I was given permission to share the following letter written by an elementary school Eagle. The heartfelt request is beautiful and simple. And, I suspect, is a universal yearning of children. I needed the reminder and am grateful for this young voice to guide me on my parenting journey. I hope you enjoy:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I want you to trust me. I want you to stop asking me what I am doing and how I am doing it for my core skills. If I make a mistake I want your response to be “Keep going and try again.” If you can trust me you can assume I am doing the right thing.

I would like you to read and follow the parent contract you signed with Acton. The following is what I feel is most important right now:

“We long for our Eagles to discover a calling that will change the world, as promised in Acton Academy’s mission. We will allow our Eagle to fail early, cheaply and as often as necessary without interfering, and in the event our Eagle struggles, we will refer to the Hero’s Journey for Parents note for counsel before reacting. What if I’m worried about how my Eagle is progressing? In the elementary studio, our focus is on the process of learning. We recommend checking in with your Eagle every couple of weeks to walk through the Journey Tracker together. Are there areas your Eagle hasn’t been working? Talk through the reasons why. Is there someone she could seek for support in the studio? A squad leader? Fellow traveler? Is she confused about what to do? Should the guide make the instructions more clear? Sometimes an Eagle in the ES studio focuses only on reading or math for a season. We think this is fine. The goal is to keep the light of curiosity alive. The end of each session is an opportune time to talk about what your Eagle is pleased with and what they hope to do differently in the coming session. Parents and Eagles will have an opportunity twice a year to engage in a Journey Meeting facilitated by the Guide. These are great times to check in and see how your Eagle manages her learning.”

I would like us to check in every 2 weeks on Friday night and I will share my Journey Tracker with you. At the end of this session if you still don’t trust that I will get my work done then we should look at a different plan. 

My promise to you is that I will manage my time responsibly and I won’t depend on you to rescue me. 

I love and I appreciate your support. I’m ready to become more independent. Please let me do that.

Love,

_______.