Heroes Academy
5 min readSep 16, 2022

Discovery Studio Session 1 Week 2

Learning can happen alone in a quiet spot or a nice sunny spot. It happens with a partner. It even happens when a group of Hero’s create there own rules to an unknown game. They were challenged to figure a way to play and then we could discover the rules of the game if they wanted to. Imagine the creativity that took place coming up rules to play a game like this! Learning happens all around us. Love of learning is fostered like this.

Can you imagine the organizational skill it would require to get over 30 people to create one project? Yet we are asking our Discovery learners to do just that. Planning, creating, leading, coordinating, making concessions, and so much more goes into creating this lip dub. I am amazed at the leadership that is taking place, the creativity that is happening, and the struggle to figure out how to make this all come together. I listened as one Hero asked if there could be paper airplanes in a video. I watched the leader inwardly cringe at the idea, but respectfully see that this was an opportunity for them to express their creativity and accept the idea. That opened up a path for other Hero’s to find a place in the video where they were previously struggling. There are real world skills being developed in this process. It is a challenging process and I am curious to see the finished product…in just a few days!!

Let me introduce you to Barry the Bear. He is new to the studio but quickly becoming a place students find to snuggle up to for work. Usually it is a great place for reading, but also a place for friends to gather together and share conversations, ideas, and learning. This is what some of our Discovery Hero’s think of it:“Big, squishy, and fuzzy.” — Oliver
“I like how it is furry.” — Jasmine
“It’s comfy.” — Will
“It’s comfy and nice to sit on.” — Tyson
“It’s comfy.” — Jack
“It’s soft and nice to lay in.” — Tate
“The arms wrap around you and it’s like you’re at home.” — Charlie
“It is very cool.” — Xander
“The bear makes me happy. He has great topics to talk about.” — Ava
“The sides hug me and are comfy.” — Marquita
“It’s droopy and comfy!” — Katie
“He’s cute.” — Cambelle
“It’s fuzzy and comfy.” — Fiona
“I’m scared of it.” — Kevin
“It’s nice and cozy.” — DerekThere are so many places for learning to happen in the studio, it is nice to see that this gives them a safe and comfy spot to be. If it wasn’t taken most of the time, I would find myself there as well!

Servant leadership — the idea that a leader is someone who doesn’t just lead, but rolls up their sleeves and serves. We are more true to who we are when we serve others, when we step out of our shoes and help someone else.Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”I love it when a Hero comes up to inform me that they are scheduled to serve in another studio. Or that they want to work on servant leadership. It shows that they are thinking about something greater than themselves. In those moments I know that great things can be accomplished. And the awesome thing is that learning happens when we are teaching others!

Today was the final day of the lip dub filming! The more I reflect on this whole process the more I realize that this is more than just creating a video. This all about working togther to create a product. And in the best of companies this takes so much effot, even more in a place where everyone is just getting to know each other. I am so proud of their efforts, their perseverence, and their willingness to stretch into the uncomfortable. It may not be perfect, but there are certainly lessons learned that we all are still learning in life!

Heroes Academy
Heroes Academy

Written by Heroes Academy

Elementary blog for Heroes Academy, an innovative school in Boise, Idaho. We inspire children to find a calling and change the world → http://heroesacademy.org