“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
African Proverb
The first session of the year is all about building community, creating culture, and finding a rhythm. In contrast to a more traditional middle school where only one day or week might be reserved for community building, in the Adventure Studio, learners focus on the Build the Team Project and spend an entire six weeks completing challenges that intentionally build community. With every challenge, the adventurers learn more about their roles and responsibilities as members of a community, and dig deeper into what it means to be a trailblazer. One of the first team-building challenges learners faced was the Frostbite challenge. For the challenge, learners were divided into small groups and given the following scenario:
“Imagine this: You and your crew embark on a new adventure and decide to climb Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia. Though you thought this would be one of the best trips of your life, your arctic adventure turns into an arctic expedition gone wrong. As a storm approaches, your group leader gets frostbite and can no longer move. To make matters even worse, the UV rays reflecting off of the ice and snow cause the rest of your group to develop snow blindness and they can no longer see. As the storm draws nearer and nearer, your mission is to work together to build a shelter that will survive arctic wind and snow. Your leader will verbally guide you as you build your shelter. Good luck!”
As soon as the 30-minute timer began counting down, the pressure was on! Some learners patiently attempted to identify their mystery objects, some started throwing things together as quickly as they could, and others waited for instructions from their leader. Newspaper was ripped, paper cups went flying, bits of plastic were hastily flung over leaning structures, and tape was furiously wrapped around anything and everything. When the timer hit zero, learners presented their shelters to the whole studio and then reflected on the process of building a shelter together. Learners identified the mindsets and skills that are necessary for building a team, as well as the challenges that naturally come with having so many different perspectives. One learner shared, “When one of us did something wrong, our leader would correct us and no one got frustrated. We just took a deep breath and tried again, this time listening to all of the instructions given to us.” Another learner stated, “It surprised me that my team was actually able to build a structure that may be able to survive a big storm/blizzard.” A third learner shared, “I was surprised that everyone had their own idea!”
Here at TVS, learners are trailblazers. Trailblazers are empowered to take risks, overcome obstacles, make choices, be leaders, and claim ownership of their journeys. Since the Frostbite challenge, learners have used their unique talents and gifts as trailblazers to come together and craft a studio contract, build badge plans, create a music video, and plan a field trip. That’s not all. These trailblazers have also stretched their critical thinking skills by engaging in challenging discussions, changed and improved studio systems, practiced holding each other accountable to their studio promises, and gained confidence in advocating for themselves and others.
Here, learners have the special opportunity to craft the environment and culture they want to be part of. In just a few weeks, learners have taken several steps towards not only becoming independent individuals, but also becoming a strong, capable, and resilient community; a community that strives to be a team of individuals who choose to show up and be present, learn from failure, and lift each other up.
Here, learners unite to be a team that trusts, a team that leads, a team of trailblazers.
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