How it Works
Adolescents thrive on belonging, challenge, and adventure.
We all need a group of trusted friends. We all need a safe space to speak honestly and listen deeply, where we can process what matters most to us. In adolescence we need this most of all, as our lives can change dramatically almost from day to day.
Argonaut creates this safe space, with skilled facilitators leading small groups of students. It’s first about building trust and connection, and learning social-emotional tools as we go. Then we get to go on adventures together: personal challenges drawn from the Essential Experiences Project, an ever-growing list of formative experiences which develop young people’s wisdom, kindness, and real-world skill.
What does an Argonaut group session look like?
6-10 middle schoolers (+ high school groups opening in August 2021)
Led by a skilled adult facilitator
Meeting on Zoom for two weekly sessions (1 hour each)
In each session, students learn to be present for each other: making a space where they can authentically be themselves, talking about whatever is important to them.
Students continually choose and work through challenges drawn from the Essential Experiences, with full independence to select their own.
What will my child gain from this experience?
New friends
A sense of capability in the world
Insights into their own emotions and inner lives
Tools to manage life’s ups and downs
A school year with adventure, challenge, and belonging
Foundation stones for their sense of identity
Greater skill in connecting with others
Clues about new gifts and passions they might like to explore further
Greater independence
What are the Essential Experiences?
The Essential Experiences are a set of challenges which help adolescents find and develop their best selves. They fall into five categories: Independence, Connection, Healthy Body & Mind, Waking Up, and Making the World Better. See more here. As they proceed through the program, students will be able to complete multiple experiences, building their confidence, awareness, kindness and capabilities. They might Serve a Good Meal, Teach a Complex Skill or Connect With Your Lineage — these are 3 of the initial set of 50 experiences available to explore.
What is Social-Emotional Learning?
Social-Emotional Learning, or SEL, includes the skills to understand and manage our inner lives — handling emotions, exploring our identity, setting goals and more — plus the skills to create and sustain positive relationships with others.
Over the past 20 years, research has shown SEL to be of paramount importance to student and adult success, whether measured traditionally in terms of grades and eventual career success, or measured in terms of happiness. It’s clear that pure IQ is not enough: we need to be able to manage our inner world and relate well to others in order to make a good life.
It’s our opinion that SEL is taught best through groups, tapping into adolescents’ strong drive for peer connection, with facilitators who can both model these skills and teach them through experience.
