Growing Leadership
Imagine this, you are in the Acton kitchen and hear yelling coming from the other side of the school in the coat room. You investigate and see one learner standing on a bench, shouting with her hands raised while a group of 8-10 learners put shoes away and pack backpacks with lunch boxes. You hear her shout “Come on team, we can do this! What do we need to do?” All learners in the room cheer “CLEAN!” She continues, “Who do we want to beat?” they reply “KITCHEN TEAM!” and she continues again “You got this guys, keep hustling, keep hustling, I believe in you!” She claps her hands, eyes up the room and continues giving personal pips of love and motivation. This is a true story of one learner and her team from the Spark Studio during week one this session. What’s even better is her sister was the rival kitchen Captain! Her loud cheers of leadership echoed throughout the school and inspired the kitchen Captain to put more pep in her step, inspired the kitchen team, inspired all school learners, and most definitely inspired our Guide team to trust that learners are ready to lead.
Guides are stepping back and learners are stepping up! When a learner leader emerges it’s amazing how fast leadership ripples. Two weeks after this amazing coat room scene Spark learners decided that Captains worked and every part of the day required a learner to lead. Now, two to three learners who were voted in are responsible for motivating their studio and holding the line with guardrails in Core Skills, Recess, Quest, and Studio Maintenance. They track learners on a list and are officially in charge of the check and X system. Boy are they tough too! The check and X system has never been so hard lined and systems although messy with process have never been as spirited with ideas for change!
Acton is truly an environment that is learner led and sometimes it takes time to cultivate leadership. This Spark learner shied away from her Captain role in the past but came back to the role stronger than ever, much like a perennial vine in the garden! This metaphor leads me to another amazing example of growing leadership at Acton, the creation of the Acton Garden Club. Week one I asked if anyone was interested in helping in the garden and if they were interested in being part of a club. Tons of Spark learners wanted to join and a handful of Discovery learners had their interest piqued. I had a chat with Discovery and asked if anyone felt ready to lead the club. Once we explored the garden and brainstormed Garden Club needs a few learners were weeded out and four Discovery learners stayed to create the leadership team.
The leadership team supported the garden last year and all agreed they shared a passion for nature and gardening. So, they elected a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Garden Planner and agreed on roles and the first meeting agenda. As club mentor I trained the team on proper weeding and garden essentials and they were ready to call the first meeting to order. Leadership rang the golden bell and yelled “Garden Club meeting, come to the garden and sit down!” Leaders sat on the bench with their clip board agenda and walked all members through the purpose of Garden Club, what membership meant, and all their big plans! I did nothing, they did everything! They shared, Step 1 is learners need to plant the items they requested and maintain the garden with weeding, watering, and harvesting. Step 2 is to research plants for the garden expansion. They all agreed that they had to prove they were responsible before they could move to Step 3, establishing an Acton chicken coop. They really got everyone excited when they shared their leadership team idea to be part of the Oshkosh farmer’s market. What to do with the money earned you ask? They want to invest it back into the garden! (My heart flutters with their entrepreneurial spirit!) The meeting ended with a vote on meeting frequency and a tutorial of weeding and compost operation all led by learners. Today, the garden is 90% planted and learners are serious!
Acton is a special place where learners can get their hands dirty with mud and self governance. It isn’t always easy but leadership at Acton is growing in abundance!