Can We Achieve...YES We Can!

Greetings YES community:

Welcome to the Rutgers YES Institute and the Second Edition of the YES Ledger!  We hope that your experiences at the YES Institute have been nothing less than wonderful.  For us, it has been an absolute pleasure working with these amazing students.  Every Saturday, the students wake up early and enter the doors ready to tackle the task of the day.  Each student brings with them a different outlook and energy, making the program not only educational, but exciting and continually involving.   The YES staff is excited to continue working with you and your student to accomplish their goals.

PROJECT ONE: “RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT”
On March 7, students presented their first YES project of the year, entitled “Running for President.”  Each of the 6 groups, which were separated by grade level, selected one candidate to compete in a YES Presidential Election.   
In order to prepare for the project, students read various articles and handouts on voting and the electoral process, and the Electoral College.   Students then participated in dialogue regarding the qualifications of a candidate, the purpose of an election, writing and delivering persuasive speeches, and the major issues of a campaign. 

Each grade conducted a primary election to determine which candidate would be their representative in the General YES Election.  During the primary process, one could walk into any classroom and hear third and fourth grade classes debating education and healthcare or a sixth grade class talking about poverty and pollution.  Once each grade selected their candidate, students collaborated and put together a campaign, including the creation of a slogan, symbol, marketing materials, and a strong platform on relevant issues. 

ELECTION RESULTS
The final products were nothing short of remarkable.  Students filed into the library with confidence, excitement, and pride for their collaborative projects, even exchanging friendly words of competition.  Group A’s third grade candidate Edwin Solar, with the support of his classmates, made a fantastic speech regarding his platform.  Meanwhile, Group D (sixth grade) incorporated fictional elements in a captivating introduction by Aliesha Velez who told a story about having met their candidate, Giovanni Villa, while serving in Iraq and explained his heroism during that time.  Mr. Villa then approached the podium, dressed in a shirt and tie, and discussed how he would help the economy, education, pollution, and crime. 
           
The election winners were Group D and candidate Giovanni Villa, who worked under the tutoring of Mr. Timothy Weir and Ms. Joy Harper.  While all of the groups were great, Group D went the extra mile.  Other members of the group, who presented the creative slogans and symbols, displayed numerous posters, and provided additional information to their candidate, were awarded administration positions in President Villa’s Cabinet.  Congratulations to President Giovanni Villa, Vice President Adonis Reyes, Secretary of Treasury Jose Mendez, Secretary of Defense Amadis Jimenez, Secretary of the Interior Aliesha Velez, Nakee King, and the other students who played an integral part in the production!  Their group not only worked passionately on the task, but they made the task their own. 

For their outstanding work, the group has won a pizza party.  President Villa pledged that the first task on his agenda is to get student opinion on how to better the program and the possibilities for incentives.  In his second act, President Villa decided that because the other groups worked so hard during the project, they too should enjoy the benefits of the pizza party, and he pledged, “Pizza for everyone.”

APPLIED LEARNING
The election project incorporated several critical learning skills that allowed our students to apply what they are learning at the YES Institute.  The research on elections and the electoral process challenged students to study and then interpret information for the purposes of creating an election platform.  Furthermore, the primary and general elections encouraged students to develop their writing and public speaking skills as all candidates prepared and delivered an election speech. 

In learning about the Electoral College and the importance of numbers in the voting process, students used math skills by finding the mode, median, and mean of votes by states in the recent U.S. Presidential election.  Groups worked with probabilities and statistics, determining the odds of being elected in the YES election as well as in the U.S. Presidential election.  Still other groups focused on the Electoral College and worked with percents and fractions to determine the division of votes amongst states.  

The project also encouraged creativity in students through development of their campaign platforms and also promoted leadership and self-confidence as they stepped forward to present and debate their views. 
Students commented that they learned to work with their peers effectively and that they gained confidence in public speaking.  Most importantly, they realized that with hard work and collaboration, they can do anything.  The teamwork, leadership, dedication, and capacity displayed by each student throughout the presentation of the projects brought chills to the YES staff and observers who noted the respect, seriousness, and sportsmanship showed by each group.

UPCOMING PROJECT: “TRAVEL AGENTS”
With our YES Presidential Election completed, students will leave the political arena and become travel agents for our second YES project.  Students will have the responsibility of creating a proposal for a trip and will present their projects on April 4, 2009 at 10:00 AM.

***Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or suggestions.  Presentations (and all YES sessions) are open to the YES community.  Please let us know if you plan to attend so that we may make the necessary accommodations.