How Do You Make Friends? Year Two Week Three In Review
Making Friends, Self-Reflection, & Bridging Conflicts
Read below for updates from each of our three Studios.
High School Update
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
This session learners honed in on their Core Skills, excelling past 2000 minutes in Khan Academy. They began the groundwork for painting, rearranging, and designing their Studio space which includes an ombre colored wall, meme wall, and a dry and erase wall (to be revealed at Exhibition next week). Heroes completed their parent meeting in an effort to finalize their badge plan for the school year. Heroes participated in their second Civ discussion focused on police brutality.
Heroes debated a controversial topic, asked the hard questions, and truly engaged in critical thinking. During this discussion, heroes met face to face with Fayetteville police officers and brainstormed ways to bridge conflicts between community members and police departments. Today heroes took off on their first field trip to the High Museum of Art in order to gain a broader perspective of museums structures and to shamelessly steal ideals to showcase their Reimagining High School Quest next Thursday night. Stay tuned to see how learners have created a high school that fits them, not the other way around.
Middle School Update
How do you make friends?
At face value, that's a simple question. Most middle school learners would shrug in response and say something like, "I don't know, it just happens." But, if you crack that question open and really explore it—what is a friend anyway? What differentiates a good friend from a bad one, a close friend from an acquaintance? How will pursuing friendships look different 10, 20, or 40 years into the future? Then, you will learn that the answer is anything but simple.
New data is emerging all the time—on the struggles of building strong relationships in the digital age, the physical and a mental consequences of loneliness, the rising anxiety of a generation that must deal with the paradox of being constantly connected but increasingly isolated. So, what do we do?
Our Middle School Studio has been tackling those questions over the past couple of weeks as part of our Friendship Quest. Learners are designing their own Friendship Workshop to take place at the school on Friday, August 30 from 8:30 to 9:30 am. If you want to think more deeply about friendship, then you're going to want to come.
Elementary Update
"Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes.” —Lawrence Bossidy
It is important to make time for self-reflection because it’s a crucial ingredient of success. Famous athletes like Michael Jordan, successful TV personalities like Oprah Winfrey, and even world renowned scholars acknowledge the importance of self-reflection for a successful and happy life. Here at The Forest School we integrate reflection into all of our learning experiences.
As we close our third week in the Elementary Studio, heroes have created, implemented, and revised their Studio Contract and done round one of 360 feedback with Quest groups. This has meant plenty of individual and group self-reflection. We were able to take a look at the amount of work happening when we are distracted vs that of a silent Core Skills. The data was eye-opening to heroes, and they implemented helpful adjustments. They are building their “feedback muscles” in Quest groups by giving warm and cool feedback to group members. Heroes had to dig deep to critique friends, accept feedback they may not agree with, and make adjustments to finish the Session 1 Quest strong.
These Elementary Heroes are stepping up to the plate and hitting a home run when up to bat. As we continue to work more and more with feedback throughout the year, it is our intention that they will learn to give it, love it, and crave it; carrying this skill with them throughout life!