I had my students take the #GaryVeeChallenge…Here is what happened
When I posted about letting kids use social media in my school, it was met with swift and immediate pushback. “Kids are too young for social media!” “Kids are not well enough developed for social media.” “Students don’t have much to say. Why have them post on platforms like Linkedin?”
Everyone had a reason why I should teach kids to use social media to create valuable content. I’m proud to say today that my students have, yet again, proved people wrong.
Kids have something to say
To start the workshop, I had kids do an exercise where they branded themselves. To do that, they simply picked the three things they care the most about in the world. Kids said things like basketball, conservation, comedy, family, and entrepreneurship. If I’m honest, they really surprised me here. They were deeply thoughtful and considerate.
The first post they made to their platform of choice was then a graphic that had their three things on it. They used this graphic to introduce themselves and their content to their audience.
“I feel like I actually have something to say. I never thought people would actually listen to me. I’m excited to see what happens!”
The kids were so proud of their brand adjectives, posted online for the world to see and like and comment and share. It fueled them and me.
Kids can be experts
The next step in my process was to get kids to create and post more content. If you are reading this, you are likely no stranger to posting content. But for kids, this is a huge deal. They are afraid of rejection. So I turned them to experts. Yep. I had students meet with social media influencers to hear their stories and for students to ask them questions.
It gave kids the confidence to post the things they are thinking and feeling and learning. It helped the kids see themselves as content creators. They were now no longer just kids with phones. They viewed themselves differently. They saw themselves as entry-level content creators.
No, they didn’t write a thesis or a dissertation. No, they did not publish a scholarly essay. But they did have a chance to think deeply about what they love. They did have a chance to communicate value to an audience. They had a chance to start taking steps towards expertise.
“My mom often tells me that I need to be an expert on something other than myself. Never understood what she meant. Now I feel like I can show some expertise online. I think I’m going for politics. I know a ton about that subject.”
The #GaryVeeChallenge is not crazy to kids
There has been a ton of conversation about the #GaryVeeChallenge online. The challenge uses Gary Vee’s content model to challenge people to create 64 pieces of content in one day! It sounds NUTS! But not to kids. The challenge energized them! They jumped right in and started creating content!
They created memes, videos, pictures, and short-form text posts. All in one day! It was an impressive feat. More than impressive, it was yet another example of kids proving the world wrong.
“Whew! 64 pieces of content done! I could do this every day if I had to.”
The bad old way is gone
In most schools, social media is a monster waiting to devour the innocence of the youth. That view is the bad old way. I am not interested in that. I am interested in what is new, fresh, and best for students.
No more bad old way!
