Can I See My Students As Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurship has been the buzz word recently in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. With an estimated unemployment rate of 23 percent and a saturation of graduates from The SVG Community College as well as those returning from universities overseas, there is a press for more persons to become self employed and start their own small businesses. So who is an entrepreneur and the bigger question is " Can I see My Students as Entrepreneurs?"

An entrepreneur is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as " a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money." This means that we want to prepare our students to look at the opportunities that exist for starting a business here and go for it. We want to encourage them to become their own bosses and help create employment for others. Therefore after all this investment in educating our students can I see them following through? The answer is YES and NO.

       Within some of our students I already see many of the traits of an entrepreneur. They are driven, committed, able to see opportunity instead of problems and are willing to look at how they can capitalize on these opportunities. These are the future OT Mayers', Erica McIntoshes and Uncle Metros. This is what we want to see among our students especially in such a technologically advanced age where information is as abundant as water and easily accessible.  

      However there are some students who are doing the course and program for the grade and to say that they have been to college. I do not see these students even thinking of starting their own businesses or giving thought to entrepreneurial pursuits. While we know that all students will not start their own business, it is hope that the idea of entrepreneurship will appeal to some of them. They however do not need to start their own businesses to use the knowledge that they will gain in the course. So while I say that I cannot see them as entrepreneurs, I hope that they will learn a few lessons that they can use in their professional lives! 

Time To Blog Again

When I returned to St. Vincent in 2013, I never wanted to be put into a classroom but I was. One of the courses I was assigned to teach was Entrepreneurship. I was asked to help mold the future business owners of SVG. I immediately thought back to what Gerry McDaniel had taught us in our third year Entrepreneurship in Communication class.

 I decided that my students should do a blog like I did to help them understand one medium of technology and its uses. I also wanted to create an outlet for them to express themselves. Let's say the first year gave me some mixed results, leaving me disoriented and dismayed. However I decided to not give up and try again. So for a second year, I am going to try and make the students see blogging as a tool.

 I decided to encourage them by blogging along with them and so here I am, at it again. I will attempt to inspire my students by blogging along with them and showing them that it is not just an assignment but a way to learn and express themselves. Time to blog again!