The Courage to Be Honest (Year 3, Week 4)

Monday morning the heroes walked into a surprise change in the studio.

Hero Buck Store Closure

The hero buck store had closed.

Last week, someone had stolen slime from the hero buck store, which meant an opportunity to encourage a hero to make a difficult choice.

Instead of trying to catch a culprit, monday’s launch was a discussion about the courage it takes to be honest. Guides and heroes shared difficult stories about failing to be honest, and how it felt to overcome their fear, and come clean. Stories about CDs, candy, damaging cars and other precarious situations unfolded into a vulnerable conversation about truth and character. The heroes agreed that the studio should be a safe place where admitting failure, like stealing from the hero buck store, is a courageous choice, and should be celebrated, even though the hero must also reconcile the damages. Until the hero had the courage to make things right, the hero buck store would remain closed.

Later that morning a nervous hero pulled aside a guide to admit having stolen the slime. The studio came back together and this hero courageously shared that it was them who stole from the hero buck store. The heroes applauded their courage to be honest.

Later that afternoon the hero buck store reopened and excited heroes purchased many items including play dough, stuffed animals, gum, and pencil holders.

Writer’s Workshop

This session’s Writer’s Workshop is focused on poetry.

So far the heroes have tackled various poetry challenges like writing a poem and a haiku.

On Tuesday, the heroes were challenged to write an ode to something they wanted to honor. After coming up with ideas and examples together, the heroes broke off and created their own odes that they would share at the end of the block.

At Heroes Academy, we believe in world class work and excellence. When a hero “finishes” their challenge, they will be asked a series of 4 questions:

First, “is this your best work?”

Second, “Is it better than last time?”

Third, when the hero feels it can’t be improved, “how does it compare to a world-class example?”

Fourth, “is it ready for public exhibition?”

Paxton was highlighted after creating and improving on 5 versions of his story. After reading each of the iterations, the heroes discussed what improvements they noticed. Many audible gasps were made as the heroes were read each new iteration. Many were inspired by the power of working towards excellence, and it created new excitement for writing in the studio.

Paxton’s First Poem

Marine oh how you have saved me
You risk your life and fight for others lifes
All day and all night you fight hard with all your might

Paxton’s Final Poem

Marine oh how you have saved me
You risk your life and fight for others lives
All day and all night you fight hard with all your might
You fight for our lives knowing you might die
But you are so courageous you don’t care to lose your life
You have died many times but still you will continue to fight with all your might and win the fight
You sacrifice yourself to keep others safe and I really think that is great
You are a role model for many because of your courage and bravery
Marine oh how you have saved me

During Thursday’s writer’s workshop the studio came together to discuss “in what ways can we make it better than last time?”

They came up with a list that was referred to frequently:

• make it longer
• make it more exciting
• make it more engaging — add a twist or surprise
• peer review
• check spelling
• check paragraphs and structure

That afternoon the studio was humming with heroes who were anxiously trying to make improvements and iterations, many completing 8 or more iterations.

Their work will be displayed during the end of session exhibition.

Quest- Rubber Bands

After reading “The Elastic Brain” this week, the heroes took time sharing what rubber bands they have that are small and harder to stretch vs those that are bigger and easier to stretch (things you are naturally good at vs not naturally good at). The rubber bands are a metaphor used in the studio to promote a growth mindset, the idea that you can learning anything, you just might not be there yet.

Many heroes gravitated to the time challenge this week, creating a timer with cups, tape, sand, and any other items they could use. A few heroes discovered more about maps and created their own treasure hunt. A few explored the process of hypothesis and experimentation, and others explored trial and error by playing games like Guess Who.

The goal of this session’s quest is to give the heroes new tools, while also having lots of fun together.

Finding Flow

After a discussion on flow (a concept originally formulated by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi), the heroes were introduced to two phases of core skills, flow phase and collaboration phase. The heroes wanted an intentional, silent time to get deeply focused on core skills, while also having a time where they could get help as needed. Early in the week flow phase was highly intentional, but later in the week it became less so. The heroes will continue to reflect on these phases and come up with strategies to make it more effective.

One strategy they have been using is to turn off lights to calm the mood and increase focus.

Kindness

On Thursday, the heroes discussed the power of words as we continue to dive into the character trait of the session, kindness. In their promises this year they have promised to speak only with kindness, encouragement, and truth, and to treat others how you want to be treated. In an effort to define further those promises, the heroes created a list of the words and phrases they felt would be important in the community, as well as the ones that would make them uncomfortable and less safe. They came up with this list.

At the end of every day the heroes come together for a closing discussion. This discussion is an opportunity for the heroes to share lessons learned, lift other heroes, and connect.

This week the heroes also spent time sharing ways they have seen others show kindness, as well as have an opportunity to share how they have failed themselves and how they want to get better. These vulnerable and honest conversations unite the community, and create space for the heroes to recognize that journey is challenging for everyone, and that the tribe cares more about that hero who fails and tries again, than one who doesn’t try at all.

Birthday Traditions

On a hero’s birthday, the heroes have created a special tradition during close group. With the lights off and a candle lit, heroes and guides pass a candle around and share one word they would use to describe that hero.

This week Koby had a birthday. To wrap up this week’s blog, we’ll leave you with some of the kind words his fellow travelers used to describe him on his birthday:

• fun
• playful
• hardworking
• kind
• caring
• joyful