09/01/2026
The Work of Becoming
What makes a story worth listening to? And what questions are worth asking about the person you are becoming?
Those were the questions at the center of ELA today.
Our freshmen and seniors may be at opposite ends of their high school journey, but today both began warming up for their first units through voice, reflection, and inquiry.
Our seniors looked ahead through a “Hot Seat” activity, responding to thoughtful questions about who they are becoming, what they value, what they want to hold onto, and what remains uncertain. This was an intentional first step toward their Personal PhD. Throughout senior year, students will become researchers of their own lives, examining their experiences, choices, values, growth, and the evidence of who they have become. Before they can do that deeply, they have to learn to ask meaningful questions of themselves.
Our freshmen began with a different idea: everything has a story. An ordinary object can hold a memory, a relationship, a journey, a conflict, or a piece of someone’s identity.
In groups, students told the story of an object, selected one story to share with the class, and then unpacked what they had just experienced. What actually makes something a story? What made certain stories compelling? What made a speaker easy to listen to?
Through Socratic questioning, the students named the elements themselves, from setting, tone, purpose to details, expression, pacing, emotion, and connection with an audience.
These weren’t simply first-week activities. They were an entry point into the work ahead: storytelling and the power of voice for our freshmen, and reflection, identity, and purposeful growth for our seniors.
At Averroes, we want students to do more than receive the principles of good speaking, writing, and thinking.
We want them to notice them. Name them. Question them. And ultimately, make them their own.
