This week, as usual, I will start with sharing more about Acton Academy’s Learning Design before the weekly updates. We are now on the 7th post in “curriculum,” moving to the next stage of the Pyramid: Integration. This week, I will focus specifically on Civilization.
What’s Civilization?
From Laura’s post, by an anonymous Eagle in Austin:
“There are a few things my parents need to understand about civilization at Acton.
First of all, civilization just means history. We call it civilization because it involves more than just what happened a long time ago. We learn about the successes and failures of past civilizations (whether Greek, Roman, or American) and apply what we see to the civilizations we belong to today (whether the United States, Texas, Austin, or Acton Academy).
Second, we do learn about history. We don’t spend hours (or even minutes) memorizing timelines or facts, so we may not be able to tell you who signed the Declaration of Independence fifth and at what time he signed it, but we can tell you what it must have taken for him to pick up the pen and sign his name. And, whether it’s easier or harder for us to sign the Acton governing documents than it was for him to sign that Declaration. And, whether or not we – as individuals – would have signed it and why. And, whether it was a mistake to give up negotiations with the king of England. And, finally, whether that moment was one of the most influential ones in history. Those are the kind of questions we wrestle with during Civilization.
Civilization works like this: Every Tuesday and Thursday, we are assigned prep work for a certain topic (for example, “Hitler’s Rise to Power”). We are typically given one to five online resources (such as articles or videos) and asked to find a few of our own as well. After researching, we write 100 to 250 words on a question related to the topic (for the Hitler topic, we wrote on “Was Hitler evil or not?”). Then we “circle up” to either watch a longer video on the topic and then discuss it or simply jump right into the discussion.
The discussion leaders (volunteer Eagles) usually select from the questions provided on the Points Tracker, although they have the option to write their own. During these discussions we dig deeply into what happened, but more importantly, why it happened, the consequences, and what it means for us today. We close by discussing what we learned or how this topic will impact our future decisions.
We alternate topics every year. If we do American history one year, we’ll focus on World history the next, then American, and so on. [The elementary studio Eagles have a three-year rotation through Ancient History, the Middle Ages and Early Modern History. They also do American History experiences each year and learn cartography and geography with each era.]
This year our focus was on American history. Through a deep exploration of our country’s past, I learned that sometimes motivations and results don’t always line up. A lot of kids today are taught about the colonists’ brave struggle for freedom from King George’s tyranny, but, in reality, it is a lot more complicated than that. Most people in the colonies didn’t want a new country created. But somehow, through the chaos and confusion created by the revolutionaries, the United States was born. It’s incredible to me how something amazing can come from such turmoil. And that’s just one example of how any event is always more than it seems at first.
We may not get all of the nitty gritty details of everything that ever happened under the sun, but we learn enough to grasp the major ideas and apply them to our lives.
And isn’t that what learning history is all about?”
How does it differ in ActonKL?
There’s no Civilization in Preschool studio, except occasional stories from books and Circle Time discussions.
In Elementary Studio, we use the same approach as Austin. We go through the “Story of the World” series. Sometimes, we include discussions to the Malaysian context. Who forgets May 9th, 2018?
In the Middle School, we adopt Civilization from Austin. Here are two discussions that the Eagles did this week: Prince Henry the Navigator and Distortions in the Mapmaker’s Craft, as part of the topic of Tracing Goods through History. They are 100% Eagle-led. Sometimes, Guides read their work out of enjoyment and curiosity 😛
Malaysia History
ActonKL will develop a Civilization based on Malaysian history and context over time. It will not be about facts: Malacca was invaded and captured by the Portuguese and Dutch in 1511, and 1641 respectively. Instead, it’s asking many questions pertinent to identity and the rise (and setbacks) of Malaysia journey. It will be about standing in the shoes of the decision maker at that time. For example, what questions did Tun Razak and his associates ask when they dealt with negotiations, conflict of interests, and even a possible break-off of Sabah state from Malaysia, to form Petronas? Why did he hold specific meetings in secret? Would you use similar strategies today in the digital age?
In the end, the #1 goal is clear thinking (remember our Learning Philosophy). The #2 goal is an appreciation of the world and people around us. If an Eagle recalls some trivial facts like 1511, 1641, 1824, 1957; that’s a bonus.
Weekly Update
It’s another week, filled with Physics fun (and sweat) for all the three studios. Yes, including the youngest Spark (Preschool or PS) studio!
Spark (PS) Studio
The young Eagles are growing further. They learned that failure is OK, kept each other accountable, and expanded their outdoor play routine.
Failure is OK
The PS studio ebb and flows. There were days where every Eagle wanted to rest, and there were days where all of them were pumped up for work. The challenge is usually working time; some struggle to self regulate, focus, and be self-driven. One resistance is dealing with failure. There were moments of insights as some were surprised that mistakes are OK at Acton Academy:
“Oh, it’s OK to fail here and try again?”
Holding Each other Accountable
The hardest thing to do in the self-governing studio is to hold each other accountable. It’s not necessarily the oldest Eagle who will initiate. Aarav (often the most explorative) took toys out to play after snack time. Ari (among they youngest Eagle) reminded him that play time is only after lunch. The rest chimed in, Aarav smiled and placed the toys back on the shelf.
Outdoor Play ++
Last week, we saw the introduction of wooden outdoor blocks and planks. They built bridges. This week, the Eagles expanded into seesaws and slides (almost). Perhaps they are inspired by the older Eagles in their Physics Quest, or is it just out of curiosity that every child has—to explore with the things around them? They are learning about ratios, the center of gravity, levers, and many key principles of Newtonian Physics while playing.
There is still more room to grow. One Eagle asked the Guide, Mr. Aaron: “Can you help us build a house?”
The Guide stood back and trusted that the Eagles would find a solution.
It is a mini-community even at the Preschool. And cheers to that!
Elementary Studio (ES)
The ES Eagles got more involved in Physics with their Newton’s Toy Quest. They explored ways of resisting gravity through buoyancy and elasticity and applied those lessons in the egg drop challenge. Also, they dug deep into Science fiction and ended the Friday with the EB Store!
Resisting gravity: Buoyancy
The ES Eagles kicked off the week with Buoyancy Challenge. They put on the hat of aspiring toy designers and learned all about why boats float and why rocks sink. Buoyancy and displacement are not easy concepts to understand but when they got it, EUREKA!
Using their research findings, Eagles built their rafts using straws and popsicle sticks. How many coins can a raft hold?
“Ahhhh I shouldn’t have used tape. The stickiness dissolves in water.”
“Now I know! We need to make our raft better so it can displace more water and float more.”
“Our boat needs more buoyancy. It’s sinking!! Only four coins?!”
Resisting gravity – Elasticity
Next up is elasticity!
Eagles made rubber band ropes, predicted and tested its elasticity by measuring how much they stretch with increasing weight. The younger Eagles learned how to measure accurately using rulers and measuring tapes too.
Egg drop contest
Now, it’s time to put their knowledge to the test—time for the Egg Drop Challenge. The mission: create your best safety net to protect the precious egg.
The studio was buzzing with creative juices! Brainstorming, prototyping, testing, and rebuilding. The result: ten different types of safety nets using different sized rubber bands and paper clips.
Then, it’s test time. The Eagles dropped eggs from different heights. Cracks or safe landing? After several rounds, we had a winner!
Writers’ Workshop
A new Sprint and a new Genre. Eagles will be writing a science fiction story this sprint. Excitement abounds as they imagined a world of Cyborgs, aliens, time travel, outer space, science and technology to change the world.
Eagle Buck (EB) Store
The long-awaited EB Store was finally open! The Eagles had been pushing hard. After the hard work from the past weeks, it is time to reward themselves. There was much enjoyment, and also mini-lessons for some.
“I only have 3EB. I will save up so I can get something I really want.”
“Yayyy, I have worked so hard!”
“Best day ever.”
Dr. Ewe Special Sharing
Many ES Eagles asked, “Dr. Ewe, what happened to your neck?”
So, Dr. Ewe decided to share about the operation he went through (a metal bar is being placed onto his neck), and the challenges of working post-operation. There was a strange tinge of realization that “I better watch my posture and back.”
Middle Studio (MS)
Tough Physics Problems
Here is a seemingly simple problem, called the Ball-Ramp-Cup challenge. You have to work out where to place Dr. Ewe’s daily coffee cup to catch the marble ball when it falls off the table when released from a ramp at any given height.
The first step in any problem solving: understand the problem.
The challenge had three distinct parts: sliding down the ramp, moving flat on the rail, and dropping into the coffee cup. Each needed its balancing Newtonian equation. It’s a marriage of theory and hands-on activity to validate the results.
It was truly challenging. It was the first time for all the Eagles to tackle Physics question as such, and they showed their best effort to follow through the physics concepts and the mind-boggling maths.
“Team, I got the answer.”
That was the moment when a handful of Eagles who saw the light at the end of the tunnel when they linked Laws of Energy conservation, Newton’s first law (of inertia), and the Kinematics Equations. These Eagles then did their best also to share and validate their understanding by explaining to the other Eagles.
This experiment still needed more tweaks to fine tune before the Eggzibition. So stay tuned!
Sci-fi RPG Genre
The Eagles have started to work on the world setting in their sci-fi RPG genre. They created an imaginary world setting that’s detailed, filled with flora and fauna. This world is where they will create an immersive and enjoyable story in the next five weeks.
But how do you do it with a team of a dozen Eagles? They started with individualized territories. Then, they laid them together and harmonized the world through a series of critiques and edits. The process was deliberate: they practiced Growth Mindset critiques for their efforts while respecting each other’s creation. Are you ready to enter into their world?
One thing’s for sure. The Eagles’ Physics experience beat the Physics lectures I had in University (which looked almost like the picture below):
