Hosted by OSOS , contributed by Meie van Laar on 26 April 2018
Pupils learn from building their own enterprise. Once they have written an application (without spelling mistakes) to the head of school, they can start participating. Examples of entrepeneurship within a school:
- School photographer, makes portrait pictures of students and sells them to their parents;
- School TV Journal, makes a monthly news bulletin on school events etc.;
- Kitchen garden, grows and sells vegetables and herbs;
- Making and repairing, 3 D printing and fixing school materials and on request to outside customers;
- Pupil board, does community service, e.g. playing board games in the elderly home and put forward ideas for a better school to the principal;
- Bakery, bakes and sells cakes etc.;
- Musical, prepares a musical performance;
- Recycling, pimps up rest and waste materials and sells the outcome;
- Plastic Soup, cleans up neighborhood.
This way of working makes the necessity of acquiring basic skills like math and correct spelling clear to the children. It also helps developing or refining certain 21st century skills.
Learning objectives
- Interdisciplinary: Connects knowledge from school subjects to real life and real life problems.
- Participation and Citizen Science: Emancipatory and participatory approach. Students evaluate their place in society and think how they might contribute by starting their own enterprise.
- Promoting inclusion: Presence, participation and learning.
- Empowerment and Engagement: Students will actively think of what they can mean for their society and coming up with their own ideas that they can execute themselves. This empowers students as they see they can find solutions for problems themselves.
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# Session |
Duration |
Description |
Resources needed |
Location |
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1 |
30m |
The teacher explains that we are going to start enterprises, cooperation is voluntarily.
|
|
School |
|
2 |
45m |
The children get to know which enterprises they could start themselves, and learn the requirements for applying:
|
|
School |
|
3 |
15m |
Students learn:
|
|
School |
|
4-30 |
Weekly, 90 minutes |
The kickoff starts with an assignment:
|
|
School and outside school |
|
31 |
Market day, 180 minutes |
Enterprises show their work and eventually sell products from their enterprise. |
Stalls, change cash, food and drinks |
Schoolyard or alternative location |
RRI principles
One of the key aspects of OSOS is the inclusion of RRI — Responsible Research and Innovation — principles (more information at RRI-Tools.eu). This is how this Accelerator fits into the RRI model:
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Governance |
Students will have to evaluate diferent stakeholders when making their enterprise and take into consideration local rules and legislation. Students take responsibility to make agreements with stakeholders for practical execution of their enterprise. I.e.: in an example enterprise where the students start a kitchen garden where they grown and sell herbs they will have to consult the owner of the land (the school, municipality, parents) and agree on the terms and coditions for using the land for a kitchen garden. |
|
Public Engagement |
Students will recognize their place in society and will come with ideas to start an enterprise in their own neighbourhood. I.e.: Students will learn to see opportunities in their own environment and will learn how to use those opportunities to create ideas. |
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Gender equality |
The purpose of the new usage for the place will be established with a gender-neutral approach, this will benefit both men and women. I.e.: students will discuss different options and choose the most appropiate one in terms of gender equality. |
|
Science Education |
This activity could use sciencific concepts and procedures (i.e. researching comparable enterprises, etc) and it should be developed following the scientific method (define a research qustion, collect data, analysis, validate or refute the hypothesis, etc.). I.e.: students will use science in a trans-disciplinary way, looking for answers through a scientific approach to know where, when, what and how they will develop the project in the surroundings of the school. |
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Ethics |
Students will look critically in their own environment and think how they can contribute with their small enterprise. I.e.: they see a need for something and will work to accomplish flfilling that need. |
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Open Access |
Students could share resources and materials with both stakeholders involved in the project and also in the Internet, open and free, for the users interested in the project. I.e.: materials developed and resources collected within this project will be available for free on the Internet, since they can help people in developing their own projects to improve other abandoned places |
AVAILABLE PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
- Local entrepreneurs; for instance:
- DIY store,
- Bicycle shop,
- Environmental Lobby Group (Greenpeace)
- Elderly Home
- Parents
- in their role as employee of an organization
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Presenting the plan to the students may include a few exemplary enterprises.
Other reccommendations
It is a good idea to commonly establish a good cause for the revenues of the enterprises.
This could be something for school, e.g. a new instrument on the playground, a good cause or a combination of those two. For instance, we are working with a partner school on one of the Caribbean islands who was struck by hurricane Irma and suffered badly. Half of the income from the enterprizes is transferred to this school; the other half we will spend on playing gear for our own new housing.
ORGANIZATION IN CHARGE:
Basisschool De Verwondering
Bernhardlaan 23. 1141 CM Monnickendam
0299 – 769 126
info@basisschooldeverwondering.nl
http://basisschooldeverwondering.nl/
CONTACT PEOPLE:
Tijl Rood
tijl@basisschooldeverwondering.nl
Feel
Addressed challenge: To students, school and the outside world can seem like two seperate places. With this accelerator students will think about their own environment. What kind of organisations do they see? What are they able to do themselves? How could they themselves be useful for their environment by setting up an enterprise? What could that enterprise contribute to their direct environment? In groups students will answer these questions and think of an idea of an enterprise that contributes to local needs. They will make a plan, contact the right people for help (e.g. the teacher, someone else in the school, a parent, a local business) and they will build their small enterprise.
Feel
In this stage, the assignment is explained to the students by a teacher, an students think of good examples in the world surrounding them.
Task #1
It is explained to students that they are going to look around in the environment en see what business, large of small, they can think of. They can think of businesses where their parents work or that they know that are close. Together with a teacher they can talk about how these businesses contribute to local society.
Task#2
It is explained to students that they are going to think of an enterprise themselves, and that they are going to execute their plan. If they are making a business, they will follow the following steps with these requirements:
- Together with a group, make a plan for an enterprise.
- Contact an adult that could give you some advise.
- Write a plan to the head master where you explain.
- which adult is guiding/leading,
- what is the goal of the enterprise,
- how many children are welcome in it,
- does it evoke financial transactions and
- what material is needed,
- how often and when will the members meet
Imagine
In this stage students will brainstorm and come with a proposal for an enterprise. The proposal should be send to the head master without spelling mistakes.
The proposal should meet the following requirements
Ingredients for an approved plan are at least:
- which adult is guiding/leading,
- what is the goal of the enterprise,
- how many children are welcome in it,
- does it evoke financial transactions and
- what material is needed,
- how often and when will the members meet
- The head master will either approve or disapprove of the plan. If the headmaters approves the students are entrepreneurs in business!
The students have to hand in a written proposition of their own business. As soon as the head teacher approves of the plan the student in an entrepeneur in business.