“Heroes Will Always Take Risks” (Year 1, Week 11)
“Heroes will always take risks,” Betsy said as we sat in closing circle on Wednesday. It was the end of a long day. The “Acton Headquarters” rules were becoming extremely difficult, even to the point of having to raise your hand to get out of your desk. The heroes had decided that their freedom was too important to let a distant oppressor control them. “It’s worth the risk,” they suggested… But this is the ending to the story. Here’s the beginning.
Acton Freedom Experience
The journey began on Monday. As the heroes arrived there was a strange sense that something was happening. “Acton Headquarters is giving us new rules today.” Jake said, with a somber tone. “They feel we are too far away and need more control.” The new rules were posted on the wall:
- Every time heroes assemble they must sit/stand in boy-girl-boy-girl formation.
- Desks must be aligned in rows.
While these initial rules seemed strange and arbitrary to the heroes, the rules didn’t seem too bad, so they followed along…
The next day the heroes travelled back in time to imagine themselves as colonists in early America during the time of the American Revolution. After discussing the dangers and risks of standing for freedom and signing the Declaration Of Independence, the heroes were challenged with the question: is it worth the risk of losing your life to stand for freedom? Though the connection wasn’t quite made, the discussion was a parallel to what they had began to experience in the studio as their freedoms continued to be removed.
“I’m sorry everyone, but Acton Headquarters has added new rules today.” Puzzled and concerned looks filled the room. “All students must work in compete silence during core skills. Also, all students must work only at their assigned desk.”
In the studio community that had grown and developed as such a collaborative learning environment, the impact of these rules was felt. As frustration rose the heroes began to question why Acton needed to control Heroes Academy when they’re not even here. “Can’t we just tell them that we can take care of ourselves?!” Arturius expressed.
Another day passed…
As heroes arrived on Wednesday morning, the studio had changed. Both the studio contract and the freedom levels had been completely removed, another sign of Acton Headquarters control. Accompanying these changes, of course, were rules 5 & 6:
5. Students will each pay 10 points per day to Acton Headquarters.
6. Permission must be asked in order for students to leave their desks. Students must raise their hands and wait for a guide to give them permission.
With less than cheerful countenances among the heroes, the day continued with a game of risk. Another correlation to the real world events that were transpiring. The game consisted of throwing objects in a bucket for points. The more risk you took (the farther back you threw the object), the greater the potential for reward.
This lead to a discussion about risk. They wondered how risk is part of being on a Hero’s Journey. They were asked:
Which is better: taking risks even though you may not succeed, or never taking a risk but knowing you’ll always be comfortable.
The response was resounding agreement that taking risks was worth it. While the heroes had not yet linked the significance of this discussion with what they were experiencing, the concept of risk was later very crucial as the experience progressed.
For the heroes, this day would be the most difficult day of their journey so far. There irony was in the observation that they got a lot of work done, but the light in their eyes had diminished. This was no longer the place where they loved to learn because they chose to learn. They were being forced to follow rules from a distant rule maker, and the joy of learning had nearly vanished.
The final straw came when, after lunch, the final rule was introduced: “There will be no more free time. However, Acton is offering an exception to those that pledge their commitment to the rules.” If the heroes pledged to follow the rules and any future rules, they would be able to have their free time. If anyone did not agree to it, everyone would lose their free time.
Naturally a debate ensued. The pull to sign the rules just to ensure they got free time was very strong. Initially all heroes, except one, agreed to sign the rules just for the sake of free time. Caden, however, felt strongly that the rules were unjust and that the heroes should not sign the rules even if it meant getting free time. It was worth the risk to not sign it and stand up to Acton. What followed was an intense and passionate discussion amongst the heroes about freedom, risk and how the school was created to be operated by them. All heroes agreed that they did not like the new rules and that it took away too much freedom, making Heroes Academy just another an adult-run school, rather than a learner-driven community.
The guides then offered a choice. They could stand up to Acton, knowing they might come back with more rules, take away journey tracker, and kick us out of their network (possibly losing the school), or take the risk and communicate to Acton that they would no longer follow the rules imposed on them. They decided they’d rather lose the school than lose their freedom in it.
The heroes then waited anxiously for a response from Acton…
Thursday morning was met with intense curiosity as heroes entered the studio. Each hero wondered what had happened and if a response had come.
“Congratulations! Today, your freedom has been restored! You have taken a stand against an oppressor. You have declared independence and stood for freedom. How do you feel?”
The reflections that followed demonstrated the depth and value of the lessons learned throughout this experience. Each had learned a deeper meaning to the idea of freedom. Each had felt the importance of having authority spread among themselves. And each was elated to have their studio contract and freedom levels back.
Betsy’s reflection summarized it best: “Heroes will always take risks.”
This experience is sure to be a memorable and meaningful one for each hero.
Some of the questions we reflected on, that parents may want to as well with their heroes, are these:
What was the worst part of the rules you were forced to follow?
What did you learn about freedom? Does it come without risk?
Have you ever wanted guides (or anyone else) to step in and control others — make them be quiet, be nice, or something else? Would you rather one person or group have all the power in the studio, or the power be spread among yourselves?
I noticed when you were silent during core skills, you got a lot of work done. A lot of you earned more points this week then in weeks past. How many of you liked the Acton Headquarters rule to be silent? How many of you like the promise to not distract others or yourself? What’s the difference?
What was your biggest lesson learned from this experience?
We encourage parents to continue these discussions with their heroes.
Pitch-a-Pet Quest
Amid the turmoil, confusion, and challenges of the freedom experience, the quest for this session was also introduced this week. The heroes involved were very excited to learn that it may culminate in purchasing a pet for the studio! The quest involves the heroes developing a persuasive pitch that they will give at the end-of-session exhibition in order to convince the audience that their idea for a pet is the best one. After the pitches are voted on, the animal chosen by the hero who gave the winning pitch will be purchased for the studio and the heroes will have the responsibility of caring for, feeding and maintaining it.
Christmas is Coming
As the heroes arrived on Tuesday morning, they saw a that the studio was now home to a Christmas tree, and it was their responsibility to decorate it! The tree was accompanied by the following sign:
The heroes were also able to bring or make decorations for the tree and it was interesting to see them opt to bring items from home with which to decorate the tree.
The heroes have set a group goal to help hold each other accountable to their contract promises. Whenever a hero holds another accountable to a promise by asking them for a hero buck, a hero buck is put in the accountability jar. The heroes have set the goal of 30 hero bucks in the jar for this session. If reached, they will enjoy a Christmas party during the last week of the session.
Writer’s Workshop and Nesting Questers
While the nesting quester’s continued to work on the nesting challenges during Quest time (preparing them to participate in real quests in the future), this session they have joined the flying and soaring heroes for the weekly writer’s workshop, and will continue to do so in the future. This week the prompt given was:
“Have you ever wished you could be invisible? Well, one day, I woke up and realized that I was! The first thing I did was…”
The heroes are increasingly engaged and excited by the opportunity to write and share their stories.
This week was an experience heroes and guides won’t soon forget. It was challenging, but a testament to the power of real world experience. It’s one thing to read about those that have stood for their freedom, it’s another to engage in a socratic discussion about it, and yet another to really do it.
This week new character was formed as heroes acted in real opposition, took a stand for freedom, and courageously acted to keep the vision of this school pure.
One question that could be asked: Was this a once in a lifetime experience, or just another week in the life of a hero? We’ll let you decide.
