This week onwards, we are going to dig deeper into the supporting secondary systems. They are not necessary for a new studio, but as the studio grows in size, the needs grow in complexity, and when the Eagles can handle things with more maturity, the situation demands additional solutions.

The rule of thumb: so long as the core processes are functioning, it is OK to reset or remove any of the secondary processes. It’s part of a culture of self-driven experimentation guided by feedback.

Let’s start with:-

I will cover traditions shortly. Traditions happen naturally. They emerge from social interactions. They occur when you put a bunch of 4-years-old together and let them play regularly. They will repeat ways of doing things, playing games that might be unique to them. It might seem random, but it is whatever that is cool and in season. It is a form of identity and communication. These include Claps, Birthday Celebrations, Character Callouts (sharing thank you of each other, relating to a character), odd games to cheer up moods, or even a culture of dancing. Guides do step in if any tradition is harmful, say beating somebody up as a way to celebrate a Birthday, but often Eagles voice out on this far earlier than necessary. Trust them.

Once Eagles start having a rhythm, it is natural that they will have issues. It can range from trivial ones like who cleans up the trash, or a deeper discussion of understanding & helping an Eagle with Special Needs. The solutions are not always optimal (at least in the eyes of a process-driven, efficiency-focused person), but the goal is not finding optimal solutions, anyway. Rather, it is learning how to find optimal solutions by continuous experience and assessment.

The Townhall process involves a council, a process of submitting issues, and solving it through a Democratic process via discussions (the Townhall). There is a council—a small team of 2-3 Eagles who will administer the discussion, take notes, and ensure due process.

The Eagles understand that the solution belongs to the Eagles and because they own it, they will take responsibility over it. If it doesn’t work, that’s fine—there is the next Townhall for review & change.

Here is a typical meeting minutes from an Elementary Studio Townhall:

What do you think? Too much decision-making from a bunch of children, which leads to Lord of the Flies behavior? Or empowerment for a new generation of leaders? From the growth of our Eagles, we are sure we are doing the later :))

And now we look forward to our new quest … the Survivor Quest. This week, we let them loose … to play with fire! (Bring on the asbestos sheets!)

Welcome back Eagles! It’s the PS Eagles’ first Quest and they have been enjoying it. According to Eagle Johanna, “We are playing but we are learning.”

Each challenge was presented as a game. This week’s 2 challenges were identifying the basic needs for survival and water filtration. The Eagles played 2 games over two days identifying the basic needs of fire, water, food and shelter. Eagle Ari mentioned, “We need fire to cook the food.”

 

On the third day, the Eagles played a game in which they transferred water from one point to another with a sponge! Eagle Aarav said, “It was so hard, I can just take a cup and scoop.” After reflection, the Eagles came to the conclusion that water is precious.

Following that, a scenario was read out to the Eagles: Imagine you are lost in the jungle and you are thirsty.  What should you do?  Eagle Myra said, “Look for a pond.” “But the water will be dirty,” said Eagle Johanna. What can we do? Eagles tried making their own basic DIY water filter after watching a video and they were delighted to see water trickling out at the end of the filter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

One instance of how, if left to their own mental processes, the Eagles can amaze us with their ability to draw meaningful conclusions about what they observe came when PS Eagle Abhienayaa looked out of the window on Friday and said loudly, “They (the ES and MS Eagles) are playing with fire!” Some Eagles agreed with her while others disagreed, “No!” Abhienayaa continued to insist, “Yes!”

Then Johanna who was sitting quietly spoke up and said, “yes, they are playing! And they are learning too right!”

A great start to the Sprint! See you next week!

Elementary Studio (ES) Update

What a way to start a new Sprint – jumping right into the fire, literally! In this first week of the Survival Sprint, the ES Eagles foraged for edible items in the wild, made traps and learned how to tie knots and start fires!

Foraging for Edible Items

The Eagles discovered that, in the wild, there is much to find to eat and drink. You don’t need to starve if you just know where to look! The Eagles tried healing ginger and turmeric and then, taking a page from Bear Gryll’s book, they swallowed hard and swallowed some … insects! Some advice given by the MS Quest leader: “First, you have to chose the insect that you like, and then research on it. Tell us their nutrition values and then eat it. That’s all.”

 

Making Traps & Knots

In line with foraging for food in the wild, the Eagles also learned how to trap food by making their own mouse traps. It was a lesson in physics to be able to balance the traps well so that they would do their job. Knotting is also an important survival skill that the ES Eagles picked up this week. How else will they pitch their tents come Survival Camp night?

 

 

 

Firestarters

The whole week was a build-up to the most exciting and crucial survival skill … lighting fires! The prospect of children ‘playing’ with fire may seem daunting, but this was a pure example of how, when we let go and let them, they will show that they know what they are doing, after all.

  

 

Rebel Bootcamp

 

Let’s all wish Apsie a very Happy first Birthday of this Sprint! Keep growing stronger and wiser every day!

Middle Studio (MS) Update

In the first week of Sprint 6, we had a petition, became MS Quest Leaders, learned and taiught skills for camping, worked with fire, scorched Earth, and had lots of fun in the process.

MS Quest Leaders

This Quest started with the MS Eagles taking charge of the Quest planning, preparation, launch/circle time, execution, and huddle/feedback. Basically the whole Quest was conducted by the MS Eagles. The first team did it with little time to prepare and it was literally ‘trial by fire’. By Friday, the first team was getting the hang of it, with feedback that they “improved every time and got more and more organised” over the course of the week.

Vega (an ES Eagle) on MS Eagles leading and getting used to the Elementary Studio way of doing things: “I like how some of the MS Eagles are learning about the ES rules and finding success, but others are not.”

  

Fire Challenge

Friday’s Fire Challenge was amazing. In a situation where so much can go wrong, the MS Eagles managed to handle 35 young Eagles to set up and light their multiple fires around our garden – all without anyone getting hurt. It was another testament to holding them up to higher expectations. The fact that they cleaned up after themselves also helped.

Working with Tools

This week, the Eagles worked on how to use the tools required for camping, one of which is a machete. Safety is the most important thing here, and the Eagles role-played how to handle the machete and its maintenance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was not enough time to go into the other tools like the saw and the mallet, but the Eagles still found the time to enjoy some S’mores … the fruits of their hard work leading the Fire Challenge.

Fighting Fit

The MS Eagles also voted to get fighting fit by learning the ancient Thai martial art of Muay Thai boxing. They sourced and secured the tutelage of Master Lee and, despite realising just how tough it really is, persisted in the training.

The Battle of the Sexes

The week rounded off on a serious note. A petition for Girls vs Boys was signed by all the girls present and presented to the MS Guides towards the end of the week. The context was that the sprint started with two mixed gender teams. The girl Eagles felt that this wasn’t working. The petition read:

“The boys are always riding off the backs of the girls. We are always keeping them accountable, always telling them what to do, always doing their work.”

As with most studio matters, this was brought to a Townhall, where the Guides shared the petition with all the Eagles. The Guides then let the session unfold and, in this case, served as a mediator to help bring about a fair exchange between two sides.

The boys came back at the girls saying that it was not always the case and that it was an over-generalisation. The final result was that the two sides agreed to give the Girls vs Boys a go.

Let the battle begin …