Attributes for Success

 In his book Work Rules!, Lazlo Bock identifies four attributes that Google uses to identify strong candidates. First is general cognitive ability, which works for them because their business involves solving specific difficult problems. The second is leadership, more specifically emergent leadership where a person leads when their skills are needed by the group. That is a quality Arete could use in interviewing future students, or math teachers. The third is "Googleyness," which is a combination of willingness to have fun, be humble and conscientious. This would translate well into Arete almost directly. The fourth attribute is Role-Related Knowledge where they check that the person can actually do the job they are applying for. They believe that anyone who is curious and open to learning will figure out the right answers most of the time. We have found that curiosity may be the most important attribute of successful Arete students, along with leadership, teamwork and work ethic, but that may be related to curiosity. Despite us looking for the same type of people, Bock does not mention most of the qualities we associate with successful students in our program. I wonder if those are implicit Googleyness, or if they feel they can develop those qualities. 

Think! Learn! Change!

 "Think Big! Do Something Awesome! Change the World!" This collection of statements came out of frustration years ago with a class of juniors who said “How can you expect us to choose anything we want to learn about and research it? We have never done that before!” I was stunned.  While they may not have been the hardest working group, I thought giving them the option to learn about anything they wanted would fire them up rather than lock them up.  This has become a mantra with which we begin each Genius Hour session. It is easily chanted or repeated as a class, but each part has to be undertaken with equal vigor. There were semesters or years where we missed the mark because students focused on the third part and felt they had to raise money rather than doing something they are truly interested in doing. They may learn about a topic, but most of their time was spent in doing the logistics of an event. It doesn't come off quite as pithy, but using Tim O'Reilly's lines "Work on stuff that matters," and "Create more value than you capture" could create more of the vision we are seeking for what has become one of our signature events (Ferris 221). "Think Big" stands on its own, because we want students to challenge themselves to do something beyond what they may have done before. Thinking big is about giving themselves confidence in their capabilities--and maybe even swagger.

"Do Something Awesome" was not a self evident statement. Doing something awesome could mean playing a video game that is awesome, watching a video that is awesome or hang out with friends, which may be awesome as well. The revised phrase should be "Learn Something Important" In the past, we have begun the semester saying those words, but lately haven't directly defined what we mean by each sentence. The whole goal behind Genius Hour is to pursue a topic that has always been intriguing but has never been a priority, or maybe it has been and they want to delve deeper. It may be a problem that exists in the world that the student wants to solve, or something else. Once a topic is identified, the first charge is to learn as much about it as possible. That will involve reading, experiencing it first hand and interacting with experts among other things. They should be able to explain why it is important and to whom it is important. That will lead to the third part, which recently has been the stickiest.

Where they become most confused is with "Change the World." "Change the World" does not mean raising money. It means take what you have learned out into the world and do something that matters. That is where they can "create more value than (they) capture." Taking their learning and giving it to the world in a way where it will benefit others at a magnitude greater than 1 is the goal. If, after doing the learning, a person is twice as good at something, the good they do for others or the learning they give to others should be greater than twice as much. That may mean it benefits one  person. It may mean benefiting many more. It does not mean benefiting 7 billion people, but it may. Making others' lives better is not directly correlated with a dollar amount.

Genius Hour, Think Big, Do Something Awesome, Change the World, Learn Something Important, Arete Academy

Ferriss, Timothy. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.

Isn’t That Interesting

Thinking scientifically, or maybe like an entrepreneur is a powerful way of approaching things, whether they turn out well or not. The thoughtful reflection about the answer to the question, "Isn't that interesting?" takes any situation to a new level through the careful examination of it (Godin, 2010, 178). Being able to take the outcome not as an indication of your power, but being truly curious may yield unexpected results. A few years ago a co-worker had long standing issues with her department chairperson. She asked for a meeting and when the department chair blasted her for all of her perceived indiscretions, she asked, "Isn't that interesting. Why do you think that?" It cut to the heart of the matter and then they could start the discussion. She caused the department to truly think about why he felt what he did, and they were able to come to a better understanding of why events and beliefs were constructed the way they were.

For years, I have wanted to create an environment like they have in art or tech ed when kids come in the room and immediately begin working. For the last week or so our students have done that. For our final exam we have allowed students to split themselves into groups of 3-5. For the spirit award, they created a team name, logo, handshake, costumes, and promotional posters. They are participating in an academic decathlon where they will merge content from different classes as they construct products for a pitch, trailer, throwdown, physical representation, jeopardy, impromptu speech, website, art gallery, story/skit, and reflection. Maybe the key is that we have gamefied it. Almost everything involves earning points, but in a lighthearted way.

gamification, Arete Academy, interesting, decathlon, Growth mindset

Reinvigorating Education

In thinking about a structure to hang a new focus to the rebranded Arete Academy, efficiency engineer Harrington Emerson stated, "As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble." When considering moving the thinking of both teachers and students to a new level, holding to the principles of students advocating for themselves and their learning provides many methods for them to show it, which would make the learning the important thing, along with students taking an active role in how it will be assessed and quantified.

In a sense, common assessments hold students hostage on the teacher focused side of the continuum of who is driving new learning and keep some students and teachers from being fully engaged. It may take awhile, but student engagement will go up if they are given leeway to use their strengths to show their learning. There will have to be a huge amount of support given to students at first, including lists or menus of product types. Eventually they will get to the point where they can choose an appropriate product for the targeted skill they need to master.

There are many people who feel like changing jobs or even careers every five years or so is how they stay fresh and always in a perpetual mode of growth, but it is stressful going to a new workplace, working with new people on a new idea using our current skill set. Teachers often have the ability to avoid the reinvigorating feeling of thinking about their area of expertise in a new way. They have the lesson plans, and the history of having students find success in terms of GPA. Embracing the principle that students should be in charge of showing their learning may be daunting in terms of letting go of control, but could re-energize teachers in the sense that they are still the content experts, still working with the same people, in the same place, but now seeing it, in the opposite way of it being about what the students take away from the class rather than what the teacher teaches.

Ferriss, Timothy. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 2018.

Who Do We Serve?

 We created the Arete Academy for people who are dissatisfied with the current school structure and wanted a way to make their learning matter. To give them a way to use their learning in a real way that will connect with other people. We also created it because we feel that the current format of education is not giving students skills that will lead to success outside of school. Seth Godin states that a group should figure out who their customers are and then create a product that they will connect with (in order to help "others become who they seek to become" (Godin 2018, 6).

I think we think we created the Arete Academy for others, but did we really create for ourselves to resuscitate or reinvent our careers? I know we were dissatisfied with what we were doing and how we were doing it. What ended up happening was that we had a group of adults we could rely on, bounce ideas off, combine ideas with and pull together rather than all pulling individually, which makes everything seem easier, even though we chose the harder way to do things.

Godin, Seth. This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See. Portfolio Penguin, 2018.

Infinite Education: Learn How to Learn

 To make the Arete Academy and education itself resilient, it must be relevant now and in the future, and our message about the infinite nature of what kids will learn needs to be shared using consistent language that also coincides with our brand of exploration and creativity. Simon Sinek, author of The Infinite Game, discusses how railroads' finite vision of themselves caused them to ignore the emergence of cars and trucks as the major means of transportation rather than seeing themselves and their purpose as moving people and goods and creating their own non-rail vehicles. . The music industry fought streamed and digitally accessible music rather than figuring out how they could spread the artistry and message to as many people as possible (Sinek 2019, 45). Any of these established industries fought challenges to their supremacy and ignoring or denying they were losing their grip on their field. 

Like the railroads 80-100 years ago, in the face of virtual learning, education is missing out on defining what it is truly about and seizing that message to create a new way of thinking about it. The question used to be “what is the purpose of school?” After a year of students learning from home, especially with students having devices and a strong wi-fi signal, learning, the new question should be “what is the purpose of coming to school?” After students were at home for the months of October and November 2020 learning in a real-time at home setting, upon their return it became apparent that, as Suzette Weisgerber, social studies teacher in the Arete Academy at Neenah High School stated, it is to “feed their soul.”  The interpersonal connection that they had taken for granted throughout their school lives had been removed, which left only the learning. Throughout  their years of school, students have come to equate learning and school. When asked “do you like to learn,” most kids say no because they see “learning” only happening in school and do not recognize that they are learning machines, constantly taking in information and creating new knowledge. At this point schools and the education system are missing out on the fact that their infinite game is in guiding  students to learn how to learn.  It is no secret that almost anything one wants to learn is accessible to anyone with the internet through a variety of sources.

Sinek, Simon. The Infinite Game. Penguin Business, 2019.

Who is the Arete Academy?

 In Arete, we prepare students for a future that does not yet exist; a future that is continually changing.  Twenty-first Century life calls for us to expect the unexpected and in Arete, we prepare students with skills to succeed in a future that cries out for leaders who can think critically, creatively and analytically, solve complex problems, persevere through challenges, and strive for excellence as they design their way forward through life.

In Arete, we bring classes to life when we build and overthrow empires, create a class government, grow plants, plan events, take trips, and build structures. We take learning to the next level by giving students meaningful opportunities to apply their learning to their passions, to help others and to solve local problems. Students create lasting memories through multisensory active learning in English, math, science and social studies classes and through public exhibitions of work. 

In Arete, students learn about themselves: their skills, passions, interests and roadblocks. We help students expand horizons and develop grit as they learn to be more comfortable when outside of their comfort zone. Developing grit enables students to climb higher, dig deeper and finish stronger. It is by learning strategies to push through discomfort and the encouragement of fellow classmates which allows students to find their success trajectory. 

In Arete, our focus is on depth of knowledge by combining learning from multiple classes in new and interesting ways.  Deep learning is “sticky” learning and leads to application in a real world setting. Opportunities in life don’t always come packaged in single subject boxes, and neither should education.

In Arete, students learn the value of teamwork through active contribution, reflection and discussion. We live in a world of connection where communication, listening and thinking are valued more than rote memorization.  Being remarkable is far more important than being a mindless follower filling in a test bubble. Making our lives matter is of utmost importance.  That is where the gap lies: between what students know and are capable of and what they are doing right now.  We designed the Arete Academy to help talented students close the gap. The Arete Academy is built to give each student an opportunity to stand out, seek change and leap.

Declaration of Educational Independence

After completing a unit where students decided when they had reached a satisfactory proficiency in selected targets, it is time to raise the bar. While exploring changes in education that should be made following the unfortunate "time out" that has occurred in school for the last nine months, early childhood teacher Erika Christakis, in her article "School Wasn't So Great Before Covid Either," in the December 2020 edition of The Atlantic, discusses the gains in learning that have been made by students who were able to work more independently, while having more time outdoors. That those are important factors for elementary students also portends their effectiveness for older students as well. My thinking is to finally create a more personalized way of conducting class. After years of talking then forgetting about doing it, I am going to undertake a transformation of Arete English 10, which includes literature, composition and speech. I will require a project, paper and/or presentation at regular intervals with all targets open for each task. Students can look at which targets they need to shore up and attempt them in a format of their choosing on future concepts. There will continue to be lessons for specific targets, but students won't have to attend them unless they haven't yet shown proficiency. 

The projects will be constructed by students who will examine the targets, the concept and the formats available to them to create a rationale for the project  in which they lay out all aspects of the project, including schedule, targets, and product, for approval by the teacher(s), parents and hopefully a non teacher/family member who is there to ask questions, check on the student and hopefully, create a solid relationship with another adult. 

I can start with English, and hopefully, social studies can work in easily as well. The eventual goal would be to include math and science into the project too, but that will remain to be seen. The class structure would give students as much structure as they need. Obviously, there will be students who can work at a high level of independence, but there are those who need encouragement and to be led one small step at a time. We will have to set up short, regular meetings with all students to answer questions and encourage progress. 

"I'm the Kind of Person Who..."

The idea of rebranding Arete has bedeviled me for the last couple of years because the Arete concept, while great, does not resonate with people. When you have to teach them how to say it and what it means, that is two steps too many. John Ernst of Kinnektor asked me, what is your program about? Who are your people? Capture your program in one sentence. After giving him a paragraph, I realized that we are trying to be all things. We want our message to resonate with people who are dissatisfied with current school structure, and who want to use their learning to make a difference, and who want to be contributors, and who want to do advanced work and who are creative, and who work hard and who want to do hands on learning and who want to solve problems and who want to get things done. We want our program name to effortlessly connect with middle schoolers, their parents, and community members without explanation, but in a way that communicates who we are and what we are about.

Ernst gave the example of Jeep. When one sees a person in a Jeep (the CJ-5, Wrangler, doors-off type), immediately a concept of who the person is and what they are into leaps to mind. The same thing is the case with a Suburu or a Prius. They don't haul lumber or pull a boat. Generally, they are not what a wedding party will ride in, but people who see them know what they are for because, as Seth Godin may say, "People like them drive things like that." Steve Sims, author of Bluefishing: The Art of Getting Things Done writes prestige brands "set out from the very beginning to create an experience for someone" (Sims 125). What is the experience we create, or are aiming to create in Arete?

What would our students say when completing the sentence "I'm the kind of person who..." They may say (or mean): gets things done, invests in themselves, believes in themselves, wants to change the world, wants to help people, wants to do hands on learning, makes connections in the community, revolts, is contrary, is different, is advanced, makes my learning matter, learns my passions, uses my skills, learns new skills, etc. Which of these things is it our intent for them to respond?

Think, Learn, Change

"Think Big! Do Something Awesome! Change the World!" I created these statements out of frustration six years ago with a class of juniors who claimed it was too hard to research anything they were interested in and do anything they wanted with it, has become a mantra we whith which begin each Genius Hour session. It is easily chanted or repeated as a class, but this year it is evident it missed the mark because people seem to focus on the third part and feel they have to raise money rather than doing something they are truly interested in doing. They may learn about a topic, but most of their time is spent in doing the logistics of an event. It doesn't come off quite as pithy, but using Tim O'Reilly's lines "Work on stuff that matters," and "Create more value than you capture" could create more of the vision we are seeking for what has become one of our signature events (Ferris 221). "Think Big" stands on its own, because we want students to challenge themselves to do something beyond what they may have done before. Thinking big is about giving themselves confidence iin their capabilities--and maybe even swagger.

"Do Something Awesome" was not a self evident statement. Doing something awesome could mean play a video game that is awesome, watch a video that is awesome or hang out with friends, which may be awesome as well. The revised phrase should be "Learn Something Important" In the past, we have begun the semester saying those words, but lately haven't directly defined what we mean by each sentence. The whole goal behind Genius Hour is to pursue a topic that has always been intriguing but has never been a priority, or maybe it has been and they want to delve deeper. It may be a problem that exists in the world that the student wants to solve, or something else. Once a topic is identified, the first charge is to learn as much about it as possible. That will involve reading, experiencing it first hand and interacting with experts among other things. They should be able to explain why it is important and to whom it is important. That will lead to the third part, which recently has been the stickiest.

Where they become most confused is with "Change the World." "Change the World" does not mean raise money. It means take what you have learned out into the world and do something that matters. That is where they can "create more value than (they) capture." Taking their learning and giving it to the world in a way where it will benefit others at a magnitude greater than 1 is the goal. If, after doing the learning, a person is twice as good at something, the good they do for others or the learning they give to others should be greater than twice as much. That may mean it beneifts one other person. It may mean benefiting many more. It does not mean benefiting 7 billion people, but it may. Making others' lives better is not directly correlated with a dollar amount.