Announcing our overarching question for the 2024-2025 school year!

 

We are excited to announce that after extensive discussions, brainstorming sessions, and feedback from our learners, parents, and Guides, we have finalized the overarching question for The Forest School’s seventh year.

The 2024-2025 overarching question will be... Drum roll please...

How can you become the hero of your own story and accomplish great things?

In a year of self-discovery. In a time of global challenges and opportunities. In a community that values individuality and collective growth.

At The Forest School, our commitment is Empowering Learners to Lead Their Own Journeys.

Here’s how this question will be broken down over the year:

For each session, we will focus on one of the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers" to guide our exploration and personal growth:

  1. Be Proactive
    Highly effective teens take responsibility for their own lives. They control situations rather than letting moments control them. This means learning to take initiative for decisions that affect you. Instead of being reactive, be proactive. Take control of your education, relationships, and life choices.

  2. Begin With The End In Mind
    Set goals for yourself. As teenagers full of dreams, setting end goals and working toward turning those dreams into reality is essential. Start small and work your way toward your goals with motivation, patience, and discipline.

  3. Put First Things First
    Prioritize your tasks. Recognize your priorities and work toward them. For example, during exam season, prioritize exam preparation and scoring well. Developing discipline and time management skills is crucial.

  4. Think Win-Win
    Adopt an "everyone can win" attitude. Understand the power of being a team player and look for mutual benefits in every situation. Thinking win-win can help in group studies, maintaining friendships, and more.

  5. Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood
    Understand the power of listening. Recognize the difference between actually listening and just waiting to be heard. To get your point across, you must be willing to listen and understand others' points first. This requires patience and humility.

  6. Synergize
    Understand the importance of teamwork and creative cooperation. Synergy means that "two heads are better than one," so working together can achieve more. This can be beneficial in exam preparation, social situations, and other collaborative efforts.

  7. Sharpen the Saw
    Self-care is crucial! Take breaks to renew yourself and evaluate the other habits. This keeps you physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually healthy.

Context and Significance:

Each year at The Forest School, we choose an overarching question to guide our curriculum planning and unify various aspects of the day into a cohesive learning experience. Throughout the year, Guides and learners will revisit this question repeatedly. Additionally, Tyler will discuss the question and related themes in parent meetings.

For instance, previous years at other Acton Academies have explored questions like "What motivates a hero?" where students created personal motivational mottos, engaged in Socratic discussions about motivation, and undertook projects to explore their entrepreneurial drive.

Some past overarching questions from other Acton Academies include:

  • What does it mean to be human? Can a robot become a human or vice versa?

  • Does power corrupt?

  • Does the past determine the future?

  • What motivates a hero?

  • When does a Hero submit to authority?

  • Must a Hero conquer fear to find true love?

In deciding our overarching question, we sought input from our learners and parents/caregivers to ensure it resonated with our community’s needs and aspirations.

We welcome your ideas and feedback on our Facebook page to help us maximize the potential of this year’s question.

Join us in this exciting journey as we explore how to become the heroes of our own stories and achieve great things together!

 
Tyler Thigpen