Henry tested for his orange Aikido belt today. He failed and I don't think I've ever been so proud of him. The three boys who tested weren't ready. Sense did not teach an orange level class this semester. I'm not sure if his teaching was slack, or if he does not want to graduate young boys ahead of their bodies? In any case, Henry and the other two were not fully ready. But they were close and they wanted to go for it. They had to test in front of the class and all the parents, as if on stage. Henry moved with confidence. He threw answers out and he was loud and strong. And when he was wrong he grinned. He was as full of good nature and humility about his failure as he has been about his success. What more need we ask of a boy? I was just So Proud!

Another young man tested for his yellow belt. This whole semester, this kid has not dressed out, has said he'll never test himself. He presents as a pure unschooler that way, determined to take this information at his own pace in his own way. But something internal pushed him to test, though he was clearly terrified. And he nailed it.