From Wendy Single’s Blog, GenYES teacher at Queensbury Elementary:
I remember a year ago … start of the new school year when technology support for summertime’s tech work is high, I hadn’t finished distributing curriculum maps yet and doing what needed to be done to start up the GenYES program for our fifth graders was nagging at me.
I like to be organized. I like to put my quality stamp on my effort. I like to be prepared. I wanted to read through the teacher guide, view all the resources at the GenYES website, plan a spectacular parent information night, plan our 90 hours together, etc. Had I waited for this to occur, GenYES might not have ever begun last year.
Instead, I behaved “outside of the box” by jumping into GenYES. All the “studying up” on GenYES that I wanted to do would not have made a difference to our program. I learned that GenYES is about bringing a teacher and students together to share their joy of helping others and using technology. What happens as a result, is the beauty of the GenYES program. Ideas, collaboration, disicoveries, flying fingers on keyboards, high fives, cheering, homework helping …
I wouldn’t have learned about any of this by waiting to be as organized and prepared as I had wanted to be.
Many first year GenYES teachers have guilty feelings around this time of year that they aren’t doing enough, aren’t following the “rules” closely enough, and aren’t doing GenYES “correctly.” It’s normal–you aren’t alone in these feelings!
The good news is, the correct way to run GenYES is the way that works for you, your students, and your school. In the next few months, we’ll post some different ways that GenYES works in schools around the world.
Megan
