Educators foster entrepreneurship.

• Author: Kim, John
• Position: Programs of two Alaskan high schools help students learn about business and industries

Educators foster entrepreneurship

As Americans have perceived a relative decline in their economic prowess during the last several years, the fickle finger of blame has pointed in many directions, including at the nation's primary and secondary schools. Low scores on standardized tests and high dropout rates relative to other industrialized countries, especially Japan, are seen as symptoms of a more ominous disease.

Philip Condit, an executive of the Boeing Corp. in Seattle, says, "I am convinced that any true fix for the problems U.S. industry is experiencing in facing foreign competition must begin by taking a comprehensive look at our primary and secondary education systems, and discovering why our children are inherently fascinated with the way things work, but become, as adults, content to know only the size and shape of things around them."

Author James Fallows argues that the declining quality of American education is causing our work force to lose its lead in product and service innovation. Such concerns have generated calls for reforms such as developing a global view and encouraging greater cooperation between schools and business. These proposals, in turn, are the subject of a smaller controversy, with critics warning that once again educators are being asked to slavishly remold curricula to serve the narrow interests of business and industry.

Meanwhile, deep in the trenches, entrepreneurial educators continue to explore ways that will help balance the changing needs of society with the needs of the individual. Objectives such as increasing industrial competitiveness are on the agenda, but so are things such as developing a more global perspective, building self-esteem and confidence, increasing math and computer skills, and learning how to run a small business.

Alaska is lucky to have two entrepreneurship programs that could be models for the rest of the nation: Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka and the Anchorage School District's International Trade Program at the Martin Luther King Jr. Career Center. Both have been assisted by the Office of Adult and Vocational Education of the Alaska Department of Education.

Sitka. The students at Mount Edgecumbe learn about Pacific Rim cultures and how to make and market smoked salmon for Japanese consumers. The years of fiddling with oven temperatures, salt content, vacuum packs and market strategies have paid off in different ways. The students recently sold a sample batch to a Japanese...