Entrepreneurship - Let’s Do More To Teach

Here is a great article on entrepreneurship. An excerpt:

“Two years ago I attended an orientation at my daughter’s high school.  One teacher spoke about “how we’re going to help your children prepare for the job market.”  They would learn to write resumes and cover letters, fill out applications and interview for jobs.

I inquired afterwards what was being done to prepare kids for a world in which jobs are going away.  What do the kids learn about businesses?  About self-employment options?  Is there a class teaching entrepreneurial skills?  Could I volunteer in such a class?

There was no such class, but I was assured that IF the kids wanted to learn about such things, that an advisor was available to assist them in an after-school club.  (Maybe I expected too much from educators, some of the finest people in the world, who by nature and necessity are school district employees.)”

I am an entrepreneur, starting my business a couple years ago. My sister is also an entrepreneur. My parents have a supplemental business, making them entrepreneurs too. My wife aspires to be an entrepreneur and is preparing to launch her business. In all of these cases, we followed the “traditional” path first. Growing up, I heard the word entrepreneur but really didn’t know its meaning. There weren’t entrepreneurship classes available in school. My college, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, offers entrepreneurship coures (most from Dr. Tom Mason).  But, again, I didn’t really understand entrepreneurship.

We need to do more to educate our youth that entrepreneurship might be an option for making a living. I know I’ll do more to help my kids have a better understanding on this topic.