Walking Across the Bridge to High School with an Entrepreneurial Mindset
August 18, 2021
At Perry Middle School in Perry, Ohio, students’ transition to high school is marked by a unique ceremony: They walk across the bridge between the two buildings to symbolize their advancement from one learning environment to the next. The district of 1,800 students started implementing entrepreneurship courses at the high school level six years ago. A group of teachers and administrators soon realized that younger students could benefit from a similar program. “We talked…
Read moreApplying an Entrepreneurial Approach in Our Daily Lives
June 28, 2021
The Ice House program takes its name from an everyday problem facing the residents of Mississippi: summer heat. Today, getting ice is as easy as walking over to the dispenser in our kitchens. In the early 1900s though, customers made frequent trips to their local ice houses to buy ice in 25- or 50-pound blocks. Solving the problem of keeping food cold during sweltering Southern summers didn’t take a degree in rocket science—or much formal…
Read moreSummertime Lessons in Early Entrepreneurship
June 23, 2021
Driving through residential streets at the height of summer, you’ll often see the hallmarks of youth entrepreneurship. These could be a lemonade stand, a lawn mowing crew, a babysitter at a playground. For tweens and teens looking to earn extra money over the summer, these classic pursuits may not seem like anything special. But all it takes is a little reframing for them to start to realize that they’re engaged in the form of…
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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…
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…
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