Mid-way point in a Sprint. And things get tougher, complicated and more demanding in every way. Also, we are in the 8th post about Learning Design. Last week, we covered the first part of integration: Civilization. This week, we move to the next one: Apprenticeships. Both Civilization and Apprenticeships are the more unique learning components of Acton Academy.

Simply put, being an Apprentice means on a servant path to mastery. It’s the model that builds discipline and skill, through a real-life working mentor doing actual work. In the olden days, this would mean staying with the working adult or at least spend a substantial amount of time. Then, towards the modern age, this seemed to die down, with the preference towards tertiary education. The internship became the model. The connotation of child labor did not help.

All employer today complains about staffing millennials (or even the Generation Y that came before). Lack of responsibility, lack of common sense, and lack of doing the hard work. Except for the most selective employers who can whip the cream of the cream through lengthy selection and onboarding process. Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Google. But they too complain. That worker who is as trustworthy and dependable as Colonel Rowan in the Message of Garcia is rare.

The goal of Acton Academy is precisely to hone those attitudes of Colonel Rowan. The Eagles start that as young as 10-years-old, with just 20-hours of apprenticeship. Their hours multiplies every year and will mimic a University level internship by Launchpad.

So, how do Eagles find an apprenticeship? Acton Academy does not place them. Instead, the Eagles look for it themselves. They follow through a time-tested process:

Digging deeply into your gifts, activities that bring you joy and deep burning needs in the world to create a prioritized list of apprenticeship possibilities.
Writing a compelling introductory email to a business owner you see as a hero or role model, asking for a short phone call to explain the Acton apprenticeship model.
Crafting a phone pitch explaining how apprenticeships work, including a promise to show up early, work late and do whatever it takes to add real value, and asking for a chance to meet in person.
Creating an in-person pitch, where you ask for a chance to prove yourself.
Learning to manage a portfolio of apprenticeship possibilities, just in case your first choice runs into logistical problems.
Negotiating a contract with your employer and parents to make sure goals and promises are clear.
Having a plan to add value in the first few days and a way to capture the lessons you learn.
Following up with thank you letters and a request for a reference letter.

In our first year of apprenticeships in June 2017, we were not sure if this was all possible. But the Eagles proved otherwise with a 100% hit rate, and they grew & mature during this process. It was not an easy journey for some of them. One had nine rejections before landing an offer. Another had a 90-minute-long interview with two senior staff, asking questions such as “what are your weaknesses?” Over the next year, the Eagles did the same and with 40-hours of work. Some even went on with 100+ hour of work.

F&B & Customer service: pastry kitchen, burger kitchens, cat cafes, pet shop
People: childcare centers, cafes
Industry: Metalwork workshops, industrial design, recording studios, software startups

Most tried the cold calling or writing directly to the employers, while few used the internal network, such as an Acton Academy parents’ business. That’s not cheating; it’s resourceful!

An 18-year-old Launchpad graduate will have 8-9 apprenticeships, and real-life exposure to at least 20 to 30 people working. It is because of their cumulative experience; we are confident that Eagles can work backward what’s needed to find their callings, and aim confidently to a direction that is meaningful to them. When that happens, expect them to form the notion of sacrifice (in the form of noble work), and become a wanted individual.

Civilization is one long anxious search for just such individuals. Anything such a man asks will be granted; his kind is so rare that no employer can afford to let him go. He is wanted in every city, town, and village – in every office, shop, store, and factory. The world cries out for such; he is needed, and needed badly—the man who can Carry a message to Garcia.

Studio Updates

This week is a busy week. But it was a tough one for some, and fun for most!

Spark / Preschool Studio (PS)

The outdoor area has further upgrades. Tires, stumps, and a cute homemade slide. They started building pirate ships! And the mini pirates interacted with each other, negotiating their turfs in the ActonKL seas.

Approaching another pirate base. Caution!

While pirates are resourceful, they also fight and take from each other. Especially when it is a situation of limited resources. And this happened exactly! The boys and girls took turns to negotiate, but at the same time, they took each other’s resources. A smaller group of girls tried to make peace, but the other girls did not support them. Quickly, they realized there are better games to play and moved on. But it’s a lesson of dilemma through play. Should you trust the other party and give away, risking a possible “being taken advantage of,” or play “give and take”? Or worse still, engage in a frenzy taking mission?

Different ways of being on a boat. Different modes of negotiation.

The pirates had a lower engagement this week in their work. We suspect that the haze had played a part. Or maybe being a pirate makes you more laid back. Or it’s just part of life at Acton, where there are ups and downs. We will see next week.

Elementary Studio (ES)

The ES Eagles powered their way with catapults and simple machines and ended the week with compound machines. Also, they formed book clubs, and wrote old letters, and had a round of personal maintenance.

Newton Toys (Physics) Quest: Simple Machines→Catapults→Compound machines

In this week’s Newton Toys (Physics) Quest, the ES Eagles explored Simple Machines. Pulley, lever, wedge, inclined plane, screw, wheel, and axle. Eagles learned all about simple machines through building a catapult by themselves under the guidance by Mr. Mani & Mr. Mervin from Super Brain Bridge. They measured, sawed, cut, hammered, sand-wood, prototyped using real woodworking tools! It was a lot of work and fun! For many of them, it was their first time playing with these tools.

Catapult is finally ready!

Catapult war-time using pine cones in the garden.

“Let’s form two armies.”
“Look at our bullets—pine cones from the garden!”
“Who can shoot furthest?”

On Friday, the Eagles ended the week with a bang! They put together the knowledge and skills from the last four days, to build a compound machine. They brainstormed and got to work immediately. Candy dispenser, ball dispenser, basketball game sets were among the ideas discussed. But many faced frustration and struggled in the beginning. Some discovered that it was well worth it when their machine finally worked!

“Yes! We did it despite the beginning being so difficult!”
“Team, how can we make the ball hit the bull’s eye?”

If you would like to know the outcome and all the Eagles’ cool gadgets, come and check them out during the Exhibition!

Meanwhile, the Eagles took a break to clean up. They had a major Personal Maintenance session. Punching holes, stapling, throwing out scrap paper, sorting out worksheets, organizing into folders and of course, decorating!

Going from chaos to order. Eagles enjoyed it.

Writing & Reading Mentor Texts

On the writing front, the Eagles were inspired by the reading of mentor texts during Writers’ Workshop. They decided they want to share their favorite books. So, they formed the ActonKL ES Book Club the following day! Vega and Sufyan led the initiative.

In Writers’ Workshop, the Eagles dived into building plots and characters this week. Eagles came up with many different plots, shared feedback about characters, and even designed costumes for their heroes and aliens. They were almost ready to start the first draft of their science fiction story.

“My best part of the week is Writers’ Workshop. It is so fun to create stories.”

“My alien is going to be so cool.”

“Imagine living in year 3209..”

Middle Studio (MS)

Physics questions can be dry: Take F as the force applied, and x as the distance to the fulcrum. What is the torque at x?

Why not add a bit of spice to such question? A bit of a pop quiz? On Monday here’s what the Eagles received as their challenge.

Saving Beyonce

Thanks to your successful adventures last week, Mr. Egg has whole new confidence and outlook on life. Because flights back to Easter Island were ridiculously expensive, Mr. Egg decided to book a cheaper trip to New Zealand instead and then jump out with a parachute when they flew over Easter Island (thereby crossing off another bucket list item).

But upon return to Easter Island, Mr. Egg finds his girlfriend, Beyonce, lying unconscious on the end of a massless see-saw, suspended over a pool of hot liquid magma! The other end of the see-saw is tied to the ground so that Beyonce is neither rising nor falling at the moment. As you survey the situation, evil Chef Gordon Eggsay slices the rope apart with his giant chef’s cleaver. In an instant, you must decide where exactly to jump on the other end of the see-saw (aka “lever”) to save Beyonce. Chef Gordon covered the entire see-saw in super glue, so you’ll only get one shot. If you miss to the left, you’ll fall into Emeril’s frying pan. If you miss to the right, Beyonce gets, well, hotter.

Besides Beyonce Balance, the Eagles dug deeper into pulleys.

Pulleys

The pulleys proved to be a difficult concept to master. It was not as straight forward. Imagine visualizing the forces and energy usage based on drawings and pictures.

The best way to learn is by playing with actual models, observing how the ropes move with each force applied. How does pulley reduce the weight by three times or even four times? Still, much diligence and “butt power” is required to appreciate the Math and relationship behind the physical movements.