Year 4. Session 5. Week 4
In Discovery this week, Ascent’s community of young heroes courageously faced a beautifully hard truth- that with freedom comes responsibility. In a learner-driven environment, a Socratic Guide’s role is to prepare the environment, prepare the tools and learner-driven systems, ask questions, create moments of inspiration, and equip through challenges. This is only sustainable if there is a balance and learners in the space uphold their end of the bargain- the promises they set for themselves in their Studio Contract.
During a discussion at the end of the day, a handful of learners reflected that the Studio Contract had not been upheld, and with integrity, they shared why this doesn’t work at Ascent. The result was limited freedoms for a day to “reset” the space so that without their normal responsibilities, they could have time to revisit their “Why” for choosing a learner-driven environment and think about how to move forward. After a day of resetting, they voted to have one more reset day where guides would be in charge- after that, they would come up with a plan to move forward positively, honoring their contract of promises.
With deep insight, honesty, and care, they crafted a plan to take back their responsibilities and earn back their freedoms. The week was full of one-on-one reflections, group processing, and genius brainstorming.
QUEST
This week in Quest, the Eagles did not make progress in their Quest challenges. The choices reflected on at the beginning of the week led to powerful reflections about the lines in our contract:
- I will respect the materials that help me learn, live, and grow
- I will be responsible with my freedoms
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
In Physical Development, Eagles started the week with the first round of a volleyball tournament that will continue through the end of the session. They also had a day of speed and agility training followed by a game that focuses on active listening and reaction skills.
