Expect some confusion.
You read that right. The problems of the future will be complex and unknown, and we don’t help our kids by pretending otherwise. Instead, we want your child to get comfortable in confusion and find clarity in chaos. To do that, we use games. But we don’t tell kids how to win. And we don’t tell them what to think. That’s for them to figure out.
Expect independence.
Synthesis is not school; our coaches do not take center stage. They set a challenge before students and allow them to work together on a solution. While they work, we observe on hidden mode to analyze team dynamics and prepare the next challenge. Why stay hidden? Because the students that can demonstrate teamwork and strategy “when no one’s watching” are the ones that have truly internalized the skills.
Expect development.
Here are the concepts we center our experiences around.
1. Communication (skills and style): Communication skills (encourages others, active listening, active participation, concise, helps others, negotiates conflict), communication style (friendly, confident, clear, understanding).
2. Team mindset (to be a good teammate, one is...): Responsible, persistent, curious, focused, on task, reliable, consistent, comfortable with new teams and diverse team members, comfortable asking for name pronunciation, adjustable to new teams’ skill levels.
3. Problem-solving (mindset + critical thinking skills): Inspired by new challenges, comfortable with new environments, seeking the root of the problem, second-order thinking, putting problems in perspective, insightful, goal setting, adaptable to new situations, pivots when needed.
Expect personalized feedback.
We’ll email you consistent, personalized feedback about your child as well as previews of each week's experience. We show you where your student is showing comfort and confidence, where there is room to improve, and what actionable steps will help them get there. Don't expect your child to have complete mastery of the skills above in a few short months. These core skills are grown, from the inside out, and the feedback you get will show you how the incremental gains compound into significant development.