Trust

Learning to live in an Acton community is hard but with vulnerability and time comes amazing rewards.

I am not only an Acton leader but I’m a fellow parent. I know too well the feeling of watching my own daughter fail, not quite pass that reading level, and I know the feeling of worrying if she’ll make the right choices. It’s hard, but as hard as it is for me it’s ten fold worth it when I step back and allow her to fail because when she picks herself up and tries again and finally reaches her goal she holds greater pride in her independence and honors her journey of learning to learn. 

We aren’t asking you to trust us (well maybe a little), we are asking you to trust your learner. Trust their curiosity, their developed love for learning, and their pride in being able to set and achieve their own goals. As adults, old habits die hard, especially habits of traditional schooling. When you feel that urge for immediate excellence and notice that you want to push your learner to read a little harder or faster simply stop and ask yourself am I pushing for me or for them? Usually, it’s us and that’s when we need to stop and trust!

Acton is different and I promise we all are going to make mistakes. But, with mistakes comes amazing learning, with mistakes comes the drive to try something different. Learning isn’t linear, learning is an ebb and flow and the most valuable life lesson is to learn to learn, learn to do, and learn to be. So, my fellow parents, please join me in trying to be different and trying to trust our owls with tough-mindedness and warm heartedness. It’s not just our learners who are on a hero’s journey, we too are on our own journeys and we are in this together!