Week 3 of our Hero’s Journey

“Ms. Brittany, What we really need is Hero Bucks…And rules.”

I never thought I would hear our heroes asking me for rules! However, I was surprised to hear this come up during our closing discussion on Thursday. Our heroes have talked about creating a culture of encouragement at Journey Academy, they have created a “Hero’s Contract” with the values they wish to uphold in the studio, and they have had some great discussions. However, until this morning, our heroes haven’t had “official” rules that govern their studio. That is why we held a special ceremony…

The Signing of The Hero’s Contract is a very special moment where all of our heroes come together and agree that the values they have discussed are ones that they will commit to following with their whole hearts. Everyone raises their right hand, promises to follow each of the values to the best of his/her ability, and then signs The Hero’s Contract.

  

Once the Hero’s Contract is in place, our heroes begin to hold each other to the Core Values of our studio. They use Conflict Resolution to help when their friends are not upholding them, and Hero Bucks if the conflict continues. Our heroes also regularly call out each other’s character. If someone is demonstrating that they are showing excellence, they recognize it. This week, there were some exceptional moments in the studio:

One hero filmed his commercial for the business fair 8 times because he wanted to do his best work. Another hero actually told everyone they needed to participate in the reading of The Hero’s Contract, and had us redo the first reading. During P.E., our heroes ran 4 laps around the track. However, 2 heroes ran 7 because they had extra time and wanted to challenge themselves more! Yet another hero reminded the younger heroes that they needed to clean with excellence during studio maintenance, and even demonstrated how to fold the Chrome Book cords in a more orderly way (to prevent it from looking sloppy). Still, another hero went around during project time, helping younger heroes login in to a business game on their Chrome Books.

I am so proud of our young heroes and the fact that they desire to hold each other and their community to a set of high standards. As we continue with The Hero’s Contract and Hero Bucks in place, our heroes will be more empowered to govern themselves. This is a huge step in our Journey, but I am so excited for them!

Discussion questions this week included:

• Which businesses at the Farmer’s Market had interesting displays? Which had excellent customer service? Names? Did any of the businesses catch your attention right away?
• Which is the most effective when pitching an idea to someone? Appealing to their emotions (ethos), using logic (logos), or giving them a good cause (pathos)?
• What was the most challenging part of completing your business plan?
• How many of your SMART goals did you reach this week? Were they challenging for you? Are you proud of your work? How did you use your time, and how could you use it even better next week? What was the most distracting to you this week?