Battle of the Bots (Year 2, Week 3)
“No one is born smart” — do you agree or disagree with this statement?
This was the quote that launched the third week here at Heroes Academy. The hero’s discussed their brain’s big rubber bands(the areas/skills that are naturally easier for us to engage and stretch) and small rubber bands (the areas that there is more resistance to engage and stretch). They also identified and courageously shared their personal big and small rubber bands, acknowledging that even the areas of small rubber bands that are more challenging, can be stretched and get bigger. The heroes moved in to setting goals in core skills with a growth mindset that would stretch one of these areas.
Creativity and The Quest
Creativity has been the focus of the quest so far as well as our session character trait. This week the heroes have been focused on using recycled and reusable trash to make “trashbot” creations during quest time. The heroes have been engaged more in writing this session as it has been incorporated as a key part of the quest. After completing their creations the heroes write stories that incorporate the creature they have created. While being a fun quest, the heroes are more importantly learning the value of creativity and communication.
Field Trip
Friday’s excursion to The Reuseum in Boise was a highlight of the week for the heroes. Linking to the quest concepts of creativity, recycling and reuse, the heroes used electronics and materials to create robots during this STEM workshop. The heroes first deconstructed an existing robot to harvest motors and then used that motor and other recycled resources to create a new robot, culminating in battling the bots at the end of the workshop!
Reflecting
Each day this week the heroes have taken 10 minutes at the end of Core Skills to reflect on a specific question. As reflection has been introduced more as a part of the studio over the last two weeks, this is an opportunity for the heroes to reflect on and write responses to questions such as:
How have you held someone accountable to day or been held accountable?
How have you shown patience or impatience today?
How have you failed or succeeded today?
Studio Levels
The heroes were excited to learn about a new studio system on Wednesday…Studio Levels. The studio levels are a series of gamified goals to achieve and incentives to “unlock” both as a group and individually.
The studio levels incentivise goals such as earning badges, holding people accountable, core skills work and studio maintenance to unlock rewards such as pitching a party or field trip, extra free time and mystery upgrades to the studio space!. The motivation has been clear as the heroes are already eagerly tracking their progress towards many of these goals
Wrapping Up
As the heroes become more familiar with each other and the systems, it is exciting to see the ownership they are taking in the studio. There is significant evidence of holding others accountable, treating the studio with respect, and taking responsibility for learning.
A hero’s journey is not an easy one. Each hero is making strides in certain areas while facing challenges in others. At Heroes Academy we celebrate the progress that comes from taking on challenges and facing fears. And while the day to day changes might seem small, they are significant. Slowly but surely these heroes are creating the character and skills that will prepare them to go out and change the world. Show them trust by letting them lead, letting them fail, and letting them learn, and you’ll see that each of these heroes is destined to change the world.
