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Course: Entrepreneurship > Unit 1
Lesson 17: Beth Schmidt - Founder of Wishbone.orgAn invitation for innovation
Created by Kauffman Foundation.
Want to join the conversation?
- how are schools the same as it was back then a lot has changed right?(2 votes)
- Most schools in the US public system share the following aspects:
1.) The curriculum you're taught is based on your year of birth, rather than ability, interest, or acumen.
2.) Your peers are typically from a very similar socioeconomic background (especially primary schools).
3.) The method of teaching is usually lecture based, delivered in real time (making it perishable), and designed to meet the needs of "the average student".
This has been the predominant aspects of teaching in the US (and much of the world) since the post industrial revolution.(11 votes)
- i can under sand the language and the conflict(1 vote)
- i cont understand the language and the conflict(1 vote)
- Other then wishbone and Khan academy are there other organizations that are making strides to change the way education works in United States (or in the world)?(1 vote)
- Yes definitely!! There are thousands all over the world!!(1 vote)
Video transcript
- My name is Beth Schmidt, and my organization is
called Wishbone.org. So I started Wishbone to
actually send low-income students on these after-school and summer programs that are otherwise pretty
much cost-prohibitive for that demographic. If you look at schools, they are the same as they were
how many years ago, right? And so that right there is a big red flag. Right? If you can look at the fact that we are teaching the same
way we've taught forever, that's an invitation for innovation. We have this stale system right now that needs to be reinvigorated. We need to bring technology and new ideas into the field of education in general. We're in the right place, and I think we're bringing
in the right kind of energy with entrepreneurs who
have been in the classroom. Teaching in general is very similar to starting your own organization and really starting from scratch. The skill sets that
are required to succeed in the classroom, those same skill sets are
actually transferrable to entrepreneurship. I don't think I would have been able to start a company as easily as
I did, and it's wasn't easy, but as seamlessly as I did if
I didn't have that experience where you are constantly knocked down and you have to get up. It's just part of life. It's a tall order, and I think those skill
sets absolutely translate to resilience you need to build a company and just fail along the way. From childhood, we send
all of our students through this very
standard education system that just doesn't breed
that type of thinking and that type of excitement for learning and putting passion at the
forefront of education. And I think the more that we can do that, the more we are going to get
people who come out of school and think anything's possible. The more that we can breed that energy, then that energy is going to continue when kids get out of
school and realize that the world is open for
them to participate in. So if you can believe in
the potential for people to empower themselves and succeed, you have to believe that
we can change a system that's made up of people. I'm an eternal optimist about
the educational landscape. We've put all of our energy into it, financially and also in
terms of human capital, ideas and thoughts. It's a very special time. Strong leaders are going where
it's very difficult to go. If you believe in the potential of people, you have to believe in the potential of education in America. To me, they go hand in hand,
entrepreneurship and education. You have to have fresh ideas to change something that's broken, and right now, education
is a little bit broken.