As anyone who's been following along on this journey knows, our goal at Acton Academy is to empower children to see themselves as the hero on their own hero's journey. A key part of this process is identifying and nurturing the heroic character traits that will guide them along the way - helping them develop into responsible, compassionate, and resilient individuals. Traits such as honesty, bravery, perseverance, empathy, and integrity not only support academic success but also shape children's ability to navigate the challenges of life with confidence and a strong moral compass. Encouraging these qualities helps children build positive relationships, make ethical decisions, and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways. By prioritizing the development of heroic traits, children are empowered to stand up for what is right, persevere through setbacks, and show kindness and understanding toward others, creating a foundation for a more just and compassionate society.
One way we accomplish this is through inspiring stories of heroic characters. This week we read the story, "The Empty Pot"; set in ancient China, this story follows a young boy named Ping, who lives in a village known for its beautiful gardens. One day, the Emperor announces a unique challenge: he will give a seed to every child in the kingdom, and whoever can grow the most beautiful flower will become the next emperor. Ping, excited but nervous, receives his seed and plants it with great care, hoping for a magnificent bloom.
Despite his best efforts, Ping's seed does not grow. He waters it, gives it sunlight, and takes great care of it, but it remains a bare, empty pot. As the day of the competition draws near, Ping feels ashamed and worried that his empty pot will cause him to lose. But rather than replace it with a more impressive flower, Ping decides to bring the empty pot to the Emperor, telling him the truth about his failure.
When Ping arrives at the Emperor’s palace with his empty pot, he is surprised to find that all the other children have flowers in full bloom. However, the Emperor soon reveals that he had given everyone a boiled seed, one that would not grow. The child who could bring him a pot with the honest truth - that nothing had grown - was the one who would be chosen to become the next emperor. Ping’s honesty and courage in presenting his empty pot show his wisdom and integrity, qualities the Emperor values most.
In the end, Ping is chosen as the new Emperor, not for his ability to grow a beautiful flower, but for his honesty and sincerity. The book carries an important message about the power of truth and the importance of staying true to oneself, even in difficult situations.
After reading this book, we had a Socratic discussion about honesty and difficult choices. We discussed scenarios in studio where choosing honesty may be difficult, role played these scenarios, and our call to action was to remember Ping when confronted with these moments.
There were a couple of major milestones in our studio this week - one of our youngest learners has been working diligently on his handwriting skills, taking his work home each day and setting SMART goals with his parents every morning. This week, we were all so excited for him as he slammed his completed book shut, rang the bell, and gleefully put his first badge up on his crest! He's already got his sights set on his next badge and he's got the whole studio cheering him on as he pushes on towards that goal.
The other - our first exhibition. There was lots of excitement in the air on Thursday as the studio prepared for this event. Exhibitions are opportunities for the heroes to show their friends and family what they have learned over the course of the session. It is an exhibition of their work and the effort they put into it. We decorated, deep cleaned, practiced our hero presentations and eagerly awaited the arrival of family and friends. Windows were decorated, paper garlands were hung, and children pushed through to complete work to earn just one more badge before the exhibition.
By 2:15pm the excitement reached a fever pitch, so the heroes headed outdoors to run off some energy and greet their family as they arrived. One by one, cars began to pull up and children eagerly led their parents and grandparents by hand towards the front doors. They guided them through the studio, showing them the hero posters on our bathroom doors, the Monsters posters, the core skills maps, their badge crests, gave demonstrations on their tablets of their e-learning programs, and showed them their favourite toys and games in our Spark Play zone. Before long it was time for the Hero Presentations; each learner had practiced getting up in front of the group, stating their name, age, and either a hero they'd learned of this session who inspired them, an accomplishment they're proud of, or a goal they have for next session. This was entirely learner-led, and went as many first Acton exhibitions go - with a fair amount of giggles and wiggles! After the Hero Presentation we signed our Studio Contract, sealing our promises and commitments to each other, and then said our goodbyes.
The following morning, we relaxed in our PJs and took a moment to pause and reflect on the previous afternoon's events. We went around the circle and rated ourselves: on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "very poorly", to 5 being "exceptional", how did we rate our individual presentations? How did we feel we showed up for this exhibition? As has been the case time and time again, these young people proved they are incredibly self aware. The ratings ran the gamut from 0 to 5. I asked one learner why he rated himself a 2, and he said, "I didn't do a good job of keeping my contract promises." I asked him to be more specific, and he said, "I didn't treat the studio as a sacred space and I distracted others." He is 6. Another shared that he felt nervous and embarrassed speaking in front of all of those people, and that's why he was "silly". I empathized with these young heroes - getting up and speaking in front of a room of people is hard, and requires a lot of courage. Children in an Acton setting will do this multiple times every year, from 5 years old to 18. The end result? A young person who is secure, well-spoken, interviews with excellence, and blows away the adults in the room with their clarity, capability, and confidence. I've seen it in Acton graduates, and I know I'll see it with these heroes too.
After each learner had a chance to state their rating and their reasoning, we then identified strategies they could use next time to improve the outcome and their ratings. We gave each other warm-cool-warm feedback (something you did well, something you could improve, and something you did well), and then moved on to continue with our daily core skills work. For afternoon Spark Play, I witnessed children cozying up indoors, reading books together on the couch, playing boardgames, and colouring Christmas-themed colouring pages.
Friday afternoon came and we said goodbye to our friends for now. Next week, new adventures and challenges await!
“Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process.” – Elif Shafak
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