What Is Self-Directed Learning (and Why Do We Need It)?
June 16, 2021
Children are innately curious—sometimes to the point where they overwhelm the adults around them with their constant questions. One can easily imagine that the old expression “Curiosity killed the cat” was first spoken by a parent who was tired of being asked “Why?” for the millionth time by a curious preschooler. This curiosity implies a drive towards self-directed learning. The desire to learn and explore is the driving force behind human development. It manifests…
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Launching Tarrant County College Students on a Path Toward Entrepreneurship
June 4, 2021
Lourdes Ramboa is the Faculty and Chair for the Business and Entrepreneurship Programs at Tarrant County College, with 60,000 students at campuses across the Fort Worth area in Texas. With nearly 250 students this year, the college’s Entrepreneurship Program is one of the largest of its kind in the United States—and Ramboa is justifiably proud of its success. But if she could slip away from the “Business” connection, she would do it in a…
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Lessons in Economic Recovery from Small-Town America
May 27, 2021
Around 100,000 businesses shut their doors in 2020. Two-thirds of small business owners say it was their most difficult year in business. Now that the worst of the COVID pandemic is behind us, organizations like the bipartisan Economic Innovation Group are watching closely for signs of how the recovery will play out. In their recent analysis of U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey data, EIG found that more than a third of businesses anticipate…
Read moreDeveloping an Entrepreneurial Mindset on the Path to Recovery
May 14, 2021
Judy Raper never saw herself as someone whose entrepreneurial mindset would make an impact on her community. She might have pointed to her younger sister, a CEO, as the mover and shaker in the family. Then Raper learned a new definition of entrepreneurship as the self-directed pursuit of opportunities to create value for others. She realized that by creating value for others, we empower ourselves. She realized that the Ice House training she…
Read moreGraduating as an Underdog Can Be a Good Thing
May 11, 2021
Students earning their college diplomas this year face a sea of uncertainty. While hiring predictions are up from where they were in 2020, they are still not back to pre-pandemic levels. Hands-on internships were (and still are) limited. Job searches and interviews are virtual. It’s enough to make a new college graduate feel like an underdog — and that can be a powerful secret weapon. Over the past 25 years, ELI Founder & CEO, Gary…
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