Week 16: Cherishing the arts, the wonders of the physical world, and the mysteries of life on Earth.

At Acton, we have a few core promises we make to our families. One of them is the promise that your child will cherish the arts, the wonders of the physical world, and the mysteries of life on Earth. This sounds wonderful, but what does it look like in practice? Jake Thompson, veteran Acton guide and owner, was pondering this promise recently and shared the following post throughout the network. It's a combination of his words and those of Laura Sandefer, co-founder of Acton Academy, and I thought it was powerful and profound. I hope you enjoy it!

First, a message from Laura Sandefer:

“We promise your child will learn to cherish the arts, the wonders of the physical world and the mystery of life.” We probably should have stated this as: “We promise not to squelch your child’s wonderment about beauty, art, the physical world and the mystery of life.”

Children are born with a burning curiosity about the world around them. It is part of their genius. We don’t claim to give that to them but we do promise to join them in their wonderment. We promise to encourage them to keep asking questions and dig in the dirt and stare out the windows.

For what about that walking stick insect soaking in the sun on our classroom door? How can we just walk by it without being amazed? Have you looked closely at one recently?

Or the rain coming down out of nowhere, shouldn’t we go get our faces wet?

What about beauty? What is it? Does my definition match yours?

Why does this poem make me cry?

Lucky are the children who are surrounded people equally curious to themselves. Too many adults are tired of the questions and have even stopped asking them. We promise to surround your children when they are at Acton with adults who embrace mystery, too.

“The wonder and mystery of the universe can be seen in an anthill,” my mother used to quote as we lay on our bellies in the grass and watched the universe unfold before our eyes. I think of that every time I see our Acton students lifting up endless numbers of rocks to analyze the intricate lives of roly polies. We believe this is a valuable way to spend time.

We are energized rather than exhausted by the wonderful questions of our students because as guides, we don’t feel the need to deliver all the answers. Doing so would be a sure road to a diminished sense of wonderment. Our learners are set free to think deeply on their own and seek out answers which they can then own.

The great revolutionary, Jesus, shocked the high-brow intellectual religious leaders when he said that to enter heaven one must be as a child. In my humble interpretation, I think this describes the simple demeanour of one who can accept mystery and is awed by beauty. This state of being is one that brings laughter and joy, not fear, judgment and worry.

It is with such lofty visions that we promise to spend time outside each day in freedom; that we will integrate the arts always; and we will honor the questions that move us closer to truth and meaning.

Jake's thoughts:

No surprise, but I agree with Laura, especially that this promise starts with what we don't do. We don't pose as if we have all the answers, we don't crush a child's love of learning, and we set young people free to be curious.

A few examples:

In Spark, I see the beauty of young learners mixing ingredients and making soups, bread, and ice cream. I see it again as Adventure and Launchpad learners explored the mysteries of chemistry while making delicious dishes, competing in a cooking competition that combines art with science and the skill of making something both look beautiful and taste delicious too.

I see it in the Entrepreneurship quests each year where learners build something real — discovering that good businesses are not just about money, but about creating something of value, solving human problems, or sharing something that is part of you with others. Real art designed to serve others, combined with the chance to see an adult as an equal, looking them in the eyes and asking for the sale, all in the free exchange of goods and services.

I see it in the Stop Motion Film Quest, where learners wrestle with storytelling, timing, sound, and visual composition — learning firsthand how ideas become art and stories can be shared without a single word.

In Discovery, I see it when learners pitch a pet for the studio care for. If approved, they don’t just get the pet — they live with the responsibility of caring for it together, every day, discovering the mystery of life by observation, connection, and experience. I see this again in the Life and Death Quest where upper studio learners embrace the beauty of life and the reality of death by hatching eggs, reading poems, visiting hospice patients, and even delicately having the chance of experience the death of a real animal use for the benefit of human consumption.

Through learning design like this, learners repeatedly encounter beauty, complexity, and the unknown. They learn to ask better questions, respect the physical world, and approach life with curiosity rather than fear.

Admittedly this promise isn't always visible at the surface, but look a little deeper and you just might find that's it's woven very thoughtfully into almost everything we do.

I know over the weeks and months that we've been together some of you have heard me say how lucky I feel to be part of this network, and how humbled I am by the calibre of people it's put me in contact and collaboration with. These are such good, wise, passionate people, and I love sharing their words with you so that you have the chance to see what you're part of as well - because there is more to this journey than our little Acton here in Nanaimo. We're part of something much bigger, and something truly revolutionary.

I hope this holiday season you're able to slow down, unwind, and take a few moments as a family to cherish the arts, the wonders of the physical world, and the mysteries of life on earth.

Wishing you a wonderful winter break, Heroes, and we'll see you in the new year!