Get Your Students Hired
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Learning Through Student Based Enterprises --> Getting Started
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
The college where I teach has an endowment farm that we are able to use as a classroom space and to create a school-based enterprise. We are able to raise and sell alfalfa, corn, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, carrot seed and dry beans. We will be planting an apple orchard, and teaching students how to market apples in the fresh market as well as the processing market.
The origin of my school's SBE really is my story as much as it is the school's. A previous teacher had convinced the leadership of my school that she could start and run a teacher cadet academy...show could not. She quit after her first month at the school after they had proceeded to launch the idea as a Technology, Education, Administration and Clinical Health or T.E.A.C.H program. It was a multi-headed hydra that needed to be taken down to one core concept and that would wind up with me coming in to replace that teacher and create a true teacher cadet academy program. It's been many years since we launched back in 2018 but we've come a long way. Check out the mini-documentary we were featured in from the national best practices clearing house and the US/Michigan Dept of Education. https:/
What I learned in this training is that there is a lot of work to be done prior to running a School Based Enterprise. I know that the SBE is not limited to snacks and shirts. This project should be student led to determine how they want to run the SBE.
This is my first time considering this type of venture, and I am open to trying this. Live event learning is the highest form of learning and shows the highest level of retention.
My classes had a SBE this year for the first time. I had the idea of students selling laser cut, school themed keychains, but the students didn't have a lot of buy in. Instead, they REALLY wanted to sell slime. I was not too keen on this idea due to the mess and I wasn't sure they were going to sell. Long story short, the students were right. The slime sold well and it was the right decision to go with a business with student buy in. There was a mess, but it was worth it overall.
I currently help run a school-based enterprise at my high school. I have never started one, but have taken over an already-established business. The process of starting one from the ground up feels intimidating and stressful. I think getting the buy-in and cooperation from the administration and student body could be very challenging.
I have learned many new things from this module. As a current CTE teacher, I am always curious about school-based enterprises and how they could look in my school. I know we are doing this type of thing at our high school in a business class but I'm always curious how it could look in other areas of our CTE department. One thing that could be applied from my learning is allowing students to fully buy-in and be leaders and promote their leadership skills.