We are sitting here trying to get Allie to create a definition of truth. A few of us. And then Knives comes over and says, “can you look at this [part of my cat comic that explains what patriarchy is]?” And I did. It’s good, he has made helpful adjustments and edits. He goes back to inking the comic. And Eli wishes he could have joined Pilot earlier to be around these kinds of conversations, I think, while he sits there and twists wire together to make his dress sculpture. And Ella suddenly exclaims from the other side of the room in a way that totally makes sense and is a valuable statement to add to the conversation, “my chair is reasonable”. And Chris keeps telling Allie that he is right (but I have a feeling that he doesn’t really think that he is right, he might just be doing this to further her thinking, but then later he tells me that he did in fact, think he was right). Eli and I keep saying that they both are right. Then Eli comes to terms with the way that deadline driven goals aren’t working for him. Ren and Ray enter for lunch time. And then Allie says, “we are defining the truth of intangible things.” That’s about ten minutes of what happens in the Pilot room. On an average day, but this is a slightly above average day for the magic of what happens here. In this classroom students have more autonomy and control. They get to practice being in a cooperative workspace with each other, each following their own interests and passions, without stepping on each other’s toes. Dancing around each other's toes is how I would describe the conversation that happened today. We have had about seven weeks of days now. Next week we will ask students to pause for a minute, reflect on how it’s going and present their work to us. During this exhibition season, many of you will join us for these presentations in one way or another. Thank you for offering your attention and listening to how it is going for these students and helping them advance their work. I hope they’ve invited you. The quarter one exhibitions are invite only! In this last hour before of the week before exhibitions begin we are spending some time writing during our Pilot Seminar. Creating a nice environment for each other to perform this task is difficult. We are all studying different things the majority of us don’t have fully functioning prefrontal cortexes. Each moment that we care for the collective good over our personal good, we make the world we live in a little better. We are creating community. We are a community that helps one another become more resilient to the terrible things that can and have happened. To keep us going when we are down. To take breaks when we need to. To remember delight, joy, and gratitude.
Doing this together in a public school matters. I feel very fortunate today to be able to be a part of all of this. See you next week. Be well, amyK
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