The Curious Chronicles 6 - Acton Academy

Learn to Let Be

“To let go does not mean to get rid of. To let go means to let be. When we let be with compassion, things come and go on their own.” — Jack Kornfield 

Acton Academy is an innovative educational model that emphasizes student-driven learning and entrepreneurship. It features a blended approach, combining online resources with hands-on projects, allowing students to set their own goals and pace. We foster critical thinking, collaboration, and a growth mindset, preparing students for real-world challenges. Our schools go against what the culture does and says is correct. With the heavy influence of culture daily, it can be hard to “let go.” Yet, I believe it is one of the responsibilities of parents to allow their children to make mistakes, learn at their own pace, and challenge themselves appropriately. Before I begin, let me make it clear that I think each parent should be involved in the education journey, offer guidance and wisdom, and support each child’s goals and dreams. 

Most studies show when parents are involved, the student’s grades are higher, their attendance is more consistent, etc. But here at Acton, we don’t believe in any of it. One of our key ideas is “Let Learners Choose.” Read this segment from this blog post. 

“Teaching” and “learning” are only loosely related, somewhat like “talking” and “understanding.” The key to learning is finding out what motivates the learner, and giving the learner the freedom to choose what challenges to take on next is one of the most powerful motivators. We allow young heroes the freedom to choose, and the responsibility to choose wisely or suffer the consequences.  Likewise with parents and Guides.

The job of a Guide is to propose a journey, with a “grail” at the end, challenges along the way, and rules everyone agrees to respect – and then to invite young heroes to play.

To fully accommodate this theology we must take a step back and create a safe place for children to make mistakes and fail. Failure is a big, scary word to most adults. But we believe that failure is progress. When you fail, you can learn and grow from that experience, and when you look back, you will see the importance of that failure. 

I’ve heard stories and have seen with my own eyes, of parents who hold the reigns too closely. The child gets overwhelmed with simple choices such as what color marker do you want to write with or who to play with outside. When children grow up with adults governing their freedom of learning or choice, it causes kids to always try to please the authority figure, hinders their development of independence, limits their critical thinking skills, diminishes their intrinsic motivation to learn, decreases problem-solving skills, a lack of resilience when faced with hard challenges, and it can cause low self-esteem and anxiety. Parents need to learn to watch their children fail, so they can experience exponentially more growth. 

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! There is so much more I can say on this topic, but don’t want to bore you. If you want to keep chatting, connect with me below! Another great resource to learn more information is this book: The Gift of Failure. I highly recommend reading this book to understand one of the core values of Acton Academy.