“There's a higher call to accountability and a higher call to hold your brothers to a higher standard.” - Iron Academy Student
Accountability Days have proven to be effective ways to increase student accountability and provide opportunities for leadership and personal growth. Twice a year, each young man will lead a 5-to-8 minute conference in front of at least one parent and several faculty members about how he is growing as a gentleman scholar, drawing closer to Christ, and seeking new ways to serve and lead at school and at home.
During these conferences, we present opportunities for the young men to witness the partnership that is being forged between parents and teachers; a partnership designed to benefit them, and one that seeks the best from them. Also, the young men will get another lesson on how to give an account of themselves and they will be reminded that their actions, the consequences of those actions, and their eventual growth as young men are of great importance to many people at home, at church, and at school.
Here's what one Iron Academy mother said about how Accountability Days have helped her sons:
“Student-led conferences allow each young man to be actively involved by leading the conference. Our sons have attended Iron Academy for many years and I have been a part of more than a few student-led conferences. During these meetings, I’ve had the pleasure of listening to my sons speak on their accountability for successes and failures. Student-led conferences have allowed them to practice real-life skills, like speaking with adults, advocating for themselves, and setting realistic goals for the future. As a parent, these student led-conferences provide me with the opportunity to offer encouragement, praise, and reinforcement in their education. It has also been a time for me to gain a better understanding of the academic expectations set by the teachers and how my young men have interacted with those expectations. Through this process, I have been able to witness my sons evaluate their own learning outcomes, share what they do well, identify what they need to work on, and set reasonable goals for improvement.
Every year I look forward to these conferences with my sons because they give me another chance to see how they have embraced their educational responsibilities. Furthermore, the meetings afford me another opportunity to come alongside our children in order to help them achieve their goals and to get a better understanding of how the Iron Academy staff is partnering with my husband and I to see those goals met.”