Week 27 in Review: When should you quit versus push through?

discipline is a yield sign

apprenticeships

Elementary Update

Anything new you begin to tinker with starts out as fun. The initial exploration and discovery—coupled with a few quick “wins”—piques interest and keeps you coming back for more. But, all new things, regardless of how fun they may be, eventually become challenging. It’s then that a choice should be made...a metaphorical fork in the road. Do you choose to quit and find a new, interesting thing to tinker with, or

do you apply discipline to persevere through the obstacles?

This fork in the road was experienced by elementary heroes through several launches and discussions this week...from sports to friendship to school to adventures. When should one quit to begin something new and when should we push through? What are the advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios? When have you experienced this process and which road did you decide to take?

The discernment of learners ages 6 - 11 brought forth rich conversation. Ultimately the heroes concluded that the fork in the road shouldn’t be a fork but rather a cycle: When discipline is applied and a challenge is overcome, fun is reached again. Discipline is more a yield sign than a stop sign. Perhaps the most astute observation made from a Level 5 hero is that you can always turn back. She described a time when she was initially discouraged by Aleks Quicktables, frustrated with the platform’s time limit. For a length of time, she chose to quit Aleks, ignoring this specific piece of her badge plan. When pressed by her peers about what prompted her to move forward, she landed on a key component initially left out of the cycle: motivation. When fun fades and the temptation to quit is ripe, finding the right motivation paves a new path and it’s one worth traveling.

middle school Update

The Hero walked up, with a planner tucked under her arm and phone in her hand. "They said now's a good time. I'm going to step outside and make a phone call." She then stepped out onto the porch, hopped on a call, and secured a 40-hour apprenticeship.

Even the youngest heroes in our Middle School Studio are gaining practice in pitching themselves, through emails and cold calls, highlighting the value they can bring to the job and how the opportunity might help them on their Hero's Journey.

And the result?

This week our Studio has been pretty bare. Most of our Heroes have been out working at places all over the city, learning by doing, and honing their ability to find a calling and change the world.

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