One Step at a Time
Imagine this…you are standing on a long chessboard with black and white squares forming a quiet rhythm. You look across the board and you see a King standing calm at the back–steady, observant, waiting. Before the King are all his children, the pawns, lined up in a row. The pawns are small, eager, and ready to move. One pawn inches forward a single square. It feels small, almost insignificant–yet that single step begins the entire game.
At Acton, this is how every journey begins and this was the starting week of Chess Quest for both studios. Just like in the Quest, learners are pawns inching forward as they take steps into new challenges, new friendships, and new systems of learning. Pawns may not see the full board yet, but each move they make allows them to grow in courage, patience, and trust in the process.
This week, both studios shifted from learning the board to becoming the pieces in Human Chess. Learners played as white or black pawns, Kings, or had the honor of being voted as Captain–the lead player responsible for directing their team across the giant chessboard. Was it thrilling? Absolutely. Was it challenging? Wildly!
The motto of the pawn is patience and one new learner experienced the true meaning of patience this week–not through victory but through struggle. During the black team’s captain vote, he eagerly volunteered, yet the rest of the team chose another leader. Frustrated, he loudly exclaimed “I’m never going to be a captain!” What he longed for was to lead, to be seen and recognized yet he wanted to jump ahead without experience. We chatted and I asked him to share his perspective of what makes a great captain. He shared “Someone with lots of information, who is kind, and everyone can trust.” He even named fellow traveler learners who were great captain models. Then came his moment of realization! He wasn’t ready to be captain –a King–yet. He wasn’t yet able to see the whole board or carry that responsibility. What he needed first was to gain experience as a pawn, one step at a time.
While this learner learned the lesson of patience through struggle other learners stepped into responsibility and as Captains–Kings in training– they learned that leadership isn’t about power it’s about patience. A Kingly Captain leads with calmness, care, and with the great responsibility to restrain personal desires for the good of the team.
To continue the Chess analogy, if learners at Acton are pawns then Guides and parents are Kings. We Kings don’t rush the game or take over the moves–we create the space for pawns to step forward. Sometimes pawns step with risk or sacrifice, other times with success. The King’s power lies not in speed but in stillness, not in control but in trust.
At Acton, progress is rarely a leap, it’s a series of patient and deliberate steps. The moments when learners feel stuck or overlooked are often the very moments when character is being built–both theirs and ours as their Kingly parents.
As you move across your real life chessboard I invite you to walk like the King. Hold space for your child’s growth, take it one step at a time as your learner makes small moves even when you see the bigger play. Whether it’s a goal your child hasn’t yet met or a pile of clothes left on the floor, what one patient move can you make to help them see their next step?
Every great chess Grand Master–and every great family–learns that wisdom and courage begin in the same place: one square forward