{"id":152754,"date":"2023-09-12T14:16:39","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T18:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/districtadministration.com\/?p=152754"},"modified":"2023-09-13T15:05:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-13T19:05:11","slug":"how-township-high-school-district-214-is-embedding-entrepreneurship","status":"publish","type":"opinion","link":"https:\/\/districtadministration.com\/opinion\/how-township-high-school-district-214-is-embedding-entrepreneurship\/","title":{"rendered":"How Township High School District 214 is embedding entrepreneurship"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s true what they say: A traditional four-year college education isn\u2019t for everyone. But virtually every kid who walks the hallways of Township High School District 214\u2019<\/a>s six schools will get a job at some point in their lives.<\/p>\n Until recent years, K12 districts gave short shrift to equipping students with the skills they need to thrive in the workforce, relegating career education to students in vocational programs, as though college-bound high schoolers wouldn\u2019t need them, too. Today, however, districts like mine recognize that helping students identify their interests and passions while developing a toolkit to navigate the world of work is one of the most important, if not the most important, functions of K12 education.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s particularly true during high school. Employability and technology skills are essential components of this expanded view of a 21st-century education, which is why the mantra \u201cDiscover Your Future\u201d guides all the decisions we make in our schools\u2014from what we teach to how we direct resources. Teaching students to be entrepreneurs has played a central role in helping them discover their futures in Township High School District 214.<\/p>\n The term \u201centrepreneurship\u201d usually prompts thoughts of people starting companies, inventing products or spinning hobbies into side hustles. While those certainly are elements of entrepreneurship, it doesn\u2019t begin to cover the range of skills that entrepreneurs must employ to be successful: collaboration, creative thinking, resilience, learning from failure and applying what they\u2019ve learned to solve real-world problems.<\/p>\n As it turns out, employers are clamoring for workers with the same skills that entrepreneurs develop over time. According to a report from the World Economic Forum<\/a>, analytical and creative thinking are the traits most prized by hiring managers, who consider them to be core skills. Others include flexibility, agility and curiosity, all of which rank higher on the list than technological literacy.<\/p>\n One way Township High School District 214 helps students develop these entrepreneurship skills is through an entrepreneurship course we offer utilizing Uncharted Learning\u2019s INCubatoredu<\/a> program. During the school year, students create and develop their own product or service that solves a problem that they\u2019ve identified themselves. It ends with the students pitching their ideas to potential investors.<\/p>\nFirsthand entrepreneurship experiences<\/h2>\n
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