Tuesday was day 69 of the pandacademic year and I wanted to get the day started off in a fun way by asking a different type of prompt for the morning meeting. I asked each Learner to share their gnarliest injury ever. After two of us had gone, one of the newer Learners asked why I asked that question, of all questions. He said it was a peculiar question to ask, and then another Learner jumped in and said the same. I then realized that it was a question that could lead to some responses that could be discomforting for others, and that I launched into such a question without asking for the consent of everyone who was in the meeting with me. I acknowledged that and switched the question up to a much easier survey on what everyone’s favorite season was. Six chose winter, five chose summer, three chose fall, and only two chose spring. We then set our intentions and identified the practice that each of us would focus on for the day.
Next I dropped into a young Learner’s Roblox offering and chatted to him really briefly, and then popped into our daily 7-minute workout with our usual crew of four. We are all noticing marked improvement in our ability to get through the workout, and we are all getting stronger. We hope that some of the Learners will join us soon.
Coffee and read
Then I dropped in for the coffee and read offering that was hosted by Facilitator Ariel. He was reading Raising Free People by Akilah S. Richards and I was reading Progressive Dystopia by Savannah Shang. Each book touches upon issues of race and liberation in the context of education, the former from an unschooling perspective and the latter from a carceral conventional schooling perspective. Both books are fabulous reads and I highly recommend them.
We each read for about an hour and then went straight into the Among Us offering that was organized by one of the newer Learners. He was getting quite frustrated that not many were showing up for his offerings the prior week, so this week he only scheduled the offering on Tuesday and Thursday. It seems that strategy worked as eight Learners including himself showed up, as did two Facilitators. Unfortunately the Learner who organized the offering was seven minutes late to the offering, so by the time the game got started we only had 50 minutes of dedicated time to play. It was the first time playing for a couple of Learners, so it was chaotic at times, but everyone seemed to have a blast.
Among Us in action
After the Among Us offering I had my first opportunity of the day to relax. I spent the next hour making myself a lunch consisting of kimchi and rice, and then did some cleaning. When I was finished I jumped back online in preparation for free write. I was going to check in on Facilitator Lauren’s nature journaling offering but I saw that the young Learner who joined us for the first time this cycle on Friday was on Discord, so I tried to connect with her. Our conversation was not super deep, we just sent goofy gifs back and forth to each other, but it was nice to have an opportunity to interact one-on-one with her. She had also joined the meetings that morning, and on Monday, and I was feeling really great about having her present on a more regular basis.
The other Facilitators continue to connect with Learners as well. Each of us are having a one-on-one check-in with about a third of the Learners, so that each Learner has at least one individualized check-in each week. Facilitator Lauren had two check-ins that day with an 18-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy. In fact, all but one Learner has been able to drop in for their check-ins. The only one who has not checked-in is a new Learner who had a really bad experience with online schooling at their local public school this past spring and fall. Because of that terrible experience it seems that he is not super eager to engage at Abrome while we are remote, so we are likely going to be left waiting until we are back in-person so that we can build trust with the Learner. Nonetheless, Facilitator Ariel texted him to remind him of the offerings and gaming opportunities that were available to him the next day.
Afternoon roundup
The day went by really quickly. Lauren opened the afternoon roundup by asking them how they were feeling and what they did that day. Many of the responses were lukewarm and low energy: good, okay, good day, tired but happy, good, tired and overwhelmed, tired, tired, okay, alright, happy, sad, tired, snazzy, chill. One of the Learners was struggling with the meeting a bit, and an adolescent Learner who has really been developing her leadership skills stepped in to help guide him through the meeting. It was a great example of how when Learners feel that this is their community that they can step in and protect and build the culture without direction from adults. It was also a great way to end the day.