As the pace of our changing world accelerates, what is increasingly important is the skillset and mindset that we prepare students with. In South Africa, a country with a diverse cultural history and a rich legacy of entrepreneurship, changing the way that school leavers are taught is critical. Inspired by the success of the well-known Girl Scout Cookie system, this article discusses important lessons for Re-imagining the South African Education system
My Traditional College Degree May Not Have Meant Anything If I Hadn’t Become an Entrepreneur(This Is the Way We Were Used to Dream) the Future of Jobs and Education – Medium
Including entrepreneurship in the South African school curriculum will unlock significant potential from a young age. Through offering South African students the platform to develop their entrepreneurial skills, such as creativity, problem solving, and resourcefulness, we can build a new generation of creative and capable individuals with the confidence to confront our respective challenges.
Hands-On Experience and Practical Application
An empirically proven aspect of the Cookie Girl Scout system is the hands-on learning the real-world use of the system encirposes. South Africa can take a leaf out of this and implement with a focus on practical aspects in the curriculum, something which engages the students, for instance more entrepreneurial projects, business simulations, community involvement etc. This program gives students an entrepreneurial inside look at a program that is designed to develop their skills through doing.
Building Resilience and Grit
The thing about entrepreneurship is that it is punctuated with problems, and failure is intrinsic to it. In South Africa, by embedding an entrepreneurial lens within the curriculum, students can develop three key characteristics (resilience, grit and adaptability), which are also three strong predictors of success in the 21st century. But it does make them better equipped to face the inevitable challenges and bounce back from inevitable setbacks.
Type 1 – Building a Community and Network
A: The Cookie Girl Scout system thrives on both a collaborative and networked participant same, and builds a sense of community and support. South Africa is able to develop these openings for students, through the collaboration of students, partnerships with students, and networks outside of and in the class room. Those connections can have an impact on mentorship, getting exposure to different industries, as well as access to resources, all to see through to the end of a successful student entrepreneur journey.
Creating Social Impact and compassion
To create social change we need entrepreneurship. South African students can be supported to create businesses and projects that have a strong social mission and that are making a difference in their communities. This will enable South Africa to inculcate the virtues of empathy, responsibility, and ethical decision-making into its prospective entrepreneurs.
The Cookie Girl Scout model has a lot to teach those who run South Africa’s schools. South Africa can ensure its learners are well-equipped to excel in an increasingly competitive and fast-changing world by introducing entrepreneurship into the school curriculum. Key lessons learnt from this entrepreneurial model are the importance of being exposed to entrepreneurship education early, experiential learning, being resilient, collaborative working and focusing on social impact.
While South Africa struggles to evolve its education policy to new heights, adopting an entrepreneurial mindset can awaken student potential, promote creativity and innovation whilst antics armed with the best tools to face the challenges of the future. By understanding the lessons of the Cookie Girl Scout system and implementing an Entrepreneurial Foundation that will pave the way for South African students to design their own success.
