By Kim Jones, Chairman and CEO, Curriki
Curriki is excited to be adding hands-on business curriculum from Youth Entrepreneurs (YE) to our high-quality OER Library, to help budding entrepreneurs learn everything about building their own business.
YE is a one-of-a-kind business class that transforms students’ mindsets through hands-on, experiential education so that they can realize their full potential. YE provides educators with training, resources and freedom to customize lessons and activities to create a tailored curriculum that benefits their students most. The YE educational model focuses on letting students dive into actual business scenarios, lifting the veil between textbook learning and real-world application. Educators help students see the impact of their decisions, seize opportunities and take ownership of their lives.
The Opportunity to Create a Pop-up Business
YE’s Market Day activity gives students the opportunity to create an actual business and apply classroom learning to a real-world scenario, so they can take calculated risks in a low-risk environment, experience successes and learn from their failures.
A Focus on Educators
YE provides educators who wish to implement the program with the training, resources and freedom to customize lessons and activities. Their goal is to set students up to be successful, not just in the classroom, but in life.
Examples of YE resources and activities include:
- YE Entrepreneurial Mindset — This bucket is full of resources designed to encourage students to think and act like an entrepreneur.
- YE Foundational Values – YE’s eight Foundational Values help students succeed in both the classroom and in life.
- Back of the Napkin – Teachers can apply this activity to many different business scenarios.
- Dirt and Worms – Students practice calculating Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and develop an understanding of pricing and funding.
- Going Bananas – Students learn how markets work by engaging in an activity where the price of a product is determined by buyers and sellers trading and cooperating with each other.
- Ice Cream Sundae — Students practice calculating COGS and Price and Profit, and add labor costs to the equation.
- LEGO® COGS Activity – Students calculate the cost of goods sold for a prototype they designed, and gain understanding of how those costs affect price and profit potential.
Why YE is Effective
Students who participate in Youth Entrepreneurs activities leave the classroom equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset that is applicable to all facets of life, including critical thinking and problem-solving skills, self-awareness and a principled mindset that make them valuable employees and contributing members of their communities. The numbers from their traditional, year-long program tell the story:
- 99% of Young Entrepreneurs students graduate from high school (compared to the national average of 83%)
- 61% earn a bachelor’s degree or higher (compared to the 40% national average)
- 29% of YE alumni have started a business (compared to the 12% national average).
About Youth Entrepreneurs (YE)
Youth Entrepreneurs is an experiential class that equips high school students with the values and vision to pursue their dreams. Since 1991, YE educators have used customized lessons and activities to introduce the entrepreneurial skills and principles that change students’ mindsets, so they believe in themselves and what they can accomplish. YE alumni leave the classroom prepared to overcome barriers and seize opportunities for good.
Kim Jones is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Curriki. Kim is active in driving policy initiatives and is regularly featured as an honorary speaker on the impact of technology in education at influential meetings around the world. Learn more at Curriki.org.
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