entrepreneurship Quest Exhibition on 25 July and the Children’s Business Fair on 5 August 2018!
A Colorful Birthday Celebration
Apsie turned 10. Her parents celebrated with stories and a huge cake!
The Exhibition week was dramatically colorful, much like the cake. It’s memorable and tasty!
I will end this post with what the Eagles had taught me in a short 3 days serving them. We had few other events that were a wild ride. But Eagles faced the day with joy and gratitude. It really surprised me. Here’s a fun attempt, dedicated to them:
Eagles paint fast.
They forgive fast.
They have more gratitude
because their colors switch attitude,
towards kindness and love,
and always more connected to the dove.
I (the adult) leave the paints lying around.
Paints become dull and then bitter.
That bitterness becomes judgement—wither.
Now, I rather choose to be surprised.
Better live the present, swiftly changing color—wise.
The best teacher is always from those with the freshest eyes.
Unschooled, like the Eagles.
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