Entrepreneurship Education: The Toolbox To Develop Tomorrow’s Changemakers

Friends,

I am excited to share that the first half of VentureLab’s brand new youth entrepreneurship curriculum is now available for grades 6-12 and is available at no charge. The interactive lessons teach kids, particularly girls, to develop courageous, creative, can-do attitudes and be ready to take on the challenges of our evolving world. Check them out on the VentureLab website.

These lessons are not your traditional Entrepreneurship 101 curriculum! Rather, the lessons emphasize an entrepreneurial way of thinking and behaving that will be valuable to whichever career paths your students choose. 

A Small Taste of What Students Will Learn:

• Play can be a powerful tool for developing creativity, generating ideas and solving problems
• Failure is an opportunity to grow (not a sign to give up and see oneself as “bad” at something!)
• Trends and changes in the world both create and limit opportunities

Girls On My Mind

As someone who has spent nearly 10 years working in the field of girls’ and women’s advancement, I am particularly proud of the way this curriculum was designed to most effectively impact girls and increase their confidence in their own ability to make change in this world. 

While all of the VentureLab curriculum is completely appropriate for both girls and boys (we wholeheartedly believe that we need to raise boys with the entrepreneurial mindset and skillset too!), our research-based curriculum was created and designed in particular to promote girls’ learning.That’s why the lessons emphasize:

• • collaboration
  • communication
  • real-world connections
  • a growth mindset
  • problem-solving for a cause

Whenever possible, we have also used real-life examples of diverse female entrepreneurs so girls can be exposed to entrepreneurial role models, both girls their age, and professional women. The curriculum also includes an in-depth user guide that features (among other things) tips on how to most effectively create a learning environment where girls develop the confidence, skills and resilience needed to transform their ideas into reality. We offer suggestions that are relevant in both co-ed and all-girl settings.

The Entrepreneurial Process 

At VentureLab we strive to not just talk the talk but walk the walk. That’s why, over the next months, we will be excited to get feedback from you to learn how we can best improve our offerings to help you unleash your students’ fullest potential.

Today VentureLab is taking a big step in our movement to empower youth with the tools needed to become the next generation of innovators and changemakers. I hope you’ll join us (and invite others to come along!).