A School that encourages Failure

Overcoming Early Failures & Challenges

​The following was written by Acton Mom, Tori Anderson on their families journey at Acton Lincoln. There is no utopia and growth is uncomfortable. Acton is designed to place learners AND parents outside their comfort zones on a regular basis.
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The first thing I heard was 'we believe all kids are geniuses and will change the world' — I cried. That was something we believed about him but just didn’t know how to cultivate in the school setting we had chosen for him. 

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​Acton Lincoln came to us at a time where our oldest was in the public school after trying private schools in Lincoln and everything in between.

We were midway into 2020 when online learning was not going well and we were all frustrated at home. We watched a video that solidified everything my husband and I believed and wished for our children…that they have the ability to change the world.
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Our start to Acton was rocky and there were so many times we all wanted to quit. But we knew that there was a reason we found ourselves here. We are so thankful for Acton and all it continues to teach us as a family. We are all life-long learners and we can’t wait to see where our family continues to grow.​

​We finished our year in public school and made the transition hoping for the best but, ultimately, not knowing what to expect. Elijah, our oldest, 8 at the time, did not thrive. He struggled. We watched him unlearn a lot of the things he excelled at in public school as he is very intelligent but only knew how to use that skill to ace tests and finish work early to have “free time.”

At Acton, it isn’t about the testing, it is about the personal development, a skill that we longed for our children to develop but didn’t have the tools to encourage it by ourselves. Acton is that tool for us. As the year progressed, Elijah struggled more. He struggled having his voice heard. He struggled with his peers. He struggled finding his place in the studio. He struggled with his emotions as he learned how to manage those emotions as he became more frustrated along the way. Acton is hard. But they are allowing heroes to fail, early, cheaply, often, in order to learn hard lessons now when the stakes are low.

But he also excelled. He excelled at his problem solving skills. His adventurous spirit came out of him–our once fearful child is now climbing trees and exploring the wilderness and nature like never before. He has learned how to share his feelings in a healthy way. He has learned time management skills–something we are still working on as adults. He is learning how to be a better leader, as his sister has now joined him at Acton in the Spark Studio, and as he has the chance to be a part of his studio council.

Our start to Acton was rocky and there were so many times we all wanted to quit. But we knew that there was a reason we found ourselves here. Elijah, and now Emme, are learning the hard lessons of life now. But they aren’t learning them alone. They have peers they can lean on, guides they trust, and us, their parents, who love and support them in the process along the way. We are so thankful for Acton and all it continues to teach us as a family. We are all life-long learners and we can’t wait to see where our family continues to grow.

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Tori Anderson - Acton Mom

The preceding Acton story was written and shared by Tori Anderson, an Acton mom who wanted to share their family's struggles and successes to help other families.