Posts Tagged ‘youth engagement’

Why’s this place boring?

August 19th, 2010

Deb Marquart immediately captured my attention on Monday at the Midwest Rural Assembly.  During her keynote presentation “Reimaging Place,” she explained to the audience that she left her hometown of Napoleon in rural North Dakota as a teenager because it was boring.  As she wrote a book about it as an adult, however, she discovered it was anything but boring.

The statement raised an interesting idea:  Do young people need to write a book in order to appreciate their hometowns? 

Although that question is a bit out there, it might not be as farfetched as one might think.  I’ve actually witnessed first-hand how young people can develop a connection to their community through writing activities. 

 

The Value of Place Based Education

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mary Stangohr, a talented English teacher at Howard H.S. (SD) embedded place based education in her classroom.  In one of her units of study, Mary had her students read Broken Heartland by Osha Grey Davison, a book detailing the impact of industrial agriculture on rural communities. 

Whether they agreed with the author’s assessment or not, the book connected with most students because they could see similar trends in agriculture happening around them.  In some cases, it connected on an emotional level as some students saw how these changes impacted their parent’s farms, businesses, and places of employment.  It even opened the door for young people to talk to adults about issues that seldom get discussed.

But Mary didn’t end the project with reading the book.  She brought in a community historian who shared engaging stories about growing up in the community.  She took students on field trips to places like to Vilas, SD where students were able to visually experience what life was like in a town back in the 1920-30 before its population shrunk from 400-500 to 19 people today.  And then as a capstone, she required students to write a paper or produce a multimedia project that shared what they had learned.  

I’m not sure if student’s scores on the grammar section of mandatory testing increased as a result of the project.  But I’m positive that the activity encouraged them to dig in and connect more deeply to the subject, and that certainly made them better writers.

 

It’s more than good learning

Beyond the value of helping students become better writers, the project had another impact; Mary’s students came to understand their community better, and I think in many cases, to develop a deeper emotional connection to their hometown. 

In her own way, this is what Marquart shared with her audience at the Midwest Rural Assembly.  She grew up in her rural North Dakota community without knowing much about it.  Sure, she knew the people who lived there.  She knew they worked hard to eke out a living.  But she didn’t know the personal stories that made her community rich. 

Without those stories, it’s easy for any place to appear boring.

 

Photo Credit:  National Rural Assembly - Flickr (Shawn Poyter - permission granted)

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Jack Schultz: It’s about entrepreneurship

April 12th, 2010

People love lists, and Jack Schultz has the ultimate list for rural economic development professionals:  7 1/2 Keys to Success in Small Towns.  If you haven’t heard, it’s worth reading. 

But which one is “The One”?  In other words, if a community had to choose, which one should it focus on?

Jack the evangelist

Last Thursday (April 8), Jack spoke to a group of community residents and students on the University of South Dakota campus.  I was already on campus working on another project, so I couldn’t resist crashing the party. 

Jack delivered what I expected; he evangelized on behalf of small towns, telling the audience to incorporate his 7 1/2 principles into their development effort.  I bought his book on its first printing, so I was familiar with his principles and stories.   It’s good stuff.

What impressed me most, however, was Jack’s statement that Principle #5: Encouraging an Entrepreneurial Approach is probably the most important development strategy for small towns to follow.  I didn’t get his exact quote, but Jack emphasized growth through entrepreneurship because the odds of landing a business through recruitment is slim.  For instance, last year there were only around 200 significant “smokestack chasing” projects in the entire country, and tens of thousands of communities were pursuing them.  In that light, growing your own entrepreneurs looks like a pretty good idea! 

What’s Jack doing about it?

Part of the reason Jack is a hit on the speaker trail is that he’s done it. Dating back to the 1980s, Jack has been helping his hometown of Effingham, Illinois (pop. 12,384) with its economic development initiatives.  When asked about the community’s entrepreneurship efforts, he responded by describing a recent initiative he’s been involved with. 

Here are the basics:

Listening to Jack, I could hear his passion for this project.  He claimed the training would be transformational, and I’m inclined to believe him.  Jack volunteered to share more information with anyone who was interested;  he’s already responded to my request with an e-mail.  Reading it has inspired additional questions, and I hope Jack (and others) will have some time to answer them.  As I learn more, I promise to share. 

Entrepreneurship education.  It’s something all rural communities need to learn more about. 

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Youth Engagement: A path to reinventing rural education

March 4th, 2010

We talk a lot about the importance of youth engagement in rural communities. It’s a great way to connect with young people, and make sure they realize how valuable they are to the community.

I recently discovered this great example of youth engagement in rural Perth County, Ontario. 

Under an initiative developed by the Perth County Econoimc Development Offices, MS2 Productions, a local production company, has been offering Social Media Boot Camp training classes to local businesses.  The training involves a 3-hour overview session on social media marketing and hands-on training focused on specific social media tools, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. 

To promote the training, the company produced a video which I’ve embedded below. (It’s so good, I wish Perth County, Ontario was closer so that I could have attended.)

 

Perth County Social Media Boot Camp from MS2 Productions - Your Complete on Vimeo.

But it is what’s happening behind the scenes that sets the training apart. In addition to encouraging businesses within each rural community to work together, they are engaging students as social media consultants.  As Melissa Schenk, Executive Producer of MS2 Productions explained to me via e-mail:

Local Businesses will hire CO-OP students to be their Social Media Marketers… The Baby Boomers learn from students how to use the Social Media Sites, but the students in turn - learn more about local businesses, how to better put these social media sites to good use, and are providing a valuable resource of information in their communities. Not to mention students are engaging more with businesses, that they might never have had the opportunity or an interest in otherwise.”

In short, young people and business owners are learning from each other.  And in the long run, these young people will better appreciate life in their rural communities and be better prepared to recognize business opportunities after completing their education.

Additionally, I think projects like this will lead to the educational reform that Richard Florida has been talking about lately: creativity, technology, and social.  All are 21st Century skills that young people need to be successful.  Come to think of it, those are the same skills rural communities leaders need as well.

Note:  Melissa Schenk  sent me a message correcting my initial post, which did not credit the Perth County Economic Development Office for the project.  My apologies to Bernia Wheaton, Perth County Economic Development Coordinator.  I love this story even more knowing that economic development professionals are leading the charge!

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Why does “Rural” matter?

September 2nd, 2009

In our part of the country, most rural communities have experienced 50-80 years of economic decline.  This decline often leads to feelings of despair and hopelessness. 

A Sense of Hope

At the Rural Learning Center (RLC), however, we have a sense of empowerment and hopefulness.  We base that optimism in part on the progress being made in Howard, South Dakota and surrounding Miner County, where our work began.

Two of the most compelling signs of that progress include the Howard municipal sales tax revenues and the construction of the second phase to the Rural Learning Center.

 

How did you get started in Miner County?

As Randy Parry, President of the RLC, indicates in the video below titled “How did you get started in Miner County?” our work began with high school students studying local sales tax trends. Seeking to make an impact, these students shared their learning with the citizens of Howard.  Their efforts as well as the innovative community development work that followed sparked an “invest in local” movement  resulting in significant business investment that translated into  record sales tax revenues.   (see image above)

Today, we are celebrating the groundbreaking for Phase II of the Rural Learning Center in Howard.  Dignitaries from around the country will be in attendance to help us celebrate and “reimagine” the possibilities for our rural places.

Why does Rural Matter?

But as we do, I think it is important that we reflect on why rural communities matter and why the Rural Learning Center is important to their futures. 

To help initiate that conversation, I’ve produced a short video in which I asked Rural Learning Center employees those very questions.  I hope it spurs you to reflect and share your thoughts on the subject.

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Why growing entrepreneurs might be your community’s best bet

May 14th, 2009

Entrepreneurial growth is what your community needs! 

Yes, I’m being a bit bold, but I think this issue of entrepreneurship in community development deserves strong assertion.  The economic benefits of entrepreneurs are well documented. The US Small Business Administration reports that 44% of new jobs are created by startup companies compared to 55% from existing firms and 1% through relocation.   Further, startup firms create approximately 70% of new economic growth (Source:  What are the economic benefits of entrepreneurship, Extension 2008).  These facts, along with recent news from the Kauffman Foundation that indicates entrepreneurship did not lag in the current recession, mean that nurturing entrepreneurs is a strategy your community needs to consider. 

Beyond Economics

Growing entrepreneurs in your community is about more than economics.  Released in April 2009, the World Economic Forum’s Global Education Initiative report titled Educating the Next Wave of Entrepreneurs highlights the positive role that entrepreneur education and an entrepreneurial environment can have on community. 

Entrepreneurship education is about developing attitudes, behaviors and capacities at the individual level. Inherently, it is about leadership. It is also about the application of those skills and attitudes which can take many forms during an individual’s career, creating a range of long-term benefits to society and the economy.

An educational system (whether formal or informal) that nurtures entrepreneurs is simultaneously nurturing the community by building leaders, risk takers, and those who can turn ideas into action. 

The Role of Young People

The natural place to begin developing entrepreneurs in your community is with young people.  The attributes of young people are similar to the attributes of entrepreneurs.  And, young people are interested.  In 2007, the Kauffman Foundation surveyed young people about their interest in entrepreneurship. They found that 40% of young people already have or would like to start a business someday ( click here for the full story). 

Market place for Kids is one program ‘growing young entrepreneurs’ in the Midwest.  With eight regions across North Dakota, the program encourages students to explore entrepreneurship through classroom learning and hands on development of an idea that they think, develop, and build to showcase in a Marketplace.  You can watch videos of students explaining their inventions here.  My personal favorites are Smelly Sponge Brush, Learn 2 Lead Dog Leash, and the Wake Up Call Pillowcase.

At the end of the day, if we want both our communities and young people to succeed, we should be exploring entrepreneurship as a way to accomplish both.  If your community is already implementing some kind of entrepreneurship education program, please share! 

 

Note:  There are many other programs out there to help you develop young entrepreneurs in your community.  This fall, I highlighted the ESI: EntrepreneurShip Investigation curriculum produced by University of Nebraska Extension.

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