ConnectionsUsing Entrepreneurial Skills as a Teacher
Entrepreneurs are people who come up with new ideas and who work to make those ideas profitable. There are important things that differentiate entrepreneurs, including the fields in which they work, their capital base, the scale of their operations and the number of people (staff) they manage.
There are also skills which entrepreneurs tend to have in common. Entrepreneurs tend to be good communicators, they are result/goal-oriented, they know how to manage resources, they are people-focused and they tend to be good leaders. These are transferable skills that will be an advantage in any work environment. They are also skills that will make it relatively easy for you as an entrepreneur to take on a volunteer teaching gig.
I know this because I spent 18 months teaching English Studies at a Junior Secondary School in Abuja. I began teaching as a Corps Member but stayed for an additional school year post NYSC. All in all, I enjoyed my time as a teacher and found that these were the skills that helped me do a good job.
There are many ways to make an impact in public schools and I hope entrepreneurs can organize themselves to start various volunteer or part-time teaching initiatives.
Teaching Roles
Going by my experience, I think there’s an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to take on some teaching roles in our public schools. Now, I’m not saying young entrepreneurs should take on an additional job. I’m saying that there are many small ways for us to use our skills in various teaching roles in primary and secondary schools.
An entrepreneur may choose to teach skills like coding, creative writing, beading, sewing, etc. Or she may opt to become the patron or facilitator of a school club. My teaching stint reminded me of the vital role school clubs play in giving students a robust education. Debate club, JETS club, Reader’s club, Girl’s Club, French Club, Rotaract, etc. These clubs usually have two assigned teachers but could use a visiting facilitator to add excitement and depth to their activities.
The volunteer teaching role could simply mean talking about a topic in which you are knowledgeable. Your chosen topic could even be an issue of current relevance like Climate Change, Human Rights, Critical Thinking, New Inventions and Technologies, Developments in the arts, Entrepreneurship, etc.
Finally, students love hands-on projects. You could sponsor and guide students through the process of making something tangible. For example, liquid soap making and baking are quite popular as school Home Economics projects. You may choose to bankroll and participate in curricular projects or you may introduce something new.
There are many ways to make an impact in public schools and I hope entrepreneurs can organize themselves to start various volunteer or part-time teaching initiatives.
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THE SKILLS
Here’s how some entrepreneurial skills can give you an edge at your teaching gig.
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LEADERSHIP
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As entrepreneurs, we have to lead in order to achieve our objectives. We also know we need to vary our style of leadership depending on the situation. So, an entrepreneur’s style of leadership will vary from autocratic to democratic and collaborative. This skill will definitely help with handling a class of teenagers who are likely in their ‘rebellious’ phase. The cues will differ but with practice and some thought, you will figure out which leadership style is likely to be most effective in every context.
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RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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As entrepreneurs, we achieve our goals by seeking new resources, maximizing the use of available resources or adjusting goals to resources at hand. Resource management is at the heart of what entrepreneurs do. This skill will prove very useful in a school environment where resources are often scarce and where deficiencies are often hidden in the details.
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COMMUNICATION & STORYTELLING
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Most experienced entrepreneurs have consciously honed their communication skills. In addition, they know the power of stories. They understand that the stories we tell about who we are and what we want to be are vital. This skill will help with capturing the attention of students and may even help to enkindle lasting passion for a subject or topic.
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GOAL ORIENTED
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Experienced entrepreneurs know how to set goals and lay ground work for achieving them. This usually involves breaking complex goals into smaller, simpler tasks which can then be executed regularly. This skill will make it easy to use teaching curricula, syllabus, and schemes of work effectively. Entrepreneurs also know that goals should be adjusted based on outcomes and new realities. Employing this understanding as a teacher will mean checking for what students have and have not understood, and adjusting the focus of lessons accordingly.
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PEOPLE FOCUSED
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Discovering and solving customer needs is the entrepreneur’s main responsibility. Methods may vary but this is what entrepreneurs aim to achieve with each new product or service developed. When you are a teacher, your students are your customers.
Much like customers in business, your students will be very well informed about certain things and very ignorant about others. But knowledge and skills are not the only things students need. Students need to grow their confidence in their own abilities. They also need aspirations to elevate their minds and imaginations.
Your entrepreneurial disposition means you are attuned to discovering and addressing these kinds of needs among young students.
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Making it Work
Now that we’ve seen how certain entrepreneurial traits make it easy to deal with a teaching gig, it’s important to know how to make such gigs work.
You have to prepare to do a good job and to be accountable for what you teach. Good intentions are not enough.
PREPARE
You have to prepare to do a good job and to be accountable for what you teach. Good intentions are not enough. No volunteer or philanthropist should expect to have school doors thrown open to them. If I were a Principal or Headmistress, I would not give anyone access to my students without seeing, in some detail, what the person means to teach.
This is why you should create notes or key points of your lecture as well as flyers or handouts to be distributed. You should also find ways to use technology to enhance your lesson. Consider using a Slide Projector to show a presentation or movie. Also, consider distributing CDs instead of paper handouts. This will motivate students to make purposeful use of cybercafes and any computers in their homes.
Setting up a website or web (mobile) app would be ideal as mobile learning is steadily building momentum in Nigeria. However, websites and apps are high maintenance assets. They need to be checked and upgraded routinely or they quickly become obsolete or worse, they become a security risk for users. So before you plunge into setting up a website, be sure you are prepared to commit the resources needed to maintain it in the long-term.
GET STAFF SUPPORT
Having something to offer is no excuse to lord it over Principals and teachers. It is best to get their buy-in before you begin your activity especially if it is such that will require repeated visits to the school.
INVOLVE THE PTA
Parent-Teacher Associations are very influential and for good reason. They are the core stakeholders of the school. They often bridge the gaps left by government by supplying equipment, paying for teachers and funding major construction projects. Getting their approval and support for your effort will be a big boost!
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