Week 19 in Review: Should goals be fun or satisfying?
What a fantastic middle school field trip this week. Thanks to the MLK Center, HowStuffWorks, and Constellations for hosting us!
Middle School Update
Transition of Power
One of the trickiest pieces of any democracy is the hand-off of leadership. Heroes prepared for this transition period in a couple of ways:
First, inspired by the communal "house" structure of Hogwarts in Harry Potter, Heroes proposed a new house system for the Studio. Using the Guide's beat-up fedora as a sorting hat, Heroes drew numbers and were assigned Houses. Once grouped, they created House names, colors, mascots, and mottos and and began competing in a "House Cup."
Second, they leveraged the new House system in their Studio government. It was agreed upon that each House could nominate two candidates for council, and the top candidate from each house would become a new council member. In this way, each House would be represented in the leadership of the Studio, ensuring fairness in the House Cup challenges.
With the House system in place, new campaigns were waged, speeches were given, and elections were held. This week, our outgoing council met with the incoming leadership team to swear them in, share wisdom, and wish them well.
And so, this experiment in self-governance lives on.
Elementary Update
After coming off the excitement of Elementary’s first badge ceremony last week, the heroes experienced a renewed sense of purpose in goal setting. For some, this means setting a goal to add more badges to their accomplishments; for others, it means putting their feet to the fire to earn that first badge.
But, what does it take to crush a goal, while still working with a standard of excellence befitting of the heroes of The Forest School?
The answer, according to the sixteen heroes determined to meet and exceed goals this session, is simple: goals should be both fun and satisfying. If it is fun, you’ll want to keep coming back to it; you’ll have the energy to keep pushing forward. If it’s satisfying, you know it’s going to feel awesome when you reach it, so you have a little extra motivation to keep cranking out work. Some heroes feel that fun is more important when it comes down to putting in the work, while others long for the satisfaction of finishing a job well done.
The best way you can support your hero at home with his or her badge goals? Find out if they are Team Fun or Team Satisfaction and continue the conversation when the school day ends. Create milestones and traditions within your family that support your hero’s goals. After all, an after school milkshake reward for slaying your goals is both fun and satisfying!
Enjoy your long weekend!
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