Justice Dikaiosyne
Treating people fairly and giving everyone what they're owed, including yourself.
43 moments from Aim’s letters home, newest first. Each letter opens with the part that shows justice highlighted.
The power of prayer...
Aim's community has become very diverse in many ways. We may agree and disagree on many important issues--including spiritual matters. Aim is not going to be a religious school and will forever remain a safe space for everyone regardless of their beliefs.
Read the letter →Will Aim become Lord of the Flies next year?
More than once over the years, some of Aim's debates about its laws of governance have felt like our own little Constitutional Conventions. I assume that will be the prevailing reality next year as the eagles take their ownership of their tribe to the next level.
Read the letter →There is a chasm opening under our feet...
created the environment that allowed for Aim's newly minted School Council to make some incredibly hard decisions that ultimately led to one of our families deciding to leave our community. And mind you, they did so with courage, love, uncompromising integrity, and wisdom few groups of adults I associate with could muster.
Read the letter →A few words about the School Council...
Aim's School Council takes a similar approach and by doing so they ensure that decisions are made based on the specific circumstances and nuances of each scenario, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all rule. Such a practice is grounded in fairness and the understanding that justice is best served when tailored to the unique aspects of each case.
Read the letter →Ok two posts in two days? That's just crazy
An ancient pirate pistol washes up on an island. An intense discussion follows about who should get it. Does previous ownership matter? Should anyone have that power? (or should they throw it in the ocean) Does "finders keepers" apply? Is it fair to prevent someone labeled as 'crazy' on their island from getting it? Or does the leader on the island just get to pick who keeps it?
Read the letter →The Importance of Change
When someone isn’t following a contract promise during Flow Zone, they hold one another accountable by giving out a "flow busted" card to remind them of what they should be doing instead. Once the reminder is given, that Spark has to take their work into a quiet place for 15 minutes to get back into flow.
Read the letter →The symphony of Flow and the hardships of the road.
They've utilized every studio Town Hall to create systems to support what is most needed - addressing various topics of concern, and working through differences of opinion. And, they've done so with more grace and patience than many adult groups I've been a part of.
Read the letter →Change is hard when it involves the ones we love
These little geniuses decided to start each week with 5 gold coins. If they break a contract rule, and are held accountable by a fellow traveler, they have to give up one of their gold coins. If they feel they were wronged, they can choose to take the issue to committee. The committee is made up of three members who will listen to both sides of the story and decide if a coin should be given up.
Read the letter →"Well....here we go!"
The eagles are in a fierce fight for the soul of the school. I believe all eagles are sincere and well-intentioned in their convictions, but nevertheless, there are some strong disagreements about the best way to self-govern as an free tribe of independent learners--naturally the applicable lessons about living in a civil society are through the roof.
Read the letter →Spark Studio Session 6 Update! (5/23/22)
I asked them if it was easier to let an adult hold the line, or is it easier when they hold the line? Most replied that it was easier to let an adult do it. After listening to all the responses, one thoughtful Spark chimed in and said that they should be the ones to hold the line because it's their studio and their contract! The group agreed that they had made the contract, and so they needed to uphold it!
Read the letter →Session Roundup (5/20/22)
When are preemptive attacks justified? Would you preemptively attack a nuclear facility in North Korea if you were 100% confident that they were going to launch an attack on the US? What if you were 80% certain? 60%? What if 10,000 innocent Koreans would die in the attack? What if 100,000?
Read the letter →A word of gratitude (4/23/22)
And you guys are the ones who deserve those payouts more than anyone! So I know it's not fair that I get to share so many of those moments with your kids. It is 100% unjust on so many levels.
Read the letter →Experiencing history is not easy…..is it worth it? (3/26/22)
The eagles heavily debated their own founding documents. The ES set out almost immediately to resurrect many of the systems that had become familiar to them--with a few changes based on their newly acquired knowledge. The older students took the opportunity to reformulate almost everything about their tribe. Most of the old systems were thrown out and they began building their tribe from scratch.
Read the letter →The Price of Freedom (3/1/22)
It was wrong. Several eagles began to look to the sacred Studio Contract for relief. None of the rules of the quest were in line with the Contract. So...we rounded everyone up into the lab. And tore their beloved contract to shreds in front of their disbelieving eyes.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 4 (1/22/22)
When I taught in failing schools in Chicago and Jacksonville, the problems of pushing kids through the system regardless of progress were highlighted stronger than in most traditional schools. When I was teaching middle school there were kids in my class ranging from performing on grade level to literally kindergarten. That type of problem will never exist at Aim.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 3 (12/5/21)
Several of the morning launches after this announcement centered around voting for what prices to set the freedoms at. The studio was very divided. About half wanted the prices to be low, and the other half wanted them to be set high.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 2 (11/5/21)
The eagles discussed this week how it is unfair to rely on a few courageous eagles to hold the line for everyone and be the only tribe members willing to ask for eagle bucks. They unanimously said that they all wanted to share that burden together.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/25/21)
We saw delegation with reporting, holding a high standard of excellence for work done, tracking systems implemented, a balance of warm-heartedness and tough-mindedness when passing judgment, and many more.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/11/21)
Town Hall - this is a weekly meeting where our learners can bring up anything they want to debate and potentially bring about changes to the school.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (8/27/21)
It was in line with this sentiment, and the unbelievable trust that our model places in our young learners, that I presented to our school this morning the consequences of not completing the first week's challenge on time.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/30/21)
Thursday at the end of school, recall votes for several positions were held. There were strong arguments for and against "firing" someone from their job.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/22/21)
Another Federal expense became due on Thursday and they did not have the amount to pay it because the Tax collector did not collect taxes on time. (They decided to fire the person and hire someone else.) Even after collecting taxes, the amount fell short - leading to a whole studio consequence of losing Free Choice Friday and needing to do an extra Studio Maintenance.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/14/21)
Each state actually sent a representative to vote on how taxes should be implemented studio-wide. This led to great conversation about state vs federal taxes, flat tax rates vs progressive tax rates, and what taxes should be spent on.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/8/21)
In fact, one of the Sparks raised a question about the difficulty of a work so they discussed it, came up with possible solutions and voted on it. The guides were then informed about the change. True Leaders!
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (4/30/21)
The excellence committee is taking a bit longer to get going this session in completing audits and holding each other accountable but had a meeting this week to set the framework.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (3/26/21)
We've also seen a lot of Eagles holding each other accountable when they are distracting others or not being focused on their work. Eagle bucks were asked for several times. Seeing them step up without prompting is exactly what we are looking for in a learner-driven community.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (3/12/21)
They also each reflected on whether they were willing to step up and hold another Eagle accountable when there was not excellence in the standards set.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 5 (2/26/21)
A new way of holding each other accountable to the Standards of Excellence was voted on today and will be finalized next week as the Excellence Committee will now include EVERY eagle. They saw the value of not having just 2 eagles hold the power of this committee.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (2/12/21)
After hearing both sides of the issue, two committee members said “I still don’t really know how to vote.” Ms. Serena asked whether it would be helpful to deliberate without anyone listening to them. The Disputes Committee members then proceeded to huddle together (please do yourself a favor and go see the photo on the Roundup Bloomz post) and discussed their feelings on the matter.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/29/21)
Yet, they always circle back to— "did this person break a promise on the contract" rather than "whose side I should be on." Although they can reach different conclusions on the same issue, the Disputes Committee is bound together in their commitment to be unbiased, hear both sides and hold meetings as soon as possible.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/22/21)
The true value lies in the opportunity to make decisions that meaningfully impact themselves and each other. Learning to do the hard work of self-governance through trial and error. Learning to be a hero in holding fellow travelers accountable to shared promises. A culture grounded in shared responsibility rather than victimhood.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/15/21)
Ultimately, the Eagles voted in favor of “taking the training wheels off” and discarding the warning system for ES/MS Eagles. They did say that Spark Eagles should still get a warning if they are breaking the contract, because they are younger and still learning.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/8/21)
The Excellence Committee conducts daily audits of two randomly selected Eagles after Core Skills to ensure that each sticker they earned for the day was legitimately earned. If an Eagle misrepresents their work by taking more stickers than they actually earned, they lose 10 stickers off of their sticker chart, an Eagle Buck and 25 House Points.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 3 (12/18/20)
The week began with a series of recall votes— for the House Heroes and Time Keeper. After being unable to uphold the Standards of Excellence in the prior week, each leader was given a chance to appeal to their peers to stay in their position. Ultimately, all were voted to stay in, although the Time Keeper would face another recall later in the week.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 3 (12/4/20)
Ultimately, the Eagles decided to remove the opportunity to earn House points by being the first House ready for launches (Socratic Discussions) as well as changing the amount of House Points earned during the Pick Up System to 10 points for the winning house and 5 points to the losing house.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 3 (12/11/20)
Additionally, the Eagles agreed that calling for a recall vote for one of the studio leaders is not something that people should be happy or excited about. Rather— it serves as an opportunity to help a fellow traveler determine whether they are the right fit for the position at that time.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (11/20/20)
The discussion was lively, as the studio proposed and debated various solutions. Ultimately, the Eagles decided to permit each other to ask for three Eagle Bucks per week, create a trampoline sign-up sheet, maintain the current amount of Core Skills time and to reaffirm their commitment to treat the studio like a sacred space by taking care of their shared tools.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/30/20)
One Eagle said that it felt unfair to immediately ask another Eagle for an Eagle Buck in such circumstances. They proposed a solution— whenever you see another Eagle breaking a promise, you may warn them that the next time they do so they will be fined an Eagle Buck.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/23/20)
The studio resolved this tie by electing a 2nd substitute member for the Disputes Committee. After hearing both sides and asking several questions of the Eagles involved, they unanimously decided that the Eagle did owe an Eagle Buck. That is the studio’s system of accountability in a nutshell!
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/16/20)
Perhaps the most important development from the town hall this week was their decision to limit the number of Eagle Bucks anyone can ask for to one per week. This was their solution to the problem of some students asking for too many, or asking for very small infractions, or asking out of retaliation.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (10/02/20)
Over the past several weeks, they have been playing the Contract Game to test out different rules for the studio. The true test of a rule is when someone is asked for an Eagle Buck for not upholding that promise. This led the Eagles to discard some rules and keep others.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/25/20)
There was one instance where an Eagle asked another Eagle for an Eagle Buck for not speaking with encouragement, kindness or truth, however, said Eagle appealed to the Disputes Committee and they decided that they did not owe an Eagle Buck. These events have served as powerful examples of accountability.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/11/20)
The Eagles have been testing out new rules and guidelines by playing the Contract Game. At the end of each day, they decide whether the two new rules they tested out in “the Lab” deserve to go in their permanent studio contract or in the graveyard. Then, they choose two new rules for the next day to test out in the lab.
Read the letter →