Town Hall is one of the moments in an Acton studio where learning becomes visible. Heroes gather to raise issues, listen carefully, and make decisions together. Parents don’t always see it, but this is where courage, responsibility, and leadership grow.
At one Acton Academy in the USA, it started with a plastic fork.
A learner running the Eagle Buck Store noticed that more and more learners were coming to lunch without utensils or water bottles.
Instead of preparing ahead, they relied on her to open the store, so that they could buy utensils and water, which was interrupting her own lunch break. What had started as a helpful gesture quietly became a burden.
So she made a bold choice: plastic forks would now cost 5 Eagle Bucks.
For learners who budget and save carefully, this was a big deal. The issue quickly landed on the Town Hall agenda.
At Town Hall, the learners asked real questions:
Was this fair?
Was she protecting her time? Or overstepping?
Who gets to decide what happens in the store?
After listening, debating, and thinking carefully, they voted: she shouldn’t have changed the price on her own, but she did have full authority to decide what items to stock.
So she removed the forks and the water bottles from the shelves.
What happened next was almost magical:
Learners started remembering their things.
Habits shifted.
She reclaimed her lunch break.
And no one had to spend 5 hard-earned Eagle Bucks on a disposable utensil.
This is Town Hall at its best: a place where learners practice responsibility, leadership, and accountability. Adults are not telling them how or why, but stepping back and giving them a space to shape their community.
Do you ever wonder whether your child is truly learning to lead? I want you to know that moments like these, of courage, responsibility, and problem-solving are happening every Tuesday in our Town Hall.