Defining our Mantra

How do you figure out a mantra that defines your school?

In business terms, a mantra is similar to a motto but more internally focused. Its the words a company lives by that helps them stay focused and on track.

For a good part of a year, I've wanted to create a mantra that epitomizes the Acton Academy Columbus culture. But you don’t just come up with a mantra that sounds good, you really have to live “it”. Now that we’ve been open for a year, it has started to become clear what our “it” is.

What have we been doing / what do we do at Acton?

  • Learning to do, learning to be, learning to learn

  • Project-Based Learning

  • Mastery-based learning

  • Interdisciplinary projects

  • Focus on STEAM and Entrepreneurship

  • Team projects

  • Celebrating risk-taking, failure, and building confidence

  • Holistic learning - emotional / social, ethical, academic, mindset

Features of Acton

  • Focus on the child

  • Learner-driven education

  • Personalized learning

  • Mission: To inspire every child that walks through our doors to find a passion that will change the world.

I wanted to capture all that in a singular phrase.

I asked our learners for their thoughts as well.

We came together and voted. The winning mantra:

"Heroes do hard things"

I LOVE IT!

In four beautiful words, it perfectly captures so much of what Acton is about...

Heroes:  Every one of our learners is a genius on their own Hero's Journey. A Hero's Journey is about challenges, trials and tribulations, failure, allies and guides, and transformation.

Do: At Acton, our learners are learning by doing. We don't open up textbooks and simply read through them. We might read a blurb, watch a video, or invite a community member. We'll find different ways to learn and use our knowledge to work on projects and "learn by doing"

Hard things: Doing hard things means you're taking risks and going outside your comfort zone. There are no shortcuts. It may mean that you fail and fail often. It's risk-taking that can lead to failure. That failure will cultivate inner strength and resilience and will lead to problem solving. That will lead to increased confidence in your own abilities which will lead to a mindset that opens up a world of limitless opportunities!

Heroes do hard things.

Yes they do! They do hard things, they take risks, they fail, they learn, they take away lessons, they develop a growth mindset and their confidence increases... and then they take all that and become tomorrow's world changers.

#Education #SchoolMantra #LearnerDriven

Varun Bhatia