Year 2. Session 1. Week 1

After more than six months of uncertainty, cautious anticipation, and planning… We are back for Year 2!

While nerves were present as the Eagles entered their studio virtually and in person, there was a powerful sense of overwhelming joy. Seeing each other again, and meeting new Fellow Travelers for the first time, it didn’t take long for these young heroes to begin forming what is bound to be a strong tribe. They are already bonded by their common struggles caused by the current climate, but it is clear that they are also bonded by their eagerness to learn together and express themselves.

Joining from home and from wood stumps seated next to the orchard, the Eagles launched the year with a look into the future through a story of one version of how life might be in 2050. Perhaps some Eagles will be running venture capital firms, or farms, or running for public office! Some may be training for the Olympics, solving homelessness, or hosting a cooking show.

After listening to the story, the Eagles were introduced to the Question of the Year: Does the Past Determine the Future? From there they began the hard and rewarding work of getting to know each other!

This group of young heroes spent most of the week forming ties as a large group or bonding as squad members in smaller groups. As a large group, the Eagles worked to complete a Lip Dub that will be submitted to the Acton Global Network Lip Dub Competition! This project challenges the Eagles to work together to produce excellent work, to listen to one another, to compromise, to express themselves, and to provide feedback, all the while listening and dancing to a great song. The Ascent Eagles working from home contributed with videos and feedback, demonstrating courage and flexibility!

Each squad has at least one member at home, so the squads this week included their squad members using Google Meet. Their first challenge was to come up with squad names, make flags to represent their squads, decorate team t-shirts and write a contract to carry them through the upcoming sessions.

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Squad team-building challenges that took place in the studio included building a marshmallow tower and recreating a Lego structure playing Sneak Peak.

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Each day the Eagles practiced their Socratic discussion skills as they reflected on their inner gifts, their challenge zones, and their experiences with their Fellow Travelers. They also began creating studio systems for self-governance, debating guardrails and caring for their space.

In addition to the team-building and system creation, the Eagles launched their Session 1 Quest: Game Design! On this quest, Eagles are Game Designers who will eventually showcase their work at the Ascent Game Expo! They will learn about probability and luck vs skill, as well as how to add complexities and purpose to a game. This week they started with market research, playing and critiquing games that are already on the market. Next week it’s on to the first round of game creation!

Next week the Eagles continue their work building their learner-driven studio by beginning the process of contract writing. On Friday they ended the day learning about our Founding Fathers and the courage it took to draft and sign the Declaration of Independence. They reflected on what it means to sign your name to something, and with that, they nominated their Contract Committee! The group of Eagles chosen to write a first draft will meet for the first time on Monday and start this important work!

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