We make decisions, conscious or unconscious, almost every moment of our life. But, are we being intentional when we make decisions? Do we really know how to make hard decisions? What if there were processes, recipes, and algorithms to make better, more rational decisions? What if we could make life more fun, like a game?
Throughout the Decision Making Quest the High School Eagles will:
Play a series of games to help them categorize different types of decisions;
Discover powerful processes, recipes, and algorithms to help them make better “bets” at each stage of life; and
They will learn there are some types of decisions where considering a simple bet isn’t a good idea, for example:
Small investments in virtuous/good or evil/bad acts that compound over time or through habits, especially with regard to relationships, character, deliberate practice, or decisions you repeat over time.
Moral and cognitive blind spots that could cripple and destroy them;
High stakes decisions that are highly emotional or must be made in an instant;
Decisions to invest in story, celebration, ritual or a special place; or
Decisions that require buy-in or large scale mobilization over extended periods.
They will learn the following tools and explore when and when not to use them:
Basic Probability
Normal Distributions
Power Laws
System Dynamics
80/20
Ethical Frameworks
Monte Carlo Simulations
Utility Theory
And much much much more...
Community Building & Contracts Building
Building the community through team building activities is one of the most fun and enriching experiences of the year. These activities will create the bond that carries these Eagles through their high school years with a genuine appreciation and respect for one another. Per Acton tradition, the Eagles are putting their big-picture thinking, project management skills, and team building into practice by planning and organizing a Lip Dub! The Lip Dub is a full-length music video that dubs over a well-known song. Eagles are responsible for 100% of the process. They plan choreography, filming, editing & publishing.
Throughout this session, the HS Eagles will also be creating one of the most important fundamental annual documents, the Student Contract and the Rules of Engagement Contract. These are the contracts that they will abide by throughout the rest of the year. Through this process, an elected committee will gather data from the community about the rules they want to set into place, lead the votes and put together their final product. This process will end with a sacred ceremony in which everyone in the community signs the contract, thus taking the plunge into their High School journey this year!
