Practical wisdom Phronesis
Thinking a situation through and choosing the best thing to do, here and now.
45 moments from Aim’s letters home, newest first. Each letter opens with the part that shows practical wisdom highlighted.
What's actually happening inside the Lamentum Institute
Your kids are making genuinely hard decisions about loyalty, identity, power, and sacrifice, feeling the full emotional weight of those choices, and then walking out and reflecting on what they learned.
Read the letter →What's better than every simulation I ever did in grad school?
It's about the closest thing you can get to trying out a decision in a very complicated morally grey area, witnessing and feeling the effects of that decision, but never actually having to pay a real price.
Read the letter →There is a chasm opening under our feet...
And we guides needed to understand the things that each new shift taught us . In other words, I think that if we had tried the change we made this session even one session earlier, it would have failed.
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 →The Odyssey is not just a game...
As our eagles navigate this complex web of choices, they're learning to weigh options, consider consequences, and trust their instincts.
Read the letter →Work hard, play hard. The new motto for ES.
Regardless, as I have been auditing everything in the studio, it is extremely clear that the studio needed a good spring cleaning. Overly complicated systems, cluttered badges, far too many online software offerings, etc. We need to get back to the basics--a genuinely happy and curious learner-driven community committed to excellence.
Read the letter →A Tapestry of Lessons: Chess, Cooking, and Art
They also embraced adaptability – when a recipe didn't go as planned, they learned to improvise, adjusting ingredients and methods, mirroring the essential skill of adapting to life's unexpected turns.
Read the letter →Ok two posts in two days? That's just crazy
An eagle who had been carrying enormous weight on her island being forced to make an impossible decision to do what she thought would help her tribe survive, and then walking outside to stare out at the ocean (parking lot), reflecting on the memory she had received that morning, wondering to herself, "Who have I become?"
Read the letter →Two roads diverged in a wood...
I think I have largely traded being a very subpar Head of School over the past few three years in exchange for being a decent guide. But Aim is going to need a decent Head of School over the next few years as each studio grows, as we design/permit/build our new campus, etc. I know this is the best move for the school AND for the eagles.
Read the letter →Session 4 Aim Academy Roundup - EES & DS
So, when problems and challenges surfaced within their studio systems this session, the Eagles faced it the same way they had learned to handle it with their robot's design -- debating, planning, implementing, testing & reviewing.
Read the letter →Two and a half hours of gut-wrenching soul testing later...
Using the same analogy with a different application, I was vigilantly looking for any signs that we needed to throw in the towel and pause the discussion to avoid pushing too far. But those signs never came.
Read the letter →The symphony of Flow and the hardships of the road.
We've watched as they make a plan, execute that plan, evaluate their plan and make a new plan (as needed).
Read the letter →My sincerest apologies...
When they were faced with important trade offs between time, quest incentives, and feelings of fellow travelers, they calmly and quickly considered all, held votes, and then moved forward.
Read the letter →How well do you know your eagles?
It didn't take long before they realized/decided to split it up (it was an adjustable dumbbell that breaks down into 10 lb increments) and spread the weight out evenly amongst them. Dividing the pile of rocks between all of their shoes shortly followed.
Read the letter →Any astrophysicists out there? Someone help me out...
If I had to pick one of our launch questions to sum up the week I think it would be, "In the world of business, is it better to be an actor who errors on the side of action even if at times it means being rash, or a collector who errors on the side of getting more information even if at times it means being paralyzed by inaction?"
Read the letter →Change is hard when it involves the ones we love
It was more like a checklist that they were attempting to race through, rather than truly trying to master and study the works at their own pace. It also wasn’t cultivating independent learners the way we had hoped it would. So, we pivoted and decided to pull badges and the title of quests from the Spark studio.
Read the letter →"Well....here we go!"
Our eagles are learning to think beyond their own points of view and consider multiple perspectives on both new and familiar topics through playing different roles. They are learning how to consider life from other viewpoints, adding layers of complexity and new dimensions to their thinking on many themes already materializing in the quest (right vs wrong, rich vs poor, revenge vs justice, life and death and power to name a few).
Read the letter →One chapter ends...another begins...(5/27/22)
But to be honest, I would have ignored all of those reasons if I also didn't believe that a two-week experience is really what the eagles need to end the year, begin to heal and rebuild some of themselves they have exhausted over the past two sessions, and then go into their summer break whole and excited, instead of downtrodden and spent.
Read the letter →Spark Studio Session 6 Update! (5/23/22)
After a well guided discussion with Mr. Lance, the Sparks determined that too many of their fellow travelers were saying committee when they should be giving up an eagle buck for breaking a contract promise. It was decided that if you go to committee, and they determine you should give up an eagle buck, that you lose two for wasting the committee's time.
Read the letter →Session Roundup (5/20/22)
It was seeing compromising-prone eagles hold their ground and stubborn eagles compromise. It was hearing the debates between opponents being articulated light-years beyond their age. It was decision-making problem-solving at its finest.
Read the letter →Experiencing history is not easy…..is it worth it? (3/26/22)
The other takeaway was more personal. How do you know when to compromise? And when should you hold strong? I think many of the eagles are still figuring this piece out.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 4 (1/22/22)
They will sometimes hit a roadblock in their first way of attempting to solve a problem and get stuck instead of seeing many of the other ways the challenge could be approached.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 3 (12/16/21)
What would they cook? How much of the budget would they dare risk on food to practice cooking on? What price would they set for their menu items? Would it be high enough to capture enough of the potential sales at the exhibition?
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 3 (12/5/21)
It epitomizes our philosophy of 'fail cheaply'--where in this case the consequence is not getting a badge, as opposed to failing at a new restaurant venture in the future where the consequence could be one's entire life savings.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 2 (11/5/21)
They are being forced to make very tough decisions--mostly unaided. And the results are nothing short of incredible.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/25/21)
Here, they have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes while the stakes are small (giving up an Eagle Buck, losing freedoms, being sent home). This allows them to learn so that they are much less likely to make those mistakes when the stakes are much higher (think teenage and college years).
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (9/18/21)
The Council, which is the primary governing leadership body of the Tribe, added three new members as the original three members realized the responsibilities of the Council exceeded that which could reasonably be done by them alone.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (8/27/21)
I'm still not entirely sure if I can pinpoint it exactly, but the nearest I can get is that many had not fully committed to the Hero's Journey yet. That to me is the foundation of everything else we do at Aim Academy. If that piece is missing, then anything else, be it the Socratic discussions, hands on learning, self-paced mastery, or real world leadership, will come up short.
Read the letter →Year 2 Session 1 (8/23/21)
We quickly went from approaching the quest together as a whole school, to dividing into houses and trying it that way, to settling on separating by ages into three mini-studios - Spark, ES, and MS/Launchpadders. The ability to rapid-prototype at our school is a huge benefit.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 7 (6/16/21)
One group nearly collapsed more than once. They couldn't agree on what type of shelter to build so they broke apart and began going their separate ways, only to come back together and compromise and create and finish their shelter with not a second to spare.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 7 (6/11/21)
What makes for a better hero: the right genetic makeup, the right mentor or the right experience? The answers would often change when they considered this question in the context of being a survivor and facing the various challenges.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/30/21)
In taking time to reflect on the Quest and lessons learned this session, there were many "aha's": start my business sooner, save more money, help others, be more focused, be aware of taxes.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/14/21)
Back then, facing what was for many of them a new sort of challenge-- the challenge of doing something without being told how--paralyzed the entire studio. That is the case no longer. This time the eagles completed the entire list of tasks without a moment's hesitation.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (5/8/21)
Experience was gained in managing time - deciding between earning money, spending money, working on your business or completing other Quest challenges.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (4/30/21)
The demand was high, the price was low and they quickly sold out. Another Eagle saw that her supplies were running low and decided to charge more for the last cupcake because the demand was still high.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 6 (4/25/21)
We've already seen many lessons learned. One partnership realized that due to their high costs, they did not make as much money in profit as they thought. (Yes, there's a difference between profits and sales!)
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 (2/6/21)
The Eagle paused, and said, “sometimes, it's best to tackle ‘the hard stuff’ because there is a bigger reward later.” They continued by sharing an analogy from their home life— they love playing video games, but also understand that there are chores, like yard work, that need to be done.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/29/21)
These responsibilities are not all pomp and circumstance, they are substantive. They require tough decision making, objective thinking and problem solving.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 4 (1/15/21)
The Guides continued by asking— is it fair to play a game of basketball against LeBron James? Is it fair to play a game of Chess against Grandmaster Garry Kasparov? This caused the Eagles to dig deeper, with some heroes on the “yes” side crossing to the “no” side.
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 (11/6/20)
We also talked about Fast Thinking vs. Slow Thinking, and how that applies to both chess and the Hero’s Journey. Fast Thinking is quick, instinctual and automatic, while Slow Thinking requires taking a step back and analyzing the situation.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 2 (10/30/20)
The Eagles ultimately decided against purchasing a coat rack, after considering that they could save money over time to spend on something of greater value.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/25/20)
With the goalposts constantly changing with each subsequent question asked, the Eagles grappled with this moral dilemma. Yet again, they demonstrated the ability to engage meaningfully while upholding the Rules of Engagement to a T.
Read the letter →Year 1 Session 1 (9/11/20)
More deeply, the role of kindness and leadership during times of conflict was brought up. How great it is that we can make time as a group to work through issues as they arise, rather than letting them fester and create hard feelings.
Read the letter →