Session 7, Week 2
Thursday night/Friday morning I was at the school until 2am with the Wright Brothers! Ok, so they weren’t the Wright Brothers, but they sure acted like it! These heroes have been working on their go-kart all year – and they wanted to finish it. I kept hearing problem after problem, challenge after challenge and proposed solutions – some that worked and many that didn’t. For months I have loved listening to them problem solve and try different ideas. The result…at about 1:45am, they pounded on my door yelling at me that it was working! They drove their go-kart down the street!!! I’m not sure the Wright Brothers were any more excited the first time they flew!
Putting a go kart kit together would have been fun and much faster. But building a go-kart from scratch, learning from YouTube (and trial and error) has so many incredible results; the problem solving, the skills, the knowledge, the creativity, and the excitement when it worked are what CHOICE is all about! It is inspiring to look around at the end of the year and see results all around.
One thing the Spark heroes did this week, was prepare for next week’s Hero Celebration. Part of that celebration will include presenting a Hero’s Journey they took this year. As they were preparing, many of the heroes commented on how far they’ve come since the beginning of the year. It is beautiful when young people can recognize their own growth!
Some heroes expressed that getting to know new friends can be hard, weird, and often awkward. They also expressed how they feel CHOICE has become a place where they are surrounded by friends and helpers. This is the result of being willing to go outside your comfort zone all year long!
One of our launches this week touched on the topic of being unique. We imagined what if the guides and all the heroes had all the same favorite things and all the same passions. The Sparks were immediately turned off by that idea. They loved that we can be friends, but expressed that our differences are something that makes us extra special. The Sparks know who to go to for help building a paper airline. They know who to go to when they need instructions on how to draw something. They know who to go to when they can’t remember how to spell something. They know who to go to when a math problem is super frustrating. None of these people are guides, but rather, other heroes. The results are that these heroes have become a thriving community where each one is contributing their gifts and talents to help others.
It’s super beautiful to see heroes celebrate big accomplishments that you know they have put blood, sweat and tears into. This week a hero who has struggled getting all their challenging goals done came running up to a guide to celebrate a huge language goal they accomplished. Another hero commented on how her writing has gotten better and better. Progress seems slow day to day, but when you can look back and see a bigger picture, it feels so good!
For Thursday’s Tribe Challenge, each squad in the Fire Studio created and performed skits about heroes who learned how to find the JOY in the JOurneY. Fire Studio Heroes are excellent at finding the humor, meaning, and joy in everyday moments or even in difficulties. It’s common to hear someone remind themselves or others that it’s fun to do hard things. That is the result of a practiced growth mindset!
Heroes are preparing for the final exhibition where they will display what they are most proud of at the end of this school year journey. Some heroes are proud of how they have grown in math, reading, or writing. Many heroes are proud they prepared for and pitched to join the Delta Studio. Other heroes are proud of the leadership or friendship skills they have developed. And as you visit Hero Boards on Tuesday’s Hero Celebration, be sure to ask heroes about their favorite badges they have earned this year. All of this is the result of challenges, grit and hard work!
Watching the Fire Studio heroes pitch into the DELTA Studio was inspiring. It was the result of not only a lot of hard work, but also a lot of courage!
The topic of this blog came about by observing the DELTA Studio heroes this week and recognizing so much meaningful growth.
We have been re-doing our favorite tribe building challenges from the beginning of the year and their improvement is drastic – a result of communicating and working together in so many different capacities all year long.
Heroes are hanging out and playing games during lunch that never would at the beginning of the year.
Heroes were finishing up all their goals this week. This is the result of a year of organization, planning and so much hard work. It is equally thrilling to see heroes finishing Exploratory works that they love and math or writing badges that are very challenging for them. Watching some heroes get to work at a relaxing pace who have been down to the wire other years was amazing. That is the result of learning to prioritize and not procrastinate!
The last day of Civ was super fun as heroes dressed up as someone they learned about in Civ. As I listened to their review game, I was amazed at what they had learned. The result of their weekly research, writing and activities was very evident.
Heroes are finishing their Servant Leader hours (the result of hundreds of hours of combined meaningful service to younger heroes) and then are continuing to mentor just because there is a need!
Talking about and practicing working hard physically all year resulted in the hardest Misogi I have witnessed for many of our heroes. The best part was the smile that was on their faces even as they were falling to the ground in exhaustion!
Surfs Up and Chicken Joe have become an important part of our DS culture 🙂 The result… this is the DS Chalk Art Festival square:
I am sure being at Kitty Hawk for Orville and Wilbur’s achievement was exhilarating. But I am equally sure that I wouldn’t trade being there for witnessing our CHOICE heroes’ achievements and accomplishments. Some results are measurable, others are intangible; all come from grit, resilience, a growth mindset and a lot of fun along the way. What a great time of year to get to reflect on all these results!