By mentoring young people, you can change lives, spread entrepreneurial values, and help grow the economy.
I came across this great article on Inc.com by Maureen Kline about how important entrepreneurship is to education… it’s this week’s Business Link of the Week.
Entrepreneurs are powering the economy, introducing innovation, and creating jobs. But as an entrepreneur you are also uniquely placed to help bring back the “American Dream.”
Innumerable studies show that income inequality is rising, with less opportunity for the poor to access quality education and careers. As a result, social mobility has stagnated. On the lowest rungs of the ladder, hope is dying.
The obvious solution is to improve education, creating more equal opportunity, a value America was founded on. The Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a think tank, estimates that the investment it would take to move American students’ test scores up five places in international rankings would eventually add 1.7 percent to our GDP and yield around $900 billion in tax revenue–meaning the investment would pay off handsomely.
But entrepreneurs know that more can be done than improving test scores. In fact, some of the most successful social and educational programs in the U.S. involve teaching entrepreneurship itself. Take NFTE, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. NFTE has worked with more than 600,000 young people from low-income communities in programs across the U.S. and around the world.
Classroom teachers get trained in entrepreneurship education, and then actual entrepreneurs take over as mentors. Kids get to tap into their creativity, learn the basics on how to launch a business, and discover there is still hope for Americans with nothing but a dream.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad freeRegional and national competitions make it fun and can bring exciting rewards, such as a visit to the White House for the finalists. Many alumni of the program continue to build businesses, and many are inspired to continue building their skills by attending college. Their lives have been truly changed for the better, and in a small way, the economy as a whole has benefited.
“Young people who are exposed to entrepreneurship education learn the real-world value of education,” says Suzanne Taylor, senior director for marketing and events at NFTE. “They stay in school longer, graduate more frequently, and, after school, make more money than their fellow students.”
The reason this is the Business Link of the Week:
People often ask me why I write (specifically with the Good Men Project).
I speak too, I guess… and I also lead and mentor and strategize; but mostly – I write. Why? Because the pen has the power to wash away our nightmares and build the foundation of our best societal hope.
Every day I write about what it means to be a good man because the simple act of opening this conversation can send a chain reaction of cultural growth out into the world. Sexism and sexual violence, racism, homophobia, religious strife, wealth disparity, environmental neglect, animal cruelty, and so many of the ills on our modern world come from the basic sense of entitlement that broken masculinities support.
The prevention of broken masculinities begins with making it cool to be a good man.
Every day, I wake up and I write to reach the 3 million new users who will find us for the first time this month. I write to give them hope and to give us a chance at peace.
This article illustrates how my choice to write about entrepreneurship and business has a deep and positive effect on the next generation of change-makers.
More Business Links
The Danger of Hiding Who You Are
5 Better Ways to Spend Your Time
From Small-Town to Big Dreams, How to Make the Big Leap