Week 14: Trusting the Process

Our guides will tell you they often hear me muse, "What would Acton Austin have done?".....I often find myself reflecting on the original Acton Academy in Austin, using it as my North Star and trying to stay as true to their mission and message as I possibly can. At the heart of their school was Laura, co-founder of Acton Academy, wife to Jeff, and mom to Charlie and Sam - the family who began of this movement that has changed lives the world over.

This weekend, I found myself back on Laura's blog, reading her thoughts and garnering wisdom. There is so much I can learn from each post and I encourage you all to spend time there as well - there's gold in every word.

I came across a post (shared below in blue) that hit particularly close to home. My youngest, Veronica (6), is in our Spark Studio and has a passion for writing stories. She's spent this entire year, since September, creating book after book - page after page filled with her illustrations and her stories....and oh so many spelling errors. She knows our Orton-Gillingham curriculum will help her with spelling, but the truth is, it just doesn't matter much to her right now. She's far more interested in the creation than the correctness of it all.

I found myself worrying...when will she choose to learn spelling rules? Is she even learning? How much longer can this go on?? Even I, an Acton owner with deep understanding and appreciation of this incredible and innovative model, found myself slipping into the trap of timelines and comparisons...this idea that she should be learning certain things according to an arbitrary schedule vs her choosing to master something when it matters to her.

"Once upon a time there was a guinea pig named Nibbles who wanted an owner. "Hi, Otter!" But before he could say another word, two otters came! "Tsunami! Coral! Seaweed!"

Laura's post below is specific to writing in Acton, but it can be applied to any other subject and any studio. The message is consistent, and one I needed to be reminded of....trust the process.

Acton turns the traditional method of teaching writing upside down. In our studios, the love of writing comes first. Then comes the appreciation for grammar.

As an Acton parent, this was one of the hardest parts of the journey for me. I cringe at misspelled words and poorly punctuated sentences. I had to learn to wait and trust the process remembering we created our Writer’s Workshops to be like Quests – collaborative, messy, and always, always with an intention, a purpose, a problem to solve.

The “upside down” part is that we wanted children to write freely and ALOT so they’d naturally come to the realization that grammar matters; for example, when you need to write an excellent email to secure an apprenticeship in middle school.

From Thank You notes and Full Circle Feedback surveys to Character Callout slips and Town Hall agenda forms, writing is infused into daily studio life. The children don’t question the “why” because it’s obvious to them. Writing is a way to be independent, sort out your thinking, get something done and have power.

It’s too easy to zap the love of writing right out of children’s souls with assignments focused on structure and grammar topped off with red marks on eraser-worn paper. How sad this is when the reality is children LOVE creating stories, are fascinated with fantastical tales and giggle spontaneously with word play. (MadLibs,  for example.) They also love to experience the power of communicating clearly – talk about getting a one-up on adults!

Because the world of human communication has opened up thanks to technology, we are including skills such as dictation, blog development, website design and video presentations as part of writing. This would never have been part of my elementary or middle school learning. But today, such skills are a natural part of what young people yearn to do. They pick it up fast, want to be good at it and use it for a reason.

Writing is the most wonderful, uniquely human tool for understanding ourselves, each other and the world. Learning to use it purposefully is equivalent to having a superpower.

If I had a magic wand, I’d wave it so adults would ignore spelling and grammar mistakes in children under the age of 10. Then, I’d hope they’d just get out a video recorder or voice memo app and let the children’s stories flow.

Thank you, Laura, for this poignant reminder that I really needed to hear.

For now, Veronica has fallen in love with the process of creating stories - of putting her beautiful, fantastical imagination down on paper to share with others. Eyes sparkling, she jumps at the opportunity to sit quietly with pencil and paper and create. What a treasure. When the day comes - and I know it will - when she decides spelling and grammar are important to her Hero's Journey, I know she has everything she needs at her fingertips in our studio, and I'll be there to cheer her on.

The truth is, being an Acton parent is hard. Truly letting go and giving your children the freedom to choose their work means sometimes, perhaps even most times, they'll make choices that differ from yours. It requires courage and trust in the process to give them the time, space, and freedom to make these choices for themselves. Trust that when it matters to them - either because they're aiming for a badge, engaged in a studio challenge, or simply spontaneously have the innate desire to learn a skill - they will choose it. The promise Acton makes to us all, based on their 15+ years of watching this magic happen, is that through this process the lessons will be deeper, more meaningful, and at the end of the day, our children's curiosity and love of learning will remain intact.

To our Acton families, if my story resonates with you at all, I hope Laura's post comforts you in the way it did me, and recentres you on our core belief at Acton; that every child is a genius on a Hero's Journey, who deserves to find a calling and change the world.