When you enter Acton Academy, you will find Eagles self-disciplined. They engage in discussions with enthusiasm and respect; they move to Core Skills time, setting goals, getting on their work, and take breaks when necessary; they round up the day with studio maintenance, leaving the studio pristine like it was.

Here’s the most remarkable thing. The guides can disappear, and all above still happens. The best guide is the guide who is not there. The role of the guide is a game maker, and in a learner-driven community, the more they can handover and let the Eagles run the studio—the better. It’s having systems and processes so rooted into all the Eagles that it’s a studio culture. The studio culture is where the magic happens.

I will share in the next eleven blog post about the intricacies of the system. We will first focus on the overview and then go through case scenarios of how the systems get mapped to resolve various issues in the studios. My goal is to empower you (as a parent) to speak in the language of the studio so that you can work together with your child. If your child solves each issue by navigating through the systems and them taking responsibility (and never need to refer back to a Guide/Owner)—Congratulations, you are on an accelerated Hero’s Journey as an Acton Academy parent. Moreover, it’s more fun both ways for both Parent and Child. Your conversations will be collaborative, meaningful, a learning and problem-solving one.

This week, we will start with a visual overview of the systems, with a focus on the Why.

Acton Systems in a Nutshell

We categorize the systems into three broad categories of Hero’s Journey, Community & Governance, & Personal Productivity & Tracking Progress.

Within each broad category, there are core processes and extended processes. One can get bogged down with the different systems (such as Eagle Bucks and Council decisions). But we can take a step back, look at the chart, and ask deeper.

• What is the goal?
• What is the purpose of a particular process?
• Can we take a step back, simplify and focus on the core processes?

You might ask: With all these systems, are we trying to control the Eagles? The answer to that is no. Guides are game makers, and the biggest game out there is the world and life itself. Our aim of Acton Academy is to simulate it close to the real world. The real world is messy, but you can navigate your way by having tools. The real world is full of its beauty and inherent pitfalls. There is no difference in Acton’s systems, albeit being more controlled and civil. Here’s how Acton Academy linked each Acton system to the real world.

Thriving in the real-world with a profound purpose of living: Isn’t that what we want for our children?

Weekly Updates

As per weekly standard, I will share what happened within the three studios each week. While you continue to read the weekly highlights below, read it, and ask: What processes and systems are the Eagles interacting with; Does it connect with the real world equivalent?

Preschool / Spark Studio (PS) Update

It’s an ever exciting work of art to explore how Acton systems work in the Preschool studios. Each Sprint, we focused on one to two things. Sprint 3 (the first Sprint in Jan 2019) is about being on a Hero’s Journey, forming friendships, and having a Schedule, Sprint 4 is the most basic of SMART Goals, Studio Maintenance, and refining the Schedule such that it’s self-led through the hourglass clock; this Sprint—Sprint 5 is a dabble into the Contract system + refining the SMART Goals. We started this week by introducing two new systems.

Let the Eagles’ choose

First, Eagles now have the responsibility to decide what they want to work with for the day during work time. Eagles are more eager to work.

So, how do we encourage Eagles to move to more challenging stations? Here’s the neat trick: the playlist card has categories of point awards—the more challenging ones naturally have higher points.

Sounds complicated? You can apply the same principle to a three-year-old watching YouTube (the #1 digital education tool & also #1 distractor). Let the child decide their playlist on YouTube at the start, commit through it, and stop firmly when the playlist ends. And all parents need to do, is be firm and be curious about the child’s selection (the conversations that firm up connections and visualize thinking into language).

Contracts for 4-year-olds. Really?

Second, we started a Contract System. We wondered how does the Contract system work for a 4-year-old. Writing it down saying “this is the game rules of the studio” is futile. Instead, the PS Guide, Mr. Aaron broke it down to having very few promises for each activity window. He discussed it in scenarios and role plays and found ways to cue using the environment.

Here’s how it looks like in the studio. A flip chart to allow Eagles to hold each other accountable to the promises in the studio. Keeping these promises will earn points for the Eagles. Eagles tried hard to keep the promises that they agreed to. It’s still a long way to a formal contract system that Eagles’ upheld with solemn and sacredness. But it’s a good start.

We also explored PE with Ready, Steady, Go. Most Eagles had a blast. The question, can we round up the parent’s commitment?

Finally, here are more pictures of PS that will continuously amuse all of us. You know why? Deep inside every adult, there is a child 😛

 

Elementary Studio (ES) Update

Eagles are back. Lots of excitement to see their friends! They kicked off with Trust Walk (blindfold game) and reflected on how to help to keep their friends being on track. How does this relate to their Hero’s Journey?

There’s one new significant addition to the studio. The Yacker Tracker. How does it work? With this tool, the studio now has a clear indication of their noise levels and the agreed responsibility of keeping their voices at the appropriate level.

Quest: Ancient Greece

“Close your eyes and imagine being transported to 2000 years ago. What was like back then?”

We enter a new Sprint with the Ancient Greece Quest. Eagles learned about different Greek mythologies, discovered the history of Greek pots and designed their own and researched about Greece and making a map. It was hard work, but the Eagles tackled on it with high spirits.

“I didn’t know that there were so many cities in Ancient Greece.”
“Look at my map! It was hard work!”

The highlight this week is a pottery workshop at Clay Arts Studio. The Eagles designed and decorated their pots. What stories would these pots tell about today’s lives if someone discovered them thousands of years from now?

Birthdays & Special Workshops!

The Eagles had plenty of sweetness from Chelsea’s and Lucas’ birthdays.

Finally, Thank you to our parents Auntie Britt and Auntie Dyani! Auntie Britt, a BodyTalk practitioner, conducted a workshop to empower Eagles with tools to take care of their bodies. Auntie Dyani continued social skills, equipping Eagles on how to cope with insults and aggression. The challenge: How do you respond instead of reacting?

 

Middle Studio (MS) Update

The MS Studio undergo a changeover during the holidays. The studio is being resetted, Marie Kondo-style. We want to keep the environment pristine. Naturally, this became the key topic in the first town hall this Sprint; Eagles lost lots of Eagle Bucks with the changes in the studio. The Eagles worked out the details and set the standard. The discussion went as far as drawing out how much tolerance made sense. Some Eagles had resistance. But as they worked through the new environment over time, they appreciated the healthier and more productive dynamics.

“Having everyone in the same room is better than expected. I thought it was going to be noisy, but it is better as everyone can see everyone doing work.”

Taking Responsibility

On Wednesday, the Eagles went through the Anti-responsibility list and reflected their recent challenges.

1. Blaming others
2. Rationalizing or justifying
3. Making excuses
4. Minimizing or trivializing [mistakes]
5. Hiding
6. Covering up
7. Fleeing from responsibility
8. Abandoning responsibility
9. Denying or lying
10. Rebelling
11. Complaining and murmuring
12. Finding fault and getting angry
13. Making demands and entitlements
14. Doubting, losing hope, giving up, and quitting
15. Indulging in self-pity and a victim ­mentality
16. Being indecisive
17. Procrastinating
18. Allowing fear to rule
19. Enabling

The Eagles chose the top 3 items that their studio would work to reduce:

1. Procrastination
2. Doubting, losing hope, giving up, and quitting
3. Making excuses

Here’s the surprise: Few Eagles admitted to giving up and quitting. Last Sprint’s Physics Quest, some Eagles gave up early in the game. Later, they realized during reflection in the morning of the Exhibition day that their task was pretty simple and doable.

Quest: Art + Creativity

The Eagles engaged in another world of Art & Creativity. They explored creating art through alternative methods (like blindfolding). And the Eagles were in for a special treat from our fellow neighbor, Uncle Stan! Besides giving the Eagles a sketching workshop. Here is some golden advice from Uncle Stan.

When asked what his best piece of art is:
“My best piece is my next art piece.”
“Artist never retires; we love to draw.”

The Eagles were inspired and literally surfed with him at his home. They commented: “Uncle Stan has an unbelievable amount of passion. He knows it and is living it on a day to day basis.”

 

Random Surprise

On Thursday, we had a bee swarm in ActonKL’s gardens. It lasted for a few hours, and they gave us some neat piece of a structure as a souvenir.

The most successful animals have effective systems to survive and thrive. Can you spot the patterns (and bring it to your daily lives)? That’s the challenge and the magic of Acton Academy’s learner-driven model.