In every hero’s journey, there is a “final showdown.”
In our professional lives as adults, a final showdown may require us to file a legal brief, host a big event, deliver an analysis, ship a product, give a speech, submit a research paper, or close a big customer.
At Acton, the learners host an exhibition as a final showdown at the end of every session. Learners showcase their work to parents and guests, but also develop the agenda, design programs, prepare and decorate the studio, welcome guests, and moderate the event.
During the exhibition week the guides focus on three things to help learners prepare. Guides inspire, equip, and connect.
Inspire
The week started with an inspirational launch about Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn’s final showdown—the last weekend of ski racing in her storied career.
In her second to last race, the Super-G, Vonn overshot a jump going over 60 mph. She caught her ski in the gate and crashed, hard. The guides showed the video clip, with Vonn crashing then lying motionless in the snow bank.
The guides read the learners an excerpt from a piece by Washington Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga, who wrote movingly about the incident:
“Lindsey Vonn doesn’t want to be done, but she is. A sane person would have quit ski racing years ago. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t…. This isn’t the beautiful, on-her-own-terms exit of which she dreamed. This one comes with a black eye and a busted rib…. And yet [the very next day] at the world ski championships in Are, Sweden, that broken body hurled down the hill one final time in her signature event, the downhill.”
The guides then played a video of Lindsey Vonn’s last race of her career. The camera shows Vonn in the starting gate, her legs shaking uncontrollably. Vonn is taking deep breaths, talking to herself, willing herself down the mountain one last time. And with a countdown of three beeps, she is out of the gate like a rocket… and what do you know, Vonn posted the fastest time of the day! She went on to win a bronze metal in the final race of her career.
The definition of a hero at Acton is someone who gets up after a fall to try again. The guides asked the learners, “What makes a champion like Lindsey Vonn? Is it passion, courage, grit, or something else?” The learners debated whether passion or courage gave Vonn the edge.
The guides asked, “In your final week of the first session at Acton, what will be most important to you—courage, passion, grit, or something else?” The learners reflected on the character trait that would be most meaningful to them this week.
Equip
The guides then equipped the learners with tools and frameworks for a successful exhibition.
For instance, the guides shared an example of a past exhibition program from Acton Academy in Austin, Texas, and invited the learners to prepare an agenda and timeline. The learners then edited and adapted the program for themselves. The guides helped the learners brainstorm a list of tasks, and the learners volunteered to work on different elements of the exhibition. The guides also provided guardrails and constraints to help the learners focus their energy and creativity.
For example, two learners volunteered to get snacks at Trader Joe’s with a guide-set budget of $25. It took three trips to the cash register to find the right mix of snacks to fit the budget! This was tough for the learners, particularly when the last trip to the register totaled $25.05, only $0.05 over. But the learners finally settled for one less item in the grocery bag and off they went to prepare.
Connect
With the day of the exhibition nearly here and the excitement high, the guides offered the learners moments of connection as a group.
For instance, this week the learners shared their published memoirs with each other. They made a last round of edits to their stories, finalized the chapter order, picked a title, bound their memoirs, and decorated the covers. It was a fun moment for the learners! They got to see all their hard work come together and were eager to share their work with their studiomates.
Another connection moment was during the exhibition rehearsal. The learners had set the exhibition agenda, written scripts, and assigned each other roles. It was time to practice. The first rehearsal went… well, not as smoothly as expected.
Drawing on Acton feedback tools from earlier in the session, the learners rated their performance: a 1 out of 3. They took turns giving each other warm-cool-warm feedback. They made specific suggestions for how each could do better. The second rehearsal was much better!
These moments of connection as a team are invaluable in supporting the learners to do their best work.
The Exhibition
With only minutes left before the start of the exhibition, the guides gathered the learners and asked, “What is the most important thing you need to focus on in the next 15 minutes to get ready for the exhibition?” One learner wanted to set up a station for herself for core skills and memoirs. Another learner needed a quiet, calm place to collect himself and get ready.
At this point, the guides stepped back and turned responsibility over to the learners. At Acton, exhibitions go how they go. The guides will not swoop in to save the day. The learners are either ready or not.
The day after the exhibition, the guides invited the learners to reflect on lessons learned: what went well, and what they would do differently. Overall, the learners were pleased. Of course, as with everything in life, exhibitions don’t always come together exactly as planned. The learners shared some things that went better than expected and some things they want to do better next time.
To close the session, the guides awarded quest and writer’s workshop badges. And then we celebrated all the hard work with a final excursion to the ropes course at Calleva.
We hope you enjoyed the first exhibition and first session at Acton!