"There were no bells, no worksheets, no posted objectives. Just one guiding prompt ..."

Chapter 21 + 22 of The Ruckus Maker Flywheel

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Chapter 21: Spark Time

The word Advisory still hung on the whiteboard, half-erased.

Like it was clinging on.

Jordan clicked her marker twice before writing the new name:

SPARK TIME.

She underlined it once, then again. Thicker.

Andre leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. “You really think the name matters that much?”

Jordan turned to him. “Names create culture. Advisory had a curriculum no one followed and no one wanted. This needs to feel different from the start.”

He nodded slowly, eyes still on the board. “Yeah... Spark Time. It’s got heat.”

She smiled. “It’s got life.”

The two of them had met for an hour and stayed for three. Scheduling meetings were usually soul-killers. But today, they’d been mapping something else entirely.

Instead of trying to cram in more coverage or carve out test prep time, they were looking for space.

Space for students to pause, to reflect, to chase ideas.

Space for connection, creativity, and choice.

And if that meant breaking the schedule a little? So be it.

“We’ll still need to report how it aligns to SEL standards,” Andre said, pulling them back to reality.

“I know.” Jordan scribbled something in the margin. “We’ll cover our bases. But this is Flywheel time. That’s the why behind it.”

There would be resistance. She could already hear the district feedback: What’s the measurable outcome? How does this improve attendance? Is there a rubric?

And she could already picture Trask’s frown—arms crossed, tone clipped.

“Another feel-good initiative?”

He’d said it once before, during the Ruckus Report meeting. He might say it again.

But Jordan was okay with that now.

The Flywheel was moving.

A week later, Spark Time launched.

There were no bells, no worksheets, no posted objectives. Just one guiding prompt:

What lights you up? Go do that. Or make space for someone else to.