Expanding your mind is exhausting work
And it's relentlessly occurring every day during town hall as the eagles continue to build their tribe and write what are to be its founding documents.
The daily debates have become very......intense. The eagles are tired at times due to everything this session has demanded from them, frustrated at times due to lack of progress, and confused at times as each eagle speaks their own language. They feel alone at times, successful at times, unsuccessful at others. Excited, lost, making progress, floundering, patient, impatient, confident and questioning...
Notwithstanding this is the third time our school has gone through this process, the way things are unfolding this year are still unprecedented in so many ways.
Many eagles have taken a stab at leading the discussions--each with a different approach. Most are finding ways to contribute in their own way--even if it just means staying engaged to lend emotional support to the group. Bit by bit they are chipping away at things. Yet without a signed contract in place, many have adopted the position that nobody can be held accountable yet. The result is largely a school without consequences...which is perhaps why some of you may be screaming at your screens right now, "Why aren't the guides intervening?!!!!"
Well I'll tell you why.
Because stuttering...stumbling...clumsily blundering through unexplored mental pathways...painstakingly crafting virgin sentences one hesitant word at a time...these eagles are forging world-shaking character.
You can literally see the exertion on their faces as they try to formulate the words to express new thoughts, make new connections, and force that fattening brain of theirs to establish new neural pathways.
In a handful of these townhall discussions I have literally been in awe of what is transpiring. What are these eagles being prepared for?? Whatever it is...it is big.
Meanwhile the quest continues to build. Yes, the inaccurately named Renaissance Quest as I can picture Nate saying right now lol (and we haven't even gotten to the dragons yet!). But believe me, if there is a mistake, it is a mistake in name only. This is the experience these eagles needed right now for their hero's journey.
And the longer we go, the further these eagles get into character in noticeable ways. They continue to level up within their guilds. They continue to understand their characters better as they both get more experience with interacting with Devonshire, and also flesh out their backstories further. Their relationships and motives are becoming stronger, the acting and accents better, the conversations more realistic...all of which means that when a death occurs within the game, it is much more serious. And alas! There have been some deaths of late. Roy met an untimely death. The man in black is no more. Most recently, Queen Evangeline was killed which caused an uproar throughout the realm. Sparks were in tears. Some rejoiced, others despaired as there was a rush to fill the power vacuum she left. The daily landings have become more and more important as there is more and more to process.
A brief detour for any concerned Spark parents--Ms. Britney's nurturing is as strong as Mr. Lance's ferocity lol. And there are many hugs to go around. Ms. Britney hilariously commented that sometimes she feels like a mother hen trying to gather her chicks, and then Mr. Lance is like, 'Send in the foxes!" Perhaps partially true...I will just say that the superpowers of the guides are incredibly complimentary. And side note, this is the last planned school-wide quest of the year.
Yet, in spite of the pain, nay! because of the pain, this quest has led to some dazzling moments. In landing yesterday I asked the eagles, "How many of you have had a moment during this quest where you were literally trembling?--shaking because you didn't know what the next words out of your character's mouth were going to be, or the next action you were going to take. A moment where all of your character's plans have gone up in smoke, the stakes are higher than you ever imagined, and you are tapping into the unknown?" The majority of hands went up.
I said, "Well then you are experiencing history!"
Making history in the mornings...experiencing history in the afternoons. It doesn't get any better than this :)
