Joy to Enjoy
What is joy? This was the keynote question of the Acton Academy Founders Conference I attended last weekend and this was the question Acton co-founder Laura Sandefer posed and shared. If you’ve never heard Laura speak it is a wonder as she is a gorgeous storyteller and an immensely thoughtful human. As I listened to her speech my eyes filled with tears of joy, gratitude, and inspiration. She was who I looked to for inspiration when I began the journey as your Founding Director and she is who I look to whenever I need a boost or when I am in the dip. Simply, I re-read Courage to Grow or I leaf through her words on the Acton Parent blog: On Being An Acton Parent that she authored. To say that Laura Sandefer changed my life would be an understatement. She has inspired me and so many to find our calling to change the world. The legacy of Laura and Jeff Sandefer will continue as we grow together as dreamers and change makers.
Laura sent our Acton network of 300 school founders in 36 countries off with a renewed mission to enjoy and claim our joy while on the Acton journey. I encourage you to watch the full keynote address here to get all the feels however here is a handful of highlights that most moved me and may inspire you.
“I now define joy as the intersection between passion and truth. Joy is a solid foundational stance, joy is not an emotion, it does not waver. Joy is knowing you are on the right path even though you know you will suffer…I hope that you claim this kind of joy…When chaos reigns and a parent quits and finances are tight, loosen your grip, open your eyes, enjoy! [Your children] will be standing on the foundation of joy that you’ve been building all along for them. Your children need you to be standing in joy, not in stress, not in fear, even when it comes time to say goodbye, enjoy.”
Laura’s call to action was to enjoy and so I fully immersed myself in enjoying connections with fellow Acton founders and especially with Launchpad (high school) learners who were in conference attendance. My top priority of the conference was to meet the learners. One of our Acton mottos is “when in doubt, ask the learners” and this guidance gave me a treasure trove of encouragement. I can not stress enough the brilliance of Acton Launchpad learners. I met a learner who was 14 from Canada who just earned his way into Launchpad, I met learners from Kansas, Iowa, Guatemala, North Carolina, and New Jersey who were 16, 17, and many who just graduated and closed the chapter of their Acton hero’s journey. These young adults spoke with greater articulation, eloquence, directness, and clarity than any school founder that I’ve ever spoken to.
Here were the nuggets of wisdom they shared that I furiously wrote down and that I will never forget. When asked “What makes a tight-knit community?” and “What makes the learner experience delightful?” wise learners shared:
“Mutual respect and opportunities to experience trips, planning, and adventure.” “Strong studio guardrails that are held with kindness is essential to a thriving studio with a close bond to care.” “Guides inspire. Having a tough but warm-hearted Guide cheer me on and encourage me to figure it out on my own with trust is huge.” “Being able to be a mentor and friend to younger learners during my servant leadership badge changed me as a person. Knowing that my actions impact others gives me meaning.” “Challenge. I don’t like struggling in the moment but it is necessary for me to find out who I am and for me to know that I can do great things."“Traditional schools are more concerned about what you do rather than who you are. At Acton I know that I am loved and trusted to explore who I want to be. The Next Great Adventure project has been the hardest and most valued experience for me to be successful.”
Just like the newly planted garden full of flowers and food, and just like our brand new baby chicks, our community is growing. We are growing as learners, as parents, as friends, as a community. Just like our beautiful children we are dreamers. We must remind ourselves that rather than seeing the world “as is” we must relentlessly see the world as what could be. Only when we believe in the unknown and we are delighted to enjoy the struggle, the overwhelm, and the intersection of our passion and truth that is joy, will we find ways to change the world. Together, we are leading learners to dream of a new world of education and while we focus our attention on them it is imperative that we root ourselves in the joy of knowing we are dreaming of them, we are all dreamers. Join me. Let’s find the joy. Let’s put in and make the joy so we can claim a life worth living.
ENJOY!