Is Negotiation An Art Or A Skill? - Year 4, Week 11

 

This week our learners continued their quest to master negotiations, aided by some amazing real world experts. Efforts to prepare for the Business Fair pick up, all while building towards an exciting exhibition!


spark studio

We have been given a wonderful opportunity to partner with a school in Kirashiki, Japan for our Trip Around the World Quest. As Japan is 14 hours ahead of us we are communicating through videos. We recently sent our first video introducing ourselves and asking a question. We can’t wait to hear back from our new friends. Ms. Renee has introduced us to her friends in Burkino Faso, Africa. We are learning about the different celebrations that take place and look forward to sharing our discoveries with you soon.

The Spark and Lower Elementary studios are in the midst of negotiating the use and care of the playground. Next week each studio will have a chance to share ground rules they would like to see enacted.

Fall is here and we are spending time learning the life cycle of a pumpkin. We had the chance to carve a pumpkin and roast the seeds to taste. We have an experiment going to see how long it takes a seed to sprout. Let’s grow!


elementary studio

What a week! The Business Fair has been at the forefront of everyone’s mind this week. Heroes are very excited to share their creations and discuss their business model at Trilith this Saturday, October 30th from 12-4.

Parent- Guide conferences also begin next week, so don’t forget to sign up for a meeting!

During Quest, our heroes have delved into the challenges of music industry negotiations and contracts. Heroes also began drafting their memoirs this week. Focusing on a time when they were sad and a time they ate something weird, our heroes’ writing is full of details and clarity. As they share their stories with the Studio, it feels as if we were there with them!

Our heroes became cartographers this week as they designed a map for their own city/country. Using TODALS, our heroes’ maps included all of the qualities of a great, legible, legendary map!

The week concluded with a costume party where heroes enjoyed pizza, played a variety of games, and overall, thoroughly enjoyed themselves!


middle school studio

This session, learners are practicing how to be effective writers. The best way to grow as a writer is to write. Learners will be writing four essays over the course of the session (informational, persuasive, personal, and critical). For each essay, learners will get feedback on their writing from peers and a professional grader and will revise for improvement. Ask your learner to share their writing and the feedback they're receiving.

Additionally, learners are practicing how to elicit emotion through their writing. They will have practice on writing for laughs (comedy) and writing to create suspense (horror). Through this practice, middle school heroes are growing in their ability to write well and write effectively.


high school studio

I’ve grown up a little bit. I understand the importance of negotiation. It is a collective act. -Thom Mayne

Each week heroes' negotiation skills continue to grow and develop! This week they worked to develop an understanding of their counterparts negotiation skills by asking questions and then applying those answers to their next negotiation. A large number of learners in the studio are interested in music production, thus this week's negotiation dealt with music contract deals, whether writing or producing. At the end of the week Heroes received feedback on their negotiation skills from none other than, Daniel Bashta.

Technology has and continues to evolve over time. Who knows what the future will hold! Flying cars, underground transportation…this week for civilization, heroes dissected technology and its evolution over three time periods and looked forward to the future. In groups they created new inventions that will hopefully one day be marketable products.

Whether college bound or not, heroes continue to develop their writing skills as they have chosen essay topics and have begun their persuasive and argumentative essays.

As a studio, it is very apparent that they are truly learning and understanding the importance of negotiation skills and how to use them in their future endeavors! We can’t wait to see the final product at the sessions Exhibition.


-Onward


Banner image via

 
Tyler Thigpen