5 Reasons Entrepreneurship Should Be Part of Every Education

One of the best parts of speaking at many homeschool conferences across the country is getting acquainted with the issues that are top-of-the-mind for homeschoolers in different areas. This year, there seemed to be an interesting shift in focus. People were still stopping by to talk about Excellence in Literature, teaching writing, and creating transcripts, but there was also a new urgency of interest in things that could save or make money, such as getting a jump start on college or starting a microbusiness.

The past few years have been an economic challenge for most single-income families, but many have risen to the challenge and are doing constructive things to counteract decreased income. Over and over I heard inspiring stories of parents or teens who are moonlighting or running a microbusiness in their spare time . . .

Excellence in Literature Tip
One of our EIL users wrote to offer an alternate unit order list for Literature and Composition (Excellence in Literature Level 2). She asked if it was okay to change the order of the units, and wrote: "I . . . noticed that the order of the books is not chronological as it was with the American Literature... One of the things we loved about your American Lit guide was how we learned history and philosophy along with it because everything was in historical order." 

1  Renaissance -Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare(1564-1616)
2  Neo-Classical-Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DeFoe (c. 1660-1731)
3  English Romanticism -Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
4  Romanticism - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870)
5  American Romanticism -Walden by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
6  Romantic Victorian -The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
7  Modernism - The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)
8  Modernist/Regional -Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather (1873-1947)
9  Modern Myth-Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (1898-1965)

When was the last time you thought about the best way to schedule your school days? Six subjects, one hour each per day, five days a week– ho hum. Maybe it’s time to ask some questions about scheduling.

Why are school subjects scheduled like this?

• Does it work well?
• What does it accomplish?
• Is an hour enough time for a student to grow interested in a subject, hear a lesson, and do the associated work?
• Does this format work equally well for all subjects?
• Is this the best format for your student’s learning style?
• If this is the best way for students to study a subject, why are college classes not scheduled this way?

When we were doing school with the boys, I often chose to use different scheduling styles. We found that while the daily style of scheduling was efficient for repetitive, rote subjects such as math, a college- or block-style schedule was often more interesting and effective for classes in the humanities. As they got older we would often choose to do history and literature on Monday and Wednesday; math and science on Tuesday and Thursday. Friday was for field trips and errands.

Another option is what a nearby military academy calls the “One Subject Plan.” They divide the school year into five seven-week terms, and during each term the students study only one subject. This intensely focused immersion style of learning is what we have used when we wanted to learn something independently. I have used it for academic, business, and home-centered subjects, and the boys have used it to learn about subjects ranging from the Civil War to classical music, computer programming, HVAC, and how to create a business. I would consider this type of scheduling to be similar to delight-directed study or unit study scheduling.

Year-round schooling is another scheduling option that works well for many families. They choose to school for ten weeks on, three weeks off, or some variation, and it works quite effectively. This schedule adapts well to frequent travel or other unusual situations, and can help families keep a regular routine going all year, rather than letting it all go for three months and having to start fresh each fall.

Block scheduling or the one-subject plan can allow time for students to immerse in a topic and get some serious work done. By the time students reach high school age, their brains are sufficiently well developed that they can easily skip a day– especially in subjects they enjoy– without forgetting material covered. The one-hour schedule, on the other hand, can be frustratingly short for subjects that would benefit from a longer period of concentration or practice.

The point of all this is to remind us all that we need to consider what works best with our family life and our student’s learning needs, rather than just doing what is traditional. After all, education is about thinking and purposeful planning so that our students can flourish.