Our conversations challenged learners to consider whether they construct their identity based on their values, their actions, or their thoughts and feelings. Learners said they identify themselves and others based on actions. If you want to be considered kind, treat people with kindness; if you want to be a mathematician, master your math skills; if you want to be an athlete, play sports.
In civilizations we discussed the war-driven Spartans and the knowledge-based Athenians. Were all Spartans innately athletic and all Athenians born smart? The consensus among learners was clear: No! One learner said, “If you call yourself a mathematician but you can’t add, it means nothing. You have to actually be a mathematician. Learn, master, become.”
Of course, one’s identity isn’t complete once they become a mathematician. Learners’ identities are always in flux, and they know this. At Acton they are learners, studiomates, and friends. At home, they are brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and more often than not, “tacklers.”
At Acton, learners have opportunities to try out roles and identities every day, knowing that some will stick and others will not. For an hour, they become foragers. For an afternoon, they are a Spartans at war. For an entire session, they become an energy expert or a pitch writer. Always, they are learning and having fun.
Learners have “tackled” a lot of different topics this session. From their Pitch-A-Field-Trip workshop to the Story of Energy Quest, new topics mastered in math, and new spelling levels achieved, they are excited to share what they have learned with their families and friends at the exhibition next week.