Business Education to Lift Themselves up out of Poverty

A few weeks back I attended a panel about education issues in the Charlotte Mecklenburg School System, hosted by NPR. They presented five panelists, one of whom who is the now-retired Superintendent, Heath Morrison. Among the other panelists were a couple of teachers, a principal of a magnet school, and Eric Guckian, Governor McCrory’s advisor on education.

I could go into details about the whole conversation, but what struck me most, was the VERY first question that a woman from the audience asked:

Shouldn’t we be teaching our kids about business so they can lift themselves up out of poverty?

I sat in my seat, stunned. I’ve thought business education for kids was imperative for years. I was happy to hear another person bring it up, and as the first panel question no less.

The thing is, though, I was approaching the notion of kids and business education from a completely different angle. I have long thought business education was critical because:

1. First, our children will face radically different issues that we’ve had to face, and having a business mindset will help them approach those issues in creative, opportunistic ways.
2. Second, business is in many ways the centerpiece of our culture - so understanding business can help kids thrive in our consumer culture. They can be more knowledgeable about finances, about marketing, about opportunities, and about creating their own businesses.
3. Finally, I think our American business prowess is a differentiating factor for our country - and if we are going to compete and stay ahead, having a generation of strong business minds will arguably be very useful.

I think these are still all valid points. And they continue to be central elements which drive our quest for growing the start-up, Bea is for Business - an educational platform that teaches young kids about business.

HOWEVER, here I was at this NPR panel, and this unassuming lady suggests a completely different rationale for youth business education. To her it was all about fighting poverty.

Wow.

How did I miss that part? It’s critical. And it makes what we do at Bea is for Business even more important.

A lot of our American population is living in poverty, and parents are unable to help their children "rise up" to a comfortable standard of living. But if a child can learn about business, if a child can learn financial literacy, if a child can be opportunistic... what if these lessons and ways of thinking could help him or her start a future company or pursue an innovative idea or solve some massive world problem in a new, more thoughtful way?

To me, this makes business education one of the most critical subjects to teach. Kids can learn about our culture, they can learn about vocabulary, they can learn about math, financial literacy, opportunities, and how to have potential success in business in the future.

Just imagine the impact . . .

Bea is for Business has three children's books to help kids learn about business. For free learning resources and book purchases, visit www.beaisforbusiness.com.