Encouraging Entrepreneurial Students-Classrooms of Tomorrow

Encouraging Entreprise-Students Garner Real-World Skills from Entrepreneurial Undertakings

​     Remember when you were young and wanted to make some money? It was easy to open a lemonade stand and make of profit. Of course, it was only nickels and dimes with an occasional $1 tip, but it began as a career to make extra money.  These  entrepreneurial skills have been used over time and continue to be needed with jobs leading in to the 21st Century.  Today's digital world lets students create apps, make a profit  and share them  on social media. The classroom is changing and teachers must embrace new skills in order to foster successful entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
      How does the classroom teacher utilize these skills and create mindful students and successful entrepreneurs? It is all about the hook! Classroom teachers must engage students by giving them a purpose for learning. This purpose should relate to student passions, needs and interests. Instruction should lead them to discovery and to understand learning, while gaining knowledge to find a solution.         Classroom teachers must learn to be facilitators rather than instructors. It is no longer important for the teacher to have "ALL" the answers, but rather guide students to find solutions using problem solving techniques. This will enable students to utilize resources better and collaborate with their peers what is being taught. Students gain  a deeper understanding of material.
     Lastly, classroom teachers should ensure that students get feedback from as many sources as possible. This feedback should foster encouragement from both customers and experts. Feedback helps students realize that Failure is a part of Improvements and therefore a necessity.  Feedback teaches students ways to improve their ideas.
     Want to make your classroom Entrepreneurial Ready?  It begins by building relationships between students and teachers, providing a purpose, facilitating  lessons, and providing feedback. By teaching these entrepreneurial methods,  our students will become financially independent thinkers for years to come.