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Organic Infrastructures: My Approach to Social Entrepreneurship

As I write this, I am 43 years of age and on the cusp of what I believe to be substantial growth as a social entrepreneur. For the past three years, I have been working with youth, schools, business leaders and community organizations to create what I call “organic infrastructure”. By organic infrastructure, I mean creating sustainable community partnerships that are mutually beneficial for all that participate. I believe that we as a society have drastically under-invested in our youth and only by providing them with a steady supply of Cultural Capital (more on this later), will we be able to pull out of the current educational and economic crisis in America and indeed many parts of the world.

Through this process I have come to believe in a new sense of philanthropy that is based on a fundamental exchange of value. That is, it’s no longer about one group of people that has resources giving to others that are needy but about those with resources seeing value in those they serve and cultivating that belief so that they get something of value in return. Of course, this is not a new concept. It’s based on that proverb “Teach ‘em to fish” but I feel as though the essence of this concept is too often lost in practice. “Why?” do you ask. It’s not easy. There are no quick fix remedies to make this happen but I am convinced that this is possible because I have seen it played out several times over since starting this journey.

Our educational system plays a large role in this process and unfortunately for all intents and purposes, it is fundamentally broken. We tend to educate our students like widgets rather than people. Of course, there are fundamental skills and knowledge that we all need but I believe the biggest questions that we need to ask ourselves and our youth is “What are you passionate about?” and “What do you believe in?” As educators, if we can help our students understand that, then the steps they need to become educated start to emerge much more readily. That is, identify your passion and then build your educational path around those aspirations.

When I taught 6th grade science, about 1/2 to 2/3′s of my students were not reading on grade level when they entered the class. Now, was my job to teach them to read? How can they score well on a written exam if they can’t even read it? I was supposed to be teaching them about topics like cell division or the laws of motion. So, I was in a constant dilemma. I focused on teaching them science concepts but I also made it a point to have them communicate in complete sentences. I know, it sounds a bit ridiculous, but you’d be surprised at how few students have well developed written and oral skills. I figured by getting them to process the concepts in their minds first and then translating that to a cogent written format, we had a fighting chance at getting them to improve both their knowledge of science and their ability to read and write.

I retired from the classroom back in 1998. Since then, I’ve worked in educational publishing as an interactive developer, producer, instructional designer and creative talent among other things. So, after ten years away from the classroom and witnessing first hand the technological revolution that has taken place since that time, I found myself reluctantly (at first) back working directly with teachers in 2008. That time away from the classroom gave me some valuable perspective on the disconnects between our educational system and the day to day work life of the rest of the world. Teachers are under more pressure than ever while their compensation continues to stagnate and ironically many are being laid off due to reduced funding.

Humberto Perez, a great teacher and friend. We've collaborated for 3 years and counting.

I believe that great teachers teach students, not subjects. That is, they listen at least as much as they lecture. They facilitate rather than dictate. This is hard for teachers at times because they often feel as though they don’t have control. The enormous pressure to improve scores on standardized tests and to cover one’s ass places many teachers in a state of paralysis. A fundamental part of what I do as a social entrepreneur is help teachers by providing them with stipends, interactive tools, training and a now a team of professional and college mentors that can coalesce around them and their students allowing them to become true facilitators of knowledge.

These 5 person teams are made up of 3 college mentors, a professional mentor and a media producer. Mentors are from the broad fields of Media Communications, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), Business and the Arts. Their job initially is to understand the teachers’ goals and then develop a plan that can help them be successful. They facilitate class visits, discussions, demos and field trips designed to expose students to careers. Students eventually choose a field of interest and then work side by side with their mentors to solve real problems within their chosen fields of interest. Then, having developed portfolios through this process, students become eligible for up to six weeks of summer employment within their fields of interest.

By taking students through this process of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship, we provide teachers with an array of “teachable moments”.  Rather than the onus being placed on the teacher to “educate” students, students feel empowered and take ownership of their educational destinies. Teachers become facilitators of their students’ educational paths and can show them knowledge and skills in context. This “in context” learning is powerful and everlasting. Apathy is eventually replaced with intrinsic motivation and over time a culture of achievement is created.

More soon…

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