Rebekah Hyatt and Adlena Jacobs — SystemsGo

In this episode:

We meet Rebekah Hyatt, a master educator who is Program Director for SystemsGo, an education nonprofit solely focused on providing STEM curriculum programs. Prior to joining SystemsGo, she taught high school for 15 years in the Dallas area, and during her last seven years in the classroom she taught the SystemsGo curriculum.

We also meet Adlena Jacobs, another master educator who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and math, and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration. She has been teaching for 12 years and is currently the STEM Coordinator at Sunnyvale High School in Sunnyvale, Texas.

In this conversation, both guests express their passion for preparing the next generation to join the workforce. Rebekah talks about what inspired her to join SystemsGo, the overall mission of the program, and some of the benefits she has seen over the years. As a teacher who is new to the program, Adlena brings a fresh perspective to the training process, has a newcomer’s enthusiasm for bringing it to her students, and shares how she anticipates they will grow from the program.

Both explain that failure is an important aspect of the program, as it leads to growth for the students. Says Rebekah, “We want to produce people that are equipped with skills to walk through the fear of the unknown. Because the fear of the unknown can be totally crippling to many people.”

Adlena herself admits that she had to struggle through her own failure during the teacher training but knows this only enhances her ability to relate to her students and guide them. She says, “Even though you’re failing, keep going — you will get there.”

To learn more about SystemsGo visit systemsgo.org.

Introductory and closing music: Paint the Sky by Hans Atom (c) copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/50718 Ft: Miss Judged