What Are You Capable Of? Year Two Week Seventeen In Review
holidays and no grades
Read below for updates from each of our three Studios.
elementary Update
"The holiday season is a perfect time to reflect on our blessings and seek out ways to make life better for those around us.” – Anonymous
As we culminate the first half of our school year, holiday cheer has entered the hearts and minds of our elementary heroes. While our Holiday Dinner Quest was sure to capture their enthusiasm and imagination, the inspiration they gained led to a studio of self-reflection and joy.
Heroes learned about holidays celebrated around the world, they planted fruit trees throughout Pinewood Forest, and hosted a holiday Dinner for family and friends. All of which were joined by the common thread of giving back and doing for others. This was brought to life by three beautiful launches given by heroes throughout this session.
We got a lesson in Dr. Emoto’s experiment on the effect positive and negative words have on water crystals, and our own bodies. The launch ended with how we could use positive words to encourage one another. The next great launch was on respect. Heroes brainstormed ways we can respect ourselves, those we encounter, and our fellow heroes. Finally, we heard the story of a 10 year old boy that spent his summer refurbishing old bikes, and giving them to kids in need. Heroes thought deeply about how they had spent their summers, and how they could have possibly given back. Our call to action was to see how we could use this season to not only think about ourselves, but those that may not be as fortunate.
Hearing these heroes unprompted launches, inspired even the guides to work just a little harder to foster this culture in our studio. We culminated by giving back to our families and celebrating with them at our Quest dinner. Hopefully, these important life lessons will follow them as they grow and lead a life of paying it forward.
Happy Holidays!
Middle School Update
Wait, you don't have grades?
A question we get a lot is how we track a learner's progress and achievement if we don't have grades. It's a good question, and one that we have a lot of fun answering. At The Forest School, learners accrue badges by proving mastery in a topic. So, a learner may earn a Pre-algebra badge by mastering 100% of the content on Khan Academy. Or a learner may earn a Storytelling badge by working a piece through multiple rounds of revision, receiving feedback from peers and expert graders alike, and getting a final "greenlight" to publish. Often times, learners have to earn badges by "doing" something live. In recent quests, learners have had to measure soil samples, cook omelets, and present a Design Thinking process - and receive real-time feedback - in front of people. Building the muscles to display evidence to "prove" mastery is much more important to us than arbitrary grades. Here, we constantly ask "What are you capable of?" and then we step back and give learners a chance to show us - and show themselves - exactly what they can do.
high school Update
Happy Holidays!
"Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties." -Helen Keller
Each day, week, and month differ based on one's outlook and understanding of self determination. Each week heroes continue to master classes within their core skills. At this point in the year, heroes have completed a total of ten classes on Khan Academy. With Exhibition at the forefront of this week, we began with an outward perspective from business expert Tony Tringale of the Kenna Group. In addition, heroes received even more feedback from business owners, some including Amber Bryant, Zac Brown, Allison Tringale, Kate Hawkins, and Eva Clark. What a showcase exhibition was! Heroes displayed their entrepreneurship skills through creativity, innovation, and design thinking as they pitched their business ideas to the first High School Shark Tank including Mimi Tin of Sushi Style, Yvette Cook Darby, Chief Operating Officer of Inspire Inc., and Christopher Stanford of DT Associates of Raymond James. The studio ended the week in celebration with a holiday party and badge ceremony!
"Upon us is the new year, Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
-Onward
Enjoy your break!
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