Pandemic plan update for AY 2021-2022

Rejecting normal

Society is burnt out and eager to regain a sense of normalcy after two years of the pandemic. At least that is the message we are fed each day by the media, government agencies, politicians, and opportunists. And their proposed solution is to move on from the pandemic and “return to normal,” operating as if it were 2019 again. 

There are many problems with the proposed solution that we are being offered. First and foremost is that the pandemic is not over, and we cannot simply make it go away by acting as if it is no longer an existential threat to many millions of people who are at risk, unvaccinated, or members of vulnerable populations. Secondly, the crushing exhaustion many people feel is not solely a response to Covid-19 safety protocols, but to much more concerning factors such as: mass disability and death, and being told that disability and death should be deemed acceptable while protocols to prevent such harm should be seen as a burden; a heightened state of white nationalism coupled with state violence directed at historically marginalized and oppressed groups (e.g., BIPOC, trans youth, houseless); economic uncertainty; political instability; and a loss of a sense of connection and community in a fractured culture. Third, and particularly relevant to Abrome, normal was never good enough. 

Abrome is a liberation project. We aim to support young people by honoring the exercise of their autonomy within a context of co-creating a compassionate community with an understanding of our shared responsibilities toward one another. In order to do that, we must reject the notion that it is sensible to focus on what is best for us while turning a blind eye to the ills of society, as well as the ways in which we may be contributing to the harm of others.        

Thanks in large part to recently updated CDC guidelines, schools and other institutions are fast tracking their “return to normal.” We are likely the only remaining education community in Central Texas that still goes remote during periods of uncontrolled community spread, and we may also be the only one that has not gone mask optional. We have been put in the position of having to choose between what makes good business sense and what allows us to continue to center the needs of those most impacted by our decisions. We still choose the latter. 

Moving forward

This updated version of our pandemic plan was released on March 15, 2022. Since the original version of the AY21-22 pandemic plan was released, those ages 5 and above have gained access to vaccines, and we came back indoors for the first time since March 2020. We have also observed how much of society has been lulled into believing that we should not protect ourselves and one another through readily accessible mitigation and safety practices such as masking, staying home when sick or after having been exposed, and vaccination. Finally, we have watched in disappointment as schools and public health organizations have folded to public pressure to abdicate their responsibility to help protect the most vulnerable members of our communities. 

We are still masking whenever we are indoors, as well as when near one another outdoors. We may still go remote during the worst periods of spread, but we may be outdoors depending on local hospital capacity. We still have vaccine qualifiers to go indoors. The most meaningful changes to this updated pandemic plan include new triggers for when we enter into different risk levels; altered protocols for where, when, and how we meet; and adjusted isolation and quarantine protocols. We based the changes on a deeper understanding of the risks of spread in a variety of contexts (e.g., indoor/outdoor, KN95/surgical/cloth masks); renewed humility driven by the diversity of outcomes of recent variants; observing the measures of air quality at the Abrome facility since returning indoors; and improved studies of incubation and infectious periods. All changes were made with a deep concern for how we could best serve the Abromies without leaving others behind. This update also serves as a bridge between the original AY21-22 pandemic plan and the forthcoming AY22-23 pandemic plan. Thank you for continuing on this journey with us.

Day 124 of AY20-21: a tale of two cells

Tuesday, April 20th was the second day of cycle nine and my first remote day. With both Facilitators Ariel and Lauren thriving as Facilitators I am taking a step back twice a week to focus on supporting prospective families and on tying up some loose ends administratively. Even though I am not going to be physically present twice a week, I planned to be in touch with Facilitator Lauren and available if she needed my support.

Day two was a beautiful, gorgeous day and the Learners showed up in really good moods. There positive moods helped lead into effortless and fun activities and discovery to include picking mulberries that are not quite ripe yet. Also, one of the Learners decided to showcase his beatbox skills while the other showed us some pretty classic dance moves. If they were born thirty years earlier they might have been child stars!

Mulberries!

The day was a great one for moving around, and two of the adolescent Learners came to Abrome with intentions to workout. One of the Learners went on a job, and another Learner led a workout that Facilitator Lauren participated in. It was a pretty intense workout, and the Learner said he plans to do the workout four times per week! One of the younger Learners watched the workout, but insisted that he was uninterested in participating in it. After the workout was over, the Learner walked away from the group to be by himself further down the shoreline. He was later seen doing his own pushups!

In addition to working out, there was also plenty of water drinking. Facilitator Lauren helped facilitate the drinking with a game of ‘never have I ever,’ and she also handed out some electrolyte packets for the Learners to put in their water bottles. The drinking game went so well that a younger Learner who has never been comfortable going to the bathroom at Abrome decided to nature pee twice. A pretty monumental step forward.

Although no one really got in water deeper than their ankles, there was a lot of time spent next to the water. One of the coolest observations of the day was seeing a water snake just floating on the surface of the lake. The Learners have largely moved on from being afraid of snakes to being aware of them, which is wonderful all around.

Two of the Learners stayed on the dock of the lake while three younger Learners walked to a waterfall where there was much more shade as they found it getting hot at the lake. And although few people found their way into the water on this day, all of them committed to getting into the water on Wednesday.

The snake was not the only animal that we appreciated on this day. There was a fuzzy caterpillar that we came across that looked like it could be menacing. One of the Learners offered Facilitator Lauren ten dollars to touch it, but she passed on the offer. But thanks, anyway!

Exhausted

The day was exhilarating but exhausting, and the Learners left quite content with the ways in which they chose to spend their day.

It was a slow day for the other cell, and a good one for reading. An adolescent read 200 pages of her book, and Facilitator Ariel finished the second of three long essays in Usual Cruelty. Another Learner who said he was not into reading books had a nice conversation with Facilitator Ariel, and it turns out there are some books that he likes. Facilitator Ariel then let the learner borrow his copy of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. When the Learner was finished with the book he took a nap. The other Learner took out a knife and carved out some eating utensils for lunch.

The other cell is also a small one, but on this day they got word that a Learner who has been out since the winter Covid-19 wave may be coming back this week, as he got his second vaccination shot! As of day 124 of the pandacademic year we have four Facilitators fully vaccinated, and four Learners at least partially vaccinated!

Day 123 of AY20-21: back in-person!

Monday, April 19th was the first day of cycle 9, and it marked my return to a nature setting after spending the prior cycle in a Flying Squad specialty cell in downtown Austin. I was also excited to be back with three Learners I had not shared a cell with in quite some time. Unfortunately, one was on an extended vacation and was not expecting to join us until the last week of the cycle. But on this Monday, I got to hang out with six Learners and Facilitator Lauren, which is pretty great.

For the morning meeting we discussed what practices from the prior cycle we felt were important, and how we wanted to spend our time this cycle. After the meeting everyone was eager to head to the lake. Along the way two of the adolescent Learners stumbled upon and sampled some honeysuckles, and then did the same with mulberries they found. Facilitator Lauren who had been munching on them with some of the younger Learners the prior cycle also got her fill of the mulberries. Facilitator Lauren would later show the two adolescent Learners some evening primrose which they then sampled, as well. I don’t know that we are ready to live off the land quite yet, but we are learning bit by bit, and chomp by chomp.

At the lake we found that a crew was working on the dock, and it was loud, so the Learners were forced to move to a spot next to the lake where they usually do not spend much time. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and there was no need for us to seek a shaded area to escape from the sun.

The younger Learners found a lot of joy in walking along the retaining wall along the lake, jumping between the wall and the shore, and in checking in on John and Lisa, the two ducks that have become our friends.

One of the adolescent Learners broke out his speakers and began playing some of his favorite songs, while also supporting a variety of requests along the way. As the conversation shifted from topic to topic we began to play songs from different generations. Another adolescent Learner began reminiscing about our visit to Rivers & Roads ALC in Oklahoma City before the pandemic hit, and asked if I remembered us singing to “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys on the 9 hour drive. I did not, but when the song began to play I was ready to give it another try. At first the Learners held back because I was filming, but they got over it and began to sing, and even kept going after I ruined the moment with my out of tune efforts.

The younger Learners were moving around a lot that day, creating uniquely artistic spears, investigating the flora and fauna on some nearby trails, and climbing trees.

The movement of the younger Learners eventually pulled the Facilitators and the adolescent Learners off of their butts and into walking, exploring, and running mode. At some point a woman came over with her dog, and the Learners were drawn into it. It was a sweet dog, and we are pretty good about asking permission to pet dogs, so there was little problem with the woman’s presence. The only thing was, she was not wearing a mask and was getting a bit close to one of the Learners. I was thrilled to see that the Learner, instead of just allowing the lady to talk so close to her, effortlessly pulled out her mask and put it on.

Two of the adolescent Learners then asked me if I brought my soccer ball, so I pulled it out and we went into the field to kick it around. Meanwhile, the other adolescent Learner got on the phone and tried to schedule an appointment that she had not been able to make as she kept getting the runaround. After being put on hold and being patched through to others, she finally got her appointment scheduled.

Then things slowed down a bit as the Learners enjoyed the view of the lake. By this time the folks working on the dock had finished up, and we learned that we could get some pretty excellent echo action in if we yelled across the lake. Meanwhile, one of the younger Learners asked Facilitator Lauren if she could borrow some colored pencils and paper to work on a project.

Things picked up again once a younger Learner noticed a centipede crawling on his backpack. He asked for support in extracting his backpack from the grip(s) of the centipede, and then he and everyone else gathered around to watch the giant Texas redheaded centipede looking fearsome.

Not long thereafter, I got a text from one of the Abrome guardians who told me that there was an opportunity for walk-in vaccinations for anyone 16-years-old or older in east Austin. For the second day in a row the people administering the vaccines anticipated not being able to use up all of the shots that they had planned to that day. I turned to the two adolescent Learners who had not yet been vaccinated and asked them if one of their parents would be able to take them to get the shots, immediately. They both jumped on their phones and one of the parents said they could come pick them up and take them to the vaccination site, while the other parent blessed off on her son getting the shot. Never before had I been so thrilled to see Learners leaving Abrome early, even though they also took the other adolescent Learner who was there that day (sibling, carpool).

The remaining three Learners continued to run around, climb trees, eat mulberry bushes, and splash around in the water. But when they finally slowed down, Facilitator Lauren invited them to play a game of ‘never have I ever,’ with the intention of getting folks to drink more water. The game eventually morphed into ‘would you rather,’ with the continued intention of drinking water.

It was a pretty epic game, and my favorite question was one that I brought up: would you rather eat someone else’s booger, or not eat ice cream for the rest of your life? Both Learners squirmed a bit but then said that they would rather eat someone else’s booger. I said, “ew, gross!” Then the one Learner said softly to herself, “but I looooove ice cream …”

The day ended shortly thereafter, but not before we agreed to take a longer walk back along a trail that we have rarely walked along as a crew. It was a pretty magical first day back. Oh yeah, and the two Learners who left early were able to get their first Covid-19 vaccination shots!

Meanwhile, at the other cell there was hiking, conversations about community, napping, and celebrating the fact that the day was the first official day for a newly enrolled Learner!!

Day 106 of AY20-21: returning from spring break for our first specialty cell day

Monday, March 22nd was our 106th day of the pandacademic year, and the first day of cycle eight. And cycle eight is the first of four straight cycles with a specialty cell. All year long we have been meeting in-person in nature at a variety of places that have allowed us to be together more safely during Covid-19, other than the month and a half that we were shut down because Austin was in the worst risk stage level of the pandemic, and then another week and a half thanks to the terrible Texas freeze that brought everything to a halt. While we have thoroughly enjoyed being outdoors in nature, and we still have cells that will be outdoors in nature for the rest of the year, starting this cycle we will also have one specialty cell that Learners can opt into that is focused around a specific activity or purpose. This cycle that cell is a social justice oriented Flying Squad. The Facilitators for this cell are me and Ariel. So for this cycle I’ll be talking primarily about this Flying Squad.

Going into Spring Break I was concerned that with most of broader society relaxing their approach to preventing the spread of Covid-19, in addition to the substantial portion of the population that was not even trying in the first place, that some of the Learners in our community may let loose over the break and engage in practices that increased their potential exposure. It does not help that their friends in public and private schools have likely embraced the false narratives about kids being safe from the disease, and the more recent viral (pun intended) lie that kids are akin to vaccinated elderly people. So on my weekly update at the beginning of spring break I included:

Please, please, stay vigilant. Please wear your mask when around people who are not in your household (I still have N95 masks and I am happy to give you more of them). Also, please do not dine in at restaurants or go to bars, do not have sleepovers, and do not attend indoor parties. And if you end up taking such risks please let us know and voluntarily self-quarantine.

At the end of spring break I followed up with another request for families to be forthright about any such behavior (text is in bold, just like in the weekly update):

If over spring break your Learner spent time indoors, unmasked with people outside of their household or dedicated pod, please let us know that they will be self-quarantining before coming back together with us. They should not show up tomorrow if that is the case. This includes any sleep overs, parties, or indoor dining.

We have quarantines in place to protect others if someone engages in behavior that may have put them at risk of catching Covid-19. We are not asking for people to never engage in higher risk activities such as eating in at a restaurant or going to a party, we are only asking that if they do that they communicate with us and engage in the necessary quarantine protocols. I was appreciative that the Learners or families who engaged in such practices let us know and began their quarantines.

Our response to the pandemic is based on the best available information we have on Covid-19 (its impact on people, how it spreads, and the state of the pandemic). We admittedly have a bias toward protecting the members of our community and public health. We have been extraordinarily clear that we are going to err on the side of caution, and that this can only work if every member of the community commits to doing so, as well. Every school in Austin has taken a different, less serious approach than Abrome, and they are able to serve all of those who are not willing to support our practices. We have certainly suffered in terms of enrollment and financially from our decision to prioritize community care, but we firmly believe that we should prioritize community over convenience, and people over profits.

Five of us at Philosophers' Rock

At the Flying Squad specialty cell, we would be at half the size we had hoped to be because of quarantining Learners. But the Learners and Facilitators showed up eager to make the most of the day, anyhow.

Facilitator Ariel opened the morning meeting, and asked who wanted to be the game master. I volunteered and said folks could sit or stand, stay 6 feet apart, and jump in when they want to talk. Facilitator Ariel then started with announcements, and one of the Learners reminded everyone that this was a social justice oriented cell, and that we should spend time actually talking about or acting on social justice issues. Facilitator Ariel also added that we should listen to one another, focus on what we are each saying, and to be mindful of our space while we are out in the city. We each then talked about how we did with our practices over spring break, and what we were most looking forward to this cycle. Then we talked about what we wanted to do and agreed to begin walking. Facilitator Ariel asked everyone if they wanted to stretch before we got going, but they just wanted to start walking.

Learning about our surroundings

We didn’t get far before I stopped at a sign to learn about the history of the cottage in the park. One of the young Learners stopped by to look at the sign while I was reading it, and I asked him if he wanted me to read it out loud. He said no, so I kept reading and when I finished we continued walking.

Thai ice cream … mind blown!

As we meandered we came across our first food truck. One of the Learners was given some money from his parents to spend each day on food or drink, and the first food truck he saw became the place he was going to spend some of his money on this day. I helped him review the menu and he decided that he was ready to buy, but the person working the truck said that they would not be ready for at least another ten minutes. He decided that he would like to wait it out, while some of the other Learners and Facilitator Ariel wanted to walk to get coffee. Because there are two Facilitators in this cell it was easy enough to break into two subgroups. When the thai ice cream truck finally opened, the Learner made his selection, and then we waited. While we waited we talked about everything from what the ice cream might taste like to other things he could eat that day. The people in the food truck let us know that one of the best parts of thai ice cream is watching the way it is made, so the Learner grabbed a stool and dragged it over to the window near where they would roll the ice cream, and watched them make the ice cream. When they gave it to him he admired the aesthetics of the ice cream, then sat down, and took a small bite. I asked him how it tasted and he indicated that it was mind blowingly good.

When he was finished we started walking down the path that the other group said they would return on. We met up with them not far from the food truck, and then we continued on. We did not really have a destination other than seeing what we could find as we approached downtown.

We eventually found our way to the pedestrian bridge over Town Lake, where we stopped to enjoy some people watching, the views of the city, and the weather. I took a quick daily update video to throw on the Instagram account, a practice I started in cycle 7. While we lingered on the bridge two of the Learners began talking about how much they wanted to get candy. They wanted to go to a candy shop that we would sometimes go into on Flying Squad days before the pandemic.

Candy, soda, junk food, and other less than healthy options are a difficult topic in the Self-Directed Education world. While we believe in child autonomy, we also tend to have a bias toward healthier living choices, relative to the general population. Some in the radical unschooling segment of SDE believe that children should be able to eat whatever they want all day long, while most others believe that the adults should at the very least limit the amount of junk food that comes in the house, and the amount of money that can be spent on junk food out of the house. We don’t have limitations on eating such foods at Abrome, but we choose not to provide junk food to Learners. Each Learner must therefore have conversations with their parents or guardians as to what food they bring with them each day, and when we are going to be in places where we can buy food, how much money they get to spend on food and any limits they may have on the types of food available to them. The only way we will choose to interfere in such decisions is if there are particular ingredients that a Learner needs to avoid, such as dyes or gluten.

Balance, he’s got it

But on this day, we said that the candy store was not an option. It was not a rejection of candy, but it was a rejection of having us all squeeze into a small store during the pandemic. One Learner was pretty fixated on this candy store option, so we asked what other options might be available. Was he willing to go to a store with a window that we would not have to go into? Or could we just go to a larger grocery store with lots of air volume and ventilation? He chose the grocery store Trader Joe’s, and everyone else was pretty excited to go there as well, so we all headed in that direction. On the way we stopped at another coffee shop that had an outdoor facing window, and Facilitator Ariel refueled for the second time. Nearby, we found two benches seated next to each other, and I asked if anyone thought I could make walk along the top of the back of the bench from end to end. Then I did it to prove that just because I was the oldest in the crew did not mean I don’t have balance. All the other Learners then tried the same, as did Facilitator Ariel. Then the youngest Learner went to the bench none of us tried to walk on, and walked along the top of that one, hoped the distance between the two benches, and then walked along the top of the other one.

When we got to Trader Joe’s, we made sure our masks were properly fitted and then we went into the store. Given the many options of candy that was available it took a while to find the best option, but the Learner with the sweet tooth eventually settled on a good sized, very affordable box of gourmet organic jelly beans. We then settled in on a large piece of turf outside the store to eat our lunches and talk. In that talk was more conversation about food. To be honest, I was getting tired of talking about food, but for some Learners it seems to always be top of mind—at least when we are in the city where there are lots of food options. They were not so hyper focused when we were meeting out in nature where there are no grocery stores or food trucks.

It’s all about perspective

Our stay near Trader Joe’s lasted for a good while, as no one was itching to move on. Facilitator Ariel decided that it was a good time to do some headstands, and he encouraged the Learners to join him. One did readily, while needed some reassurance that it was possible and some coaching on how to get in position. When they were finished trying to stand on their heads they decided they wanted to see how fast they were on their feet. They began to challenge each other and the Facilitator to races, and several were had. I almost bowled over one of the Learners when they veered into my path as I was quickly overtaking them from behind. Fortunately no one was hurt and much fun was had. We probably burned off a collective 10 jelly beans in the process.

Learning about bald cypress trees

As the day began winding down we decided to head back to the pickup location but on a slightly different path. We decided to walk toward the public library, where we read some of the signs that identified different trees and shrubs that were planted around the library, and then on a path next to the creek that took us under Cesar Chavez Street, and onto the hike and bike trail around Town Lake. We walked west until we returned back at the pedestrian bridge.

At the pedestrian bridge I pointed out that there were two ways up, via a long circular ramp, or up some stairs. Two Learners and Facilitator Ariel opted for the ramp, and they decided to run up it for some additional benefits. I filmed the run, and then I joined another Learner in walking up the stairs.

Once on the bridge we admired the many messages that were left by people with street chalk. Most of the messages on this day were left by vegans encouraging folks to eat plants instead of meat. I then remembered I had some chalk in my bag and offered it to whoever was interested in writing their own messages. Some of the messages we left included questions about capitalism, policing, the state, and a request for folks to not buy PS5 until they have more games available. One Learner worked on a dinosaur and another drew a large fox.

While it was fun to hang out on the bridge and play with the street chalk, we realized that that effort left us with little time to get back to the pickup point in time for pickup. So we said we would need to really get moving. While we only had about a mile or so walk ahead of us, we had already walked or ran a total of five miles at that point. On the way, a young Learner was really struggling to move, probably a result of too much sugar and too little water, so an adolescent Learner said she’d carry him 0.8 miles back to the pickup location. He didn’t believe she could make it, but she did. We ran out of time for our afternoon roundup, but we made it back in time for pickup. It was a very fun, tiring day.

At the other cell there was lots of running around, lots of soccer, and a visit from some geese. I’ll report mostly from the Flying Squad cell this cycle, but I will try to include some updates from that cell. Here are two videos.

Day 105 of AY20-21: final day of cycle seven

Friday was our last day before our spring break, and the last day of cycle seven of our pandacademic year. And cycle seven will be our last cycle without a specialty cell. Speaking of which, Friday was the last day that Learners had to commit to participate in the Flying Squad specialty cell. Friday was bound to be a lazy day, as Thursday was, as everyone was pretty worn out from two weeks of high energy activity.

Having gotten my second Covid-19 vaccination shot (Moderna) on Thursday, I was not feeling great and stayed home on Friday. I volunteered to take over the check-ins for what was hopefully going to be our last remote cell meetings of the year (when we drop below stage level four we do not have a dedicated remote cell). In the morning meeting we talked about some of the things that we wanted to get done today to include cleaning up our room, spending less time on screens, reading a book, letting chickens out, working on financials, finish reading a book, writing a blog post, relaxing, and finding a new show to binge on.

At the cell that Facilitator Lauren is in the Learners showed up super excited for the day. A young Learner who has struggled at times to keep his mask on said that his new mask was really comfortable and smelled good, and anticipated that he would pull it down far less that day. Because it was Friday they held their weekly Check-in and Change-up meetings after the morning check-in, which went great. One of the Learners raised another awareness, and then they collectively identified what needs were relevant to the awareness, and practices that they would commit to working on to address the awareness.

Connecting and caring

Cairn time

During the meetings one of the Learners was playing with a stick and it was very distracting to Facilitator Lauren, so she asked him if he could please stop playing with the stick and focus on the meeting. The 8-year-old Learner kindly said that he could not actually simultaneously sit still and focus on the meeting. Facilitator Lauren acknowledged the need for this Learner to engage physically with his environment in order to be present. While it was distracting, it was not so distracting that they could not move on, and it was not intended to interrupt the meetings, so they continued with the meeting. In a conventional school setting this Learner would have been punished and possibly pushed out because of his inability to sit still. While this can be uncomfortable for adults who want to control a room (or in this case an open field) for efficiency sake, it is unfair to Learners who don’t fit into the mold of the good, silent, compliant student. There is always going to be a balance between meeting the needs of individual Learners and meeting the needs of the community, but there are usually many ways to meet the needs of everyone, at once, and the needs of the community are often not the wants of the adults.

Ironclad beetle

The Learners didn’t get the memo that it was going to be a slower day, as there was a lot of pretend play in some downed trees by a rock wall during the morning, where the Learners defended their wrecked ship from zombies and dinosaurs! One of the Learners who was deeply engaged in the play told Facilitator Lauren earlier in the week that he did not like pretend play, so perhaps the play he did not like did not include zombies and dinosaurs.

A stone axe!

In the afternoon there was some cairn building, a favorite of some of the Learners, and then one of the Learners found an Ironclad Beetle which played dead when it was picked up. The Learners and Facilitator Lauren looked up the species online and learned that in the Yucatan Peninsula they are sometimes bejeweled, chained to pins, and worn as living brooches! We thought that was cool but worried that it was bad for the beetles, doubting that they were fed or taken good care of. Later in the day one of the Learners decided to make a stone axe with some help from Facilitator Lauren who fashioned the cordage necessary to attach the axe head to the wooden handle. It was a very fun and playful day for the small cell near the riverbed.

Home base for the turtles

At the other cell it was a chill, low energy day. The Learners and Facilitator Ariel stopped to admire a bunch of turtles coming together at the base of a tree on their trek to the spot that they planned to spend the day. Sometimes as many as twenty turtles can be spotted sitting on the roots of the tree at the edge of an inlet off of the river. Our favorite turtle was nowhere to be found, but surely many of his friends and relations were hanging out under the tree.

The Check-in and Change-up meetings were fully attended by the Learners. At the meetings everyone reflected that they could have done a better job with the practices, and said that they would do a better (more mindful) job of it moving forward.

On this day there was more fishing, as fishing has become a thing for some of the Learners ever since a couple of them came to the aid of a novice fisherman earlier in the week. One of the Learners was practicing his casting skills at the edge of the lake when Facilitator Ariel engaged him in conversation about memories surrounding prior fishing experiences.

Later in the day some local high school students came to the park for a party so the Learners began to pack up and said they were ready to go to a different section of the park. The Learners and Facilitators have previously had conversations about the fact that this is a public space, and that when no one is around there is no problem with us monopolizing a space, but that when others show up it is appropriate for us to make space so that others can use it. Especially when those people are unmasked. As they were packing up and as the high school kids were moving in, Facilitator Ariel noticed that one of them had something in their eye and other students were around him trying to help. Facilitator Ariel offered some eye drops and then helped the student out. The local high school students courteously apologized for unintentionally causing the Learners to leave the dock area. Facilitator Ariel then told them not to worry about it because they were moving to open up the space that Abrome Learners had occupied much of that week.

Everyone moved to an area near a bench where they finished the day with a few grappling lessons and conversations about Call of Duty. Closing the cycle out in the afternoon, everyone reflected on what practices they could continue into the break that would help us be prepared for the new cycle. The consensus was DRINK WATER, our evergreen practice.

I finished up the final day with a final meeting with the remote cell. In that meeting we reflected on our week via rose-bud-thorn. Some of the thorns were physical pain, missing meetings, and getting dumped by their romantic partner. Some of the buds were new art projects, reading books, checking off some goals. And some of the buds were posting videos on their blog each day, being at Abrome, getting Vaxxed!, and working on art projects. Then we shared how we hoped to spend our spring break before we came back together again next cycle: write, accomplish goals, read, write, crochet, watch movies, hang with friends online, and work on art. It was a nice, hopefully final entirely remote cell meeting for the year. I cannot wait for us to all come back together again after the break, in-person.

Day 104 of AY20-21: low energy, high impact day

Day 104 of the pandacademic year looked to be a very lightly attended one. One Learner would be out the rest of the week from one cell for a family commitment, three others would be out from the other cell for a variety of reasons to include recovering from the Flying Squad day, four Learners are remote this cycle, and I would be out on the day so that I could get my second Covid-19 vaccination shot! But before I left I shot down to the drop-off point to meet up with Facilitator Ariel before the Learners arrived so I could hand the hot spot off to him. While we were there we filmed the first daily daily Instagram update with two Facilitators. All cycle I had been doing a quick check-in video and it was nice to be able to have another face in the video.

Facilitator Ariel then ran out to a local gas station to get some coffee and then returned to the drop-off spot to wait for the Learners. He, like those who would show up, were in a good mood but physically tired after the high energy, high mileage day of walking around North and South Lamar, the day before. Sensing the low energy from the Learners, Facilitator Ariel asked the Learners what bothered them most. Two Learners said their legs felt tight and pointed to the area behind their knee and the backside of their upper leg. Facilitator Ariel said, “well that’s your hamstring” and led them in hamstring stretches.

Facilitator Ariel then hosted the morning meeting where everyone shared their intentions for the day: fishing for the Learners, writing and editing footage for Facilitator Ariel. After a relocation of the group to the lake so that everyone could take it easy, Facilitator Ariel jumped on the remote call. During the call one of the Learners said that she can’t wait to come back in person because it seems like in-person is having lots of fun. They then moved onto other forward looking interest and goals and that same Learner said that she was moving the publish date for her book up to April! Facilitator Ariel had planned to write the blog post for day 103, that day, so the two of them got into a nice conversation about writing.

Over at the other cell, the Learners were split over where they wanted to hang out that day. The were deadlocked between the “cave” and the “apartment complex.” They’ve given interesting names to the various places that they like to spend time at. They then decided they would split the day, starting out at the apartment complex and then moving to the cave. (They ended up enjoying the apartment complex and stayed their all day).

During their move toward the apartment complex, one of the Learners asked about a plant and Facilitator Lauren told him that it was wood sorrel and that it was edible! The Learner tried it and loved it! He continued to munch away on it while she told him why wild plants are so nutrient dense and how adaptogens work. The other Learner claimed another wood sorrel patch and joined in on the munch party.

In the afternoon one of the Learners asked Facilitator Lauren for a story. With a captivated (not captive) audience, she told two stories: “Coyote and the Rock,” and “Coyote and Horn Toad.” Afterward, one of the Learners asked if they could paint, so Facilitator Lauren broke out some watercolors and the Learner got lost in his creation.

What a day to be fishing

At the end of the day Facilitator Lauren asked for her iPad back, and the Learner who had been using it said that he had accidentally left it in the woods. Facilitator Lauren said that they would go back together to retrieve it, but the Learner said he was afraid to go get it because some people were out there and “one of them is a loud scary woman,” who they’ve heard hollering up there before. When they got close to the spot where the iPad was, Facilitator Lauren let the Learners stand back so they did not have to interact with the woman. The woman saw Facilitator Lauren and began to harass her for wearing a mask in nature. Instead of trying to educate the woman on how how the virus is transmitted, common courtesy, or the value of solidarity within society, she retrieved the iPad and left.

Thrilled to be vaxxed!

Back at the other cell there was no problem with people they came across. While fewer people have been wearing masks when congregating with others since the governor prematurely removed the mask mandate, everyone we’ve come into contact with at least gives distance to those who are wearing masks. They had a “lovely relaxing day,” according to Facilitator Ariel. He finished his first ever Abrome blog post, much fishing was had, and two of the remote Learners said they were excited to be in-person next cycle. And I did get my second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine (Moderna). The other two Facilitators have their second shot scheduled in early April. It was truly a low energy, high impact day at Abrome.