Ideas for Sparking that Entrepreneurial Spirit in the School System
According to the Ewing Kauffman Foundation, “Entrepreneurs tell us that perhaps the most significant constraint on their future growth, and on the growth of future entrepreneurs, is the difficulty finding and attracting ‘talent’ - highly skilled entrepreneurial workers.”
Ensuring an entrepreneurial workforce requires a strong primary, secondary and postsecondary educational system and Kauffman’s research points to the rising inequalities in the American education system as one of the nation’s main challenges.
A new Kauffman report also outlines four strategies to overcome educational inequalities:
- encourage and allow educators to be innovative, rewarding their entrepreneurial ventures,
- promote market-based education reforms,
- study the role of entrepreneurs in the American economy infusing creativity and entrepreneurism into all academic disciplines and
- devote more resources to support and develop a science and engineering-based entrepreneurial economy.
A great example of this effort in our region is the Teen Entrepreneurial program offered through Iredell County Teen Health. To find out more, contact Christy Hare at (704) 872-1023.
