We started teaching entrepreneurship as part of the fifth-grade math and history curriculum over five years ago. As part of the program, several entrepreneurs visited as guest speakers to share their ideas about starting a business, creating a brand, and developing a marketing strategy. The success of our entrepreneur curriculum did not go unrecognized. We were thrilled when well-known entrepreneur Leonard C. Green wrote about it in his book, entitled The Entrepreneur’s Playbook.
This year, we changed the focus to social entrepreneurship as a way to inspire our students to empathize with an issue in need of attention, whether locally, nationally, or globally. Working closely with our colleague Natasha Chadha (@MsChadha92), we retooled the project to center on identifying and exploring social issues. The main objectives included equipping students to take action for change, to seek meaningful ways to help others, and to develop leadership skills that effect real change.
We used a host of materials to educate the students about social entrepreneurship, and we built a website to compile everything in one place. They blogged about their ideas and experiences designed around lessons and activities. In addition to the digital resources, we relied on a wide selection of picture books from the library that emphasize the power of personal initiative to bring about change and, importantly, to give back to others. The stories highlight that even the smallest initiative can bring about change.
ASIDE 2017
The students researched how they could help real people through microfinancing using the social entrepreneur website Kiva.org. This eye-opening experience showed them that the simple things we take for granted are not necessarily common around the world. They learned that a small loan of just $25.00 could make a huge difference in the lives of many.
ASIDE 2017
Once these young social entrepreneurs realized that they could make a difference in raising awareness and funds to help actual people, they never looked back. They worked tirelessly to develop presentations for the Social Entrepreneur Expo to explain the plight of others, as well as to seek donations for their causes. They were empowered to be change-makers in every sense of the term. Most of all, they understood that kids can make a difference. They owned it.
ASIDE 2017
Creating opportunities for student agency and empowerment mirrors real-life. The students transferred their understanding of what it meant to be a social entrepreneur inside the classroom to help ease the needs of others outside the classroom. Now that's a true life lesson.
Adam Grant's book, Originals: How Non-Conformists Move The World, has vaulted to the top of best-seller lists since its publication last year. The book is a fascinating study of creativity, imagination, ingenuity, and success. It examines the conditions and case studies of standout individuals who embody vision and entrepreneurship. As a top-rated Wharton professor in organizational dynamics, Grant is a leading voice in studying what makes historical and contemporary figures unique in their influences.
Source: ASIDE 2017
Recently, our school held its annual Colloquium evening. Here, parents, teachers, alumni, and staff came together for a night of food and conversation to share ideas as adults. Like a book club, the Colloquium each year picks a thought-provoking publication to inform small-group exchanges. This year, we read Originals, and we were lucky enough to have Adam Grant himself phone in to our gathering to answer questions and inspire our audience.
We were surprised, however, in searching the Internet, to find very few discussion questions centered on the book. We wrote our own list of questions, both for the small-group conversations and for the author himself. We wanted to share our list, in case any book clubs or schools out there are reading Grant's terrific book about self-expression and innovation.
Essential Question:
“The last time you had an original idea, what did you do with it?” Did you “speak up and stand out”? Why or why not? (p. 13)
After reading the book, do you see yourself as either “creative” or “original”? Why or why not?
Adam Grant has his own definition of originality: “introducing and advancing an idea that’s relatively unusual within a particular domain, and that has the potential to improve it.” Do we have our own personal definitions of what it means to be “original”? (p. 3)
Do you think your current job or life role allows you to be creative? To be original? Why or why not?
Overall, did you feel that Adam Grant laid out a strong roadmap for originality, looking to the past for examples and to the future for methodologies?
Why do so many of us automatically accept the “default” options in life instead of engaging in research and making informed decisions for ourselves?
What do you think of Adam Grant as a writer, with his mix of narrative voice and scientific scholarship, and his interweaving of examples?
What did you learn from this book?
Which of the “Actions For Impact” in the last chapter did you find the most helpful? Which (if any) are you thinking of trying?
Adam Grant suggests that procrastination can actually help entrepreneurs build companies that last. How does society view procrastination? How can teachers or parents find ways to reward thoughtful, deliberate, and strategic procrastination?
Does a person have to be an “informed optimist” to be creative and/or original? Do pessimists make poor change-makers? (p. x)
How much “borrowing” is allowed before a dynamic and change-making idea becomes successful but not necessarily “original”?
How can we apply the phenomenon of “vuja de” to our own lives – seeing something familiar with a fresh perspective? (p. 7)
Are there other examples of people who enacted change by becoming “curious about the dissatisfying defaults” in our society? (p. 8)
“Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.” How does this statement inform our jobs as parents and teachers? (p. 8)
Do you agree that achievement crowds out originality? Because it brings a dread of failure?
In the end, after reading all of the anecdotes in the book, do you think originals crave risk or prefer to avoid it?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the Sarick Effect? Where else in life might it be useful to start with the open admission of one’s weaknesses? Where might such a strategy be harmful?
How do we take into account the inherent difficulties and errors in self-assessment? Seventy percent of high school seniors rate themselves as above average in leadership skills, and 94 percent of college professors think they are doing above average work. How many of us view our children or ourselves as above average? Why? (p. 33)
How do you feel about Adam Grant’s note regarding the greater historical number of “creative” accomplishments made by men as compared to women? Is it a matter of time / freedom / access to producing a greater volume of output? Or is it a matter of “speaking while female”? (p. 37, 85)
If peer evaluations provide the most reliable judgments of new ideas, how can we be more open to genuine feedback?
How do you feel about the notion of “idiosyncrasy credits,” built up by “quirky” individuals to justify their creativity and earn them respect? (p. 67)
“Younger brothers were 10.6 times more likely than their older siblings to attempt to steal a base.” How do we think about risk-taking and risk aversion in our own lives? In our children’s lives? (p. 150)
Do you agree that praising character rather than behavior is the ideal strategy?
If “groupthink is the enemy of originality,” how can we avoid that trap in a culture that increasingly emphasizes collaboration and teamwork? (p. 176)
Do you agree that “dissenting opinions are useful even when they’re wrong”? (p. 185)
Is originality just creativity plus action?
Do you agree that “no one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up about it”? (Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, p. 190)
Does your current life include “critical upward feedback”? Would you like it to? (p. 203)
Do you agree that the better personal mantra is “I am excited” as opposed to “I am anxious”? (p. 216)
Raise your hand: Do you use Internet Explorer or Safari as your web browser? Do you feel more linear or patterned than Chrome or Firefox users? (p. 5)
What are some ways to take extreme risk in one arena and offset it with extreme caution in another?
Let’s talk about Seinfeld: Was it really original? Or just different? Or just smart? Are these the same things?
How do you feel about “The Positive Power Of Negative Thinking”? (p. 212)
In your book you talk a lot about risk-taking and potential failure – that achievement can crowd out originality because it brings a dread of failure. For us as teachers and parents, how can we assuage our children’s fear of failure in a culture that still values A+’s and college admissions?
Since Originals was published, have you come across any new people or companies that you wish you could have included in your book?
Schools by their nature are in the business of assessment. Can you give us any guidance in how to negotiate the inherent problems with self-assessing, for students and teachers, knowing the research that says most people think of themselves as “above average”?
You quote one of your former students, Justin Berg, as finding that, on average, “women make better creative forecasts than men.” Could you tell us more about this idea? How does it fit with the other interesting notes in your book regarding the greater number of “creative” accomplishments made by men as compared to women?
You write convincingly about the importance of peer evaluations in providing the most reliable judgments and the most helpful feedback about new ideas. Do you have any suggestions about how parents can apply this model to their daily lives? Or how teachers can do the same?
We liked your notion of “idiosyncrasy credits” in explaining why some people are afforded the respect to introduce new ideas, to deviate from expectations. Would you mind telling us more about this idea? Is it something we should all be trying – to be more idiosyncratic?
We were surprised to read that procrastination can actually help entrepreneurs build companies that last. It’s somewhat different from the message we often instill in our children, about advance planning. Are there ways that you recommend for teachers or parents to reward or encourage thoughtful and deliberate procrastination?
In thinking about writers, entrepreneurs, artists, and inventors, how much “borrowing” do you think is allowed before a dynamic and change-making idea becomes successful but not necessarily “original”?
Do you have any suggestions about how we can we apply the phenomenon of “vuja de” to our own lives – seeing something familiar with a fresh perspective?
You talk about the notion that “groupthink is the enemy of originality.” How can we avoid that trap in a culture that increasingly emphasizes collaboration and teamwork?
You rightfully note that many “originals” never act on their ideas. They conceive of bold or innovative notions, but they never act on them. What do you think holds them back? In other words, why some but not others?
“Practice makes perfect, but it doesn’t make new.” This was a particularly interesting line from your book. Do you have a sense of how this statement can inform our jobs as parents and teachers?
Could you tell us a little bit about what you are working on for your next project?
Out of all the organizations and individuals that you highlight in your book, is there one that stands out in your mind as being particularly unique it its story or its embodiment of a truly original mindset?
Okay, finally – let’s talk about Seinfeld. We here are New Yorkers, so of course we agree with your praise of the show. But after reading your book, we wonder: Was Seinfeld really “original”? Or was it just different? Or was it just smart? Are these the same things? How can we distinguish between those similar but different concepts of achievement?
Many thanks to Adam Grant for his generous time in speaking to us during our Colloquium evening. Also, we want to credit Natasha Chadha (@MsChadha92) for her terrific ideas in helping to draft these discussion questions. Finally, we want to thank Dolly Chugh (@DollyChugh) and Stefani Rosenthal (@StefRosenthal) for their leadership in staging such a successful Colloquium evening.
Our Nifty Notes first grade entrepreneur project is in its fifth year, and so is our push to educate the young learners about media literacy. This collaborative project brings together their study of economics, including wants and needs, supply and demand, and scarcity and abundance, with an understanding of the art of persuasion, marketing, and hype.
Source: ASIDE 2016
This year the goal to produce 1500 Nifty Notes was ambitious, but the first graders stepped up to the challenge, because they understood that they were raising money for charity.
It was extraordinary to watch them during their library classes grasp how marketing techniques help sell products. The media influence is so pervasive that they easily adapted commercial slogans and jingles to their product. They looked at contemporary media messages and discussed how phrases such as "limited editions," "one-of-a-kind," and "handmade" help persuade consumers to buy products.
Source: ASIDE 2016
Their ideas were so electric that they started generating their own teaser advertising techniques to sell Nifty Notes. One student came up with the idea just to put images around the school of the ladybug and bumblebee, the two new designs for 2016.
A few of days later, they added hot pink notes that began with, “Wanna know what the buzz is all about?” It goes to show how when educators empowered learners, they take ownership of their ideas. It also demonstrates just how much they see in the media.
Source: ASIDE 2016
Their promotion of the Nifty Notes sale did not stop there. Another first grader designed fliers advertising, “Nifty Notes Coming Soon.” We can only imagine what this Tuesday will bring to help promote the sale.
These first grade entrepreneurs got the point, big time!
We’re in the midst of our fifth season working with our elementary students on the entrepreneur project-based learning unit. Even with the flexibility in our curriculum to teach, we still find that each year it gets harder to get kids to extend themselves, to take a risk, and to dare to be different.
Not that a car commercial could change all that, but lucky for us, Cadillac launched its new ads during the Academy Awards to promote its latest luxury sedan. In all four commercials, the last frame appears with the line:
“Only those who dare drive the world forward.”
We wrote it on the board without the credit line. Surprisingly, kids, teachers, and even some administrators who visited the classroom remarked about the statement. Of course, we then gave credit to Cadillac. By not associating the carmaker with the word “drive,” it changed the interpretation of the quote, making it a far more powerful statement about human motivation.
Most of our students didn’t realize that the carmaker was a 112-year-old company, nor that the association with the word “dare” represented a company not afraid to reinvent itself by making connections with other innovators such as fashion designer Jason Wu, “Boyhood” director Richard Linklater, and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. It even promoted the social media connection with its #DareGreatly hashtag. Needless to say, it became our mantra for the spring. Those who dare to think, see, and do things differently change the way we think.
We piggybacked “The Daring, No Regrets” video from Cadillac with the motion graphic “What Is Innovation?”, designed by Rafa Galeano and written by Fast Company blogger David Brier. Brier’s post on the making of this video describes his own inspiration for the theme and the motivation to use his essay to make a motion graphic on innovation for others.
It provided our students with another view of how ideas, from the discovery of fire to their own electronic devices, came from the motivation of others who saw the potential in their creations.
Perhaps the last four lines of this video drive home the point we want our kids to understand:
"So what is innovation? Those other dots. The ones others miss. And having the certainty to know that the dots you see are not only valid, but necessary if the world is to move forward."
Providing opportunities for students to see the potential of others driven by need, or a desire, helps them to let go, to dare. We want them to not only see the possibilities of being an entrepreneur, but also to embrace the notion that it can be a reality. That’s when we showed them 11-year-old Lily Born’s Kangaroo Cup. That made the most impact on the kids and their ideas.
Lily wanted to build a better cup to help her grandfather who has Parkinson's disease. Lily's advice to fellow pre-teen entrepreneurs actually applies to all ages: "Don’t freak out if you screw up or fail, because you’ll fail a lot before you get it right." She also says, "Don't be afraid to ask for help." She used her ingenuity to rethink how best to change an ordinary cup to help others. She dared to make a change and never gave up on her idea. This video made an impact on the students.
With a little ingenuity, Lily redesigned an ordinary cup to function for someone with special needs. More importantly, she started making prototypes at the age of eight. It took three years and plenty of iterations before going to market.
Creativity takes time, and it’s not a simply "point and click." Cultivating that initial idea remains the hardest part for our young entrepreneurs. We push them to think beyond the craft kit, bake sale, or carnival game. Frustration often sets in because immediate gratification isn’t the name of the game. It takes hard work, failure, and perseverance.
Accepting feedback, or a simple, "no, that idea won’t work," sends some off in tears. They come back. Some build a prototype to prove their idea works, some return with a new iteration based on an earlier model, and others completely scrap an idea for a new one. Great! This is exactly what we want. We only have a semester, not three years, but nudging them out of their comfort zones is all part of the process. And sometimes, it’s not an easy thing for many a 10 year-old.
Steering learners away from
settling on the status quo forces them to see the potential of taking a chance on their ideas.
Dare to be different, dare to take a risk, and dare greatly. As
educators, we believe it will foster their entrepreneurial spirit for a
lifetime.
Many current initiatives, such as blended learning, genius hour, and flipped instruction, are all embracing the same potential of disrupted education. They all recognize the multi-latticed, pan-directional nature of contemporary learning. In essence, they are trying to make class time less like class time. We call this the "unclass."
Learning no longer begins and ends at the school bell. Students don’t switch off their devices and their senses of wonder just because the final period clocks out. Even though children have always pursued hobbies and outside interests, today they can network their school inquiries with their personal passions and continue their threads of discovery any time, any where. Learning becomes more like free time and free time more like learning.
Just like adults who juggle smartphones and information streams, kids today reach for a variety of sources to satisfy their natural curiosities. Schools that try to stifle this octopus impulse can run the risk of becoming irrelevant to contemporary learners.
Source: ASIDE, 2014
Recently, we have initiated the “unclass” philosophy to change our prevailing stencil of in-school activity. Rather than falling back on the typical model of teacher instruction and student compliance, the unclass approach imagines a classroom as neighborhoods of self-directed learning. It encourages imagination and skills through social media, backchannels, and self-publishing. Just as companies embrace flexible workspaces and educators flock to “unconferences,” teachers, too, can cultivate student dialogue and self-direction that can be continued at home at the end of the day.
The unclass approach is both a structure and a practice. It offers a strategy for running an organic environment in which children have ownership over their own time. It also still achieves the desired goals of learning and skill acquisition – such as linking the controversies of the Reconstruction Era to America’s racial climate today, or making the scientific method actionable in a digital, non-tinkering world.
The unclass philosophy also emphasizes a mindset. This outlook recognizes that students and teachers can engage in meaningful collaboration well after a 40-minute period has ended. In fact, only a few key questions can be addressed during a day's limited course time. The ramifications of these inquiries, though, can echo later into living rooms, ballparks, and backseats via social media and digital devices. Creative apps and self-directed technology mean that learning occurs via an unclass, with enlightenment an exuberant affirmation of student passion and teacher inspiration.
In his terrific book, World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students (Corwin, 2012), Yong Zhao talks about the "grammar of schooling," which refers to the organization of class time and rosters into periods, sections, grades, and subjects
(180). He points out the "inherent logical contradiction" in trying to instill student
innovation and initiative within this type of structured, one-size-fits-all curriculum
(94).
In fact, Zhao quotes Professor Kyung Hee Kim in the observation that while "teachers claim to value creativity in children," they often squelch "creative behaviors," because they are non-conformist and hard to wrangle (14). Zhao argues that transferring the responsibility to the learner emphasizes engagement, accountability, and relevance for all students (171).
Extrapolating from Zhao's thought-provoking work, teachers in an unclass find that their "primary responsibilities have shifted from instilling the prescribed content in students following well-established procedures in a structured fashion to developing an educational environment that affords children the opportunity to live a meaningful and engaging educational life" (176).
We introduced the concept of teaching first graders about entrepreneurship three years ago and never looked back. This spring, our young entrepreneurs completed their third successful year building the Nifty Note Company.
This interdisciplinary project-based learning unit reaches across subjects, including media, design, branding, and economics. When these first graders go into production, printing, designing, and packaging 1000 note cards from start to point of sale, it is mind blowing.
We learned this project at a presentation at the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference from the first grade teachers at the Collegiate School in Virginia. We modified and expanded their Critter Creations unit to brand our own company called Nifty Notes. It not only easily connected with language arts, math, and social studies, but it also could be expanded to include other components such as media literacy to broaden the learning concepts.
Source: ASIDE, 2014
It opened opportunities for the students to show off their creativity as well as make decisions about what designs would be best to maintain quality and consistency. Their inventive nifty characters (above) are something to behold.
Source: ASIDE, 2014
At the start of the project, each student gets an employee manual with the history, vocabulary, and job descriptions and qualifications for production. We use a host of resources to teach them about wants and needs, supply and demand, quality over quantity, etc.
Through stories such as Little Nino’s Pizzeria by Karen Barbour, the students learn about natural, capital, and human resources. These ideas are continually threaded throughout the entire process that believe it, or not, is completed within three-to-four weeks.
The multiple layers built into this project in addition to the actual production include doing a market survey, applying for a job in the company, filling out a job application, collecting data, creating the advertising for the school community, running the store, counting money, and issuing receipts. For samples of some of our handouts for this project, click here.
Source: ASIDE, 2014
Perhaps one of the most valuable takeaways the students learn is charity. Each year the first graders make a charitable donation with a portion of the profit from the sale of the note cards to an organization of their choice.
The One Hen website also provides lots of addition material and ideas for teachers, and the non-profit organization, Kiva, lists opportunities for individuals to lend small amounts of money to help others around the world.
Our library has a strong collection of resources, including books at the primary level, for teaching economics with titles such as Do I Need It or Do I Want It from the Exploring Economics series, and Lemons and Lemonade: A Book About Supply and Demandfrom the Money Matters series. In addition, there are some excellent children’s picture books that we use to talk about money, opportunity costs, and marketing.
Teacher collaboration makes this project work. When first graders manufacture, market, and sell a product to real customers as a class business, the experience is priceless!
Source: ASIDE, 2014
Project Materials: colored cardstock, white envelopes, cellophane bags, mailing labels, inkpads, and Sharpie markers
There are wonderful picture books published every year, but sometimes there’s one that stands out from the crowd. What Do You Do With An Idea? by Kobi Yamada and illustrated by Mae Bosem is the one. This book is a wonderful story about a brilliant idea and the child who helps bring it to the world. As the idea grows, so does the confidence of the child. This inspirational tale is for anyone, of any age, who’s ever had an idea but may be reluctant to embrace it, because it might seem different, odd, or just a little too big.
The message in this book speaks volumes about giving ideas a place to grow and seeing what happens next. Ideas don’t disappear; they follow us. If we don’t allow them to develop in children as part of the learning process, we will continue to lose the spark of brilliance to rote compliance. Educators want the freedom to encourage kids to cultivate their ideas and bring them to fruition. Sadly, this is not the norm in classrooms today with enormous pressure on them to meet testing requirements.
We can talk all we want about “genius hours” and “authentic learning,” but unless the current evaluative system for schools, teachers, and students changes, it’s a moot point. The pendulum has swung so far away from the block areas and free play in kindergartens and toward learning “centers” that we are losing that inventive spirit in kids. They are less creative to think of ideas, and they constantly look for instruction on what to do next. Oddly enough, the successful and highly educated adults who try to initiate reform, who participate in open discussions on social media, and who publish commentary did not go through the school-testing mania, and they’re okay. So how did education get so off track? If we want kids to dream BIG, we need to let them.
Educators need flexibility with an evaluative process based on authentic learning experiences and the environments in which they take place. Would it hurt learning if kids were given "20 percent time" to develop ideas? We think not. Major corporations such as Pixar and IDEO pride their successes on creative work environments, and others like Google and 3M encourage employees to use 20 percent of their work time to play freely to stimulate the growth of new ideas. The upshot of this free time is the many products and services that are second nature to us today.
The more we review our own curricula, the more we see the importance of devoting time in class to allow students to cultivate their genius and creative thinking. To be fair, it should be in school, to give all students the same opportunity. Too many of them are overscheduled outside of school, and others who don’t have the means are at a disadvantage. While we applaud makerspaces and maker fairs, they require payment to attend and parents with time and interest to take their children. By bringing it into the classroom, we can promote a culture of collaboration, guide kids through mistakes along the way, and celebrate the natural growth of discovery.
Steve Jobs was allowed to tinker in his father's garage; Bill Gates played with computers from a young age. Need we say more? Their ideas changed the world, literally. What we want for our students is exactly what the child in the book discovers:
“Then, one day, something amazing happened. My idea changed right before my eyes. It spread its wings, took flight, and burst into the sky. And then, I realized what you can do with an idea… You change the world.”
Most conferences by their nature host an eager pool of participants. Without some authentic interest, why else would individuals sacrifice their time and dollars for days of intensive workshops? The Twitterverse and the edtech sphere, however, seem to reserve a special place for ISTE, the annual see-and-be-seen summit staged by the International Society For Technology In Education. This year’s #ISTE2014 network is no exception, with a zealous crowd of conference goers expected to top 20,000. There is even a trending #notatiste14 thread to loop in curious parties unable to visit Atlanta. And with the lines for the first ISTE Ignite session as a prime indication, it’s going to be a convivial, congested weekend.
If attendance ratios are anything like last year, though, only 19 percent of ISTE attendees will be actual PK - 12 teachers. The rest will be split among tech coordinators, administrators, consultants, media specialists, and "others." Perhaps this diverse turnout is beneficial toward nurturing a melting pot of tech ideas and professional experiences. But perhaps there is a downside to this relatively low presence of classroom educators at a convention intended to improve education.
Yet the book also identifies two institutional impediments to these kinds of leadership roles: “egg-crate” schools, in which teachers are separated into cordoned-off rooms of solo instruction, and “crab-bucket” schools, in which teachers are pitted against each other to impress administrators and claw to the top of the heap. Both models stifle voices that might encourage creativity.
If entrepreneurs are those optimistic business-types who thrive on risks and self-reliance, then teacherpreneurs are those agile mobilizers who encourage democratic deliberation and digital ubiquity. Most schools, however, do not recognize this evolving and nuanced educator mantle. In other words, there is not currently a familiar, accurate name for the type of teacher-leader who continues as a daily classroom instructor while also inspiring change among colleagues, administrators, districts, policies, and social media PLNs.
Source: ASIDE, 2014
One idea from this evening’s ISTE keynote session is to station in a school’s faculty lounge a savvy teacher who can be “on call” to answer both small and large tech questions. For one class period, for as many mentors as possible, a trusted colleague might be more approachable for fellow faculty to ask for help. On the school’s part, the key is to build this tech mentor role into the teacher-leaders’ schedules and compensate them in the form of salary, reduced duties, or equally as meaningful ways. Entrepreneurship is not charity, ask any businessperson, and neither is teaching.
Perhaps the reason ISTE, and other favorites like NYSCATE, have struck such chords among forward-thinking pedagogues is that these types of teacher-leaders are exactly the people who attend these conferences. They soak in the progressive philosophies and emerging tools and bring those revelations back to their communities. Every single person we met today was a sharer, an experimenter, a wonderer, a pioneer, a doer, and an ally. These are the types of people who need to stake careers in the classroom to helm their schools and to engender innovation.
Source: ASIDE, 2014 - RPH Recycle Water Bottle Holders
While we think highly of incorporating maker education “back into” the school environment, leadership should never have let it go to begin with for the sake of test preparation. We lock up or throw away the blocks in kindergarten or cancel a kindergarten performance so kids can focus on college prep. Who are we kidding? We know this sounds ridiculous, but it happens.
Even in the May issue of Leading and Learning With Technology from ISTE, almost every article on maker, flip, STEM, and coding justifies these teaching approaches with a qualifier that kids who have access to these programs do better on standardized tests. Is that what matters? Are all programs to be judged on how well they perform on standardized tests, or do we want programs that demonstrate raw critical thinking that pushes kids out of their comfort zones to engage with material, design what they want, and try to market it to the hilt?
Source: ASIDE, 2014 - Stress Squishy
For the last four years, we’ve witnessed the entrepreneur program run in the fifth grade do just that. It’s tough at first. Ideation does not always come easily for kids, and working through honest criticism on par, but not quite as intense, as the famed television program “Shark Tank” can be tough on our praised youth to swallow. We’ve seen partnerships split up, but not friendships; parents who want to help, but can’t; and kids so frustrated they want to quit, but we won’t let them. So what’s the take away?
Watching these kids go out on limb and take a chance on their ideas is a critical skill not only for this project, but also for life. Some of the highlights are scattered through this post, and many of these young entrepreneurs were determined to bring their ideas to market their way. Make or lose money, their determination can be fierce. For these young entrepreneurs, it did not matter if they had it wrong. It’s all part of the process, and we've yet to see passion not win out. Seeing it all come together at the entrepreneur fair is the most rewarding, and sometimes emotional, eureka moment. They get it.
Source: ASIDE, 2014 - Smart Soap
We’ve watched the program grow over the last four years. It was no surprise that the final products for this spring were beyond our expectations, and it was not just the items at the fair. It was the enthusiasm of the student visitors moving up in grades talking about ideas, and the upper classes reminiscing about their experiences. The supporting for their peers was overwhelming.
Source: ASIDE, 2014 - E & V's Stylish Stands
It’s that moment when the school community, including administrators, parents, and teachers, hear from these young entrepreneurs, see the extraordinary amount of work these kids put into their ideas, and realize this project is genius at work. The seeds of “I can be entrepreneur” are real, and the stimulation in seeing young minds believe in themselves is pure joy.
Ironically, the video starts off with “Remember when you were a kid…and you thought you could do anything.” If we want to tap the creative potential of our kids, we should provide more opportunities for them in school to develop an entrepreneurial spirit. We see no reason why it should wait. They are kids, and we want them to think they can do anything.
We’ve talked to our students about the many successful startups of products they know that began with kids in their teens, and some even earlier. Others such as the founders of Apple, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook were only in their early 20s when they developed their businesses.
The argument that you can’t teach someone to be an entrepreneur misses the point; opening opportunities to learn about the entrepreneurial process is the key. When we engage kids with the possibilities that their ideas could matter, or make a difference, we’ve already started planting the seeds to think differently and to discover. It’s not about success or failure, but using ingenuity to develop an idea. We should be tapping into this as educators.
If schools are looking to promote creativity and innovation, we need to encourage this from an early age. Let's give kids more time to think things through with a critical eye and more flexibility to accomplish it. This can be achieved by incorporating entrepreneurship in age-appropriate ways to develop an understanding about real problem-solving. It also goes to the core of using design thinking and project-based learning in the classroom.
As educators, we want to open the minds of our youngest learners to the idea that they could change the world. We tell them you, too, can make a difference, and it’s rewarding to watch them try.
Our third fifth-grade Entrepreneur Fair just ended, and we could not be more
thrilled with the diversity of ideas by these young minds. It came as no
surprise that so many of them paid close attention to every
detail of their companies. From their initial business plans to their final
presentations, the students worked to bring their ideas to fruition.
These young entrepreneurs took on this project-based learning assignment with great
enthusiasm. They worked through problems in the design process to come
up with solutions, often revamping their prototypes again and again.
Equally rewarding was watching the “ah-ha” moments when they realized
they were on to something.
Source: Tree Bark Edibles, ASIDE, 2013
Perhaps the
toughest part for them was figuring out how to finance their ideas. Francine Wisnewski, who is one of the lead teachers for this project, worked tirelessly on the financials with the students in math class. Many quickly realized that the cost to make their products exceeded what they could realistically charge to make a profit.
Occasionally, too, some had to scrap their ideas and start afresh.
Source: Lights: Out, ASIDE, 2013
The final
phase of the project was marketing their goods, complete with brand
messaging, packaging, and display. It’s where we hoped all the lessons in
media literacy they’ve learned through the years would come together. They
did not disappoint us either. To help advertise their wares, they wrote jingles in English class with their teacher, Barbara Thomas, and recorded them in GarageBand with the
technology teacher, Leslie Gulbransen.
Two of our most innovative ideas that tried to solve real problems were Lights Out and PaperStopper. Some displayed incredible handiwork in crafting their products, such as Spark Accessories and DnA Bows. Still others, such as Tree Bark Edibles, took a snack recipe and packaged it with an environmental note. Each entrepreneurial idea carefully thought out the packaging, logo design, and
branding that showed a continuity worthy of any business.
Source: DnA Bows, ASIDE, 2013
The pride in
what they had accomplished was evident on the day of the fair. They were
beaming with joy, and all the practice shined through in their customer
service. As teachers, it was an emotional high for us to see it come
together. These young entrepreneurs learned far more than they realized,
but most importantly, they learned they could do anything if they put
their minds to it.
Source: Spark Accessories, ASIDE, 2013
Project-based learning that brings together multiple disciplines allows students to
work through ideas, encourages risk-taking, and engages kids on multiple
levels. It integrates financial and media literacy into the process and
challenges kids to think like designers. It’s more than just a project;
it’s a life lesson. All of this is done with a network of dedicated
teachers collaborating with one goal in mind, learning.
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