“The NGA sounds great. I am curious: How is the NGA introduced to the Eagles?”
“How do we cultivate them to find their Calling (from home)?”
A parent asked these excellent questions that prompted a Part IV and V in this NGA Article series. I will answer the first question by examining the ActonKL experience in each different mixed-age Studio.
Preschool “Spark” Studio (age 4 to 7 years old)
There is no formal mention of NGA. Instead, the Spark Studio is all about play and the Hero’s Journey. The Hero’s Journey is all about going on an adventure. Well, that’s how much a Preschool Eagle would know about the Next Great Adventure. We want to keep that spark of curiosity alive!
However, one concept that is related to finding the NGA stand out:
Flow (psychology): We identify moments when Eagles are in the state of flow. Usually, this is when Eagles are engaging whole-heartedly in their curiosity. We introduce and use the words flow and being in the challenge zone. The Challenge zone is the sweet spot between not being too bored (Comfort Zone) and not being too overwhelmed (Danger Zone).
Elementary (age 7 to 12 years old)
Elementary Eagles have exposure to different projects and a wide variety of activities and games. The variation widens their worldview and experiences.
These activities include discussions that explore NGA-related concepts, such as passions, callings, opportunities, and injustices. Also, they reflect on their week through the challenge donut and questions around recognizing flow.
The goal of these formative years from Spark to Elementary are:
- Cultivate the habit of being curious and the joy of learning.
- Develop many memories of play and exploration.
- Reflect and recognize moments of flow, as they are the steppingstone to the NGAs.
- Some discussions at Elementary on key NGA concepts, such that they bring together their learning and life experiences into expressive language. This language lays the foundations for Middle School and beyond.
Middle (age 11 to 15 years old)
Middle School Eagles explore the idea of careers and callings as their work increases in rigor. The rigor comes in three ways.
First is the rigor in all the work they do. The challenges from Quests and the questions posed approximates the real-world scenarios. Eagles have a taste of the work and craft of people in the industry. They face important issues an artist or practitioner has to wrestle with and the real-world constraints that come naturally to every human endeavor.
Second, the Eagles engage in Socratic Discussions, where they visit the dilemmas and hard choices made by different heroes and industry players. These experiences increase exposure by standing in the shoes of individuals within the industry. Here’s a table with the breakdown of topics discussed from two recent Quests: Programming and Cooking & Chemistry.
| Socratic Discussions from Programming Quest | Socratic Discussions from Cooking & Chemistry Quest + Restaurant Review Genre |
| Discussions exploring Heroes: Ada Lovelace Brian Acton & Jan Koum (Whatsapp founders) Shigeru Miyamoto (Gaming Philosophy) Alan Turing Programming Artists (Light Suit Dancers) Bill Gates Nick D’aloisio (Summly founder) Jeff Bezos Dennis Ritchie & Ken Thompson Linus Torvalds Dr. Shien Careers & Callings in Programming Discussions exploring current issues: Digital Citizenship – Online Information Digital Citizenship – Fake News Surveillance, Privacy, and VPNs Driverless Cars Ethical Dilemma 1 Driverless Cars Ethical Dilemma 2 Transportation; Driverless and Robot Ubers Internet Addiction Automation and Universal Basic Income Ransomware Robotics and Improving Lives Robot and Consciousness Adapting to Changes | Discussions exploring Heroes: Fritz Haber Rosalind Franklin Dmitri Mendeleev Daniel Humm Robert Boyle Joan and Jordi Roca Marie Curie Clare Smyth Heston Blumenthal Thomas Midgley, Jr. Careers & Callings in Chemistry Discussions exploring current issues: Chemical Warfare Chemistry in Crime Ethics in Chemistry Unknown Risks of Chemical Research Responsibility of Obesity Human Chemical Imbalance (Happiness and Depression) Evolution of Diets Plastic – Good or Evil? Chemistry of Addiction in Brain & Products Alchemy Vitamins – Should you take them? Food Regulation Diluted and Corrupted Honey Discussions exploring restaurant review issues & journalism: Getting Sued over a Review Restaurant Operations Dilemma (dress code) Restaurant Operations Dilemma (cultural & health) Restaurant Operations Dilemma (customers & community) Anonymous Feedback Restaurant Reviews Ethics of Restaurant Reviews Memory & False Memory Planting Memories Job of Journalist Fake News Journalism – How much violence to publish? Journalism – Publishing ‘Confidential’ Material (Pentagon Papers) Mean and Hostile Restaurant Reviews |
At the end of each Sprint, the Eagles reflect their experiences. They rate their level of engagement and plans to pursue similar interests further. Also, they compile all their work into a portfolio which helps them to compare their choices.
Third, the Eagles take on apprenticeships. They do so using an apprenticeship process, where they take full ownership of finding and getting relevant opportunities. Acton Academy does not do any placements. And Eagles start doing all that at 11 to 12-years-old. Usually, they engage in this process in the last two Sprints of the academic year (ActonKL follows the US calendar, so the timings are roughly from May to July). Once the Eagles are familiar with the apprenticeship process and the responsibility expected with real-life work, they can choose to pursue one anytime.
The first part of the apprenticeship process involves identifying potential roles and industries. This process is similar to the initial work in the NGA Searching status. In other words, this will be the first formal exposure of an Eagle to the NGA process.
Besides that, Middle School Eagles are encouraged but not required to take the NGA process. So far, all Launchpad Eagles advise their younger former self to start the NGA process as early as they can!
However, as an Eagle begins the transition into Launchpad, he/she starts the NGA process.
Launchpad (age 14 to 19 years old)
Most Launchpad Eagles will have at least 100 hours of NGA work under their belt before entering Launchpad. The goal is simple. Get out of Acton pursuing their NGA.
In other words, Eagles can start the full NGA process as early as 12-years-old. Here are a few checks to see if they are ready:
- Demonstrate independent learning (via their progress in Badge Plans)
- Demonstrate maturity of taking responsibility in the real-world (proven via apprenticeships)
- Demonstrate commitment to reflect, ask hard questions, and dive deeper.
That is the exposure of the NGA process throughout an Eagle’s Acton journey. Stay tuned for how to cultivate the pursuit of a Calling at home in the next article.