Our overarching question of the year is “How does a hero use their voice?” In the spirit of entrepreneurship, the focus question for this session is “Does risk change how I use my voice?”
Though we haven’t talked about it explicitly, the Heroes have been answering this question all session. They explore this question every day in every area (even baseball!) but especially in this Build a Business Quest where cooperation and collaboration are trademarks.
Every afternoon post-Quest, we talk about went well and what could be improved. Here are some reflections heard in Quest Debrief this week:
“I think we did great today.”
“There was some confusion but we figured it out.”
“I think we could have gotten more work done if we weren’t arguing.” Followed up with group discussion and then a suggestion from a Fellow Traveler, “Maybe you could make a list of what is and is not distracting?”
“We got to Challenge 2!”
The spoken word can be so powerful as we discussed in Thursday’s launch. I asked a Hero to act out scenarios with me and in each scenario, the Heroes evaluated if I was following the contract. Did I treat the other person how they wanted to be treated? Were the words spoken with kindness? Among many things, the Heroes brought up tone and using “please”. Even if a Fellow Traveler isn’t treating you the way that you want to be treated, you can give feedback while still treating them kindly.
Town Hall Meeting is an important part of our week: it gives the Heroes to speak up and solve challenges they see in the studio. This week, a Hero brought up participation in PE. There was a group discussion and then the Hero led a vote. The problem was solved and the community moved on.
Whether Heroes are vocal in Town Hall Meeting or quietly set the example during Core Skills, every Hero has the power to assert that their needs are important and valued in this community. That is a special thing. Though it seems scary to give children the freedom to support one another and hold each other accountable, as always, I’m reassured by the Heroes.
This Hero explains it best, “Tell our parents, don’t worry! I’m happy here. I’m learning.”
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