In a TED talk earlier this year in Edmonton, serial entrepreneur Cameron Herold tackles a subject that we’ve written about here on ReadWriteStart before: how to raise the next generation of entrepreneurs and how to foster a culture that encourages startups.
Herold wants to see parents and schools nurture entrepreneurial traits, traits like tenacity, leadership, introspection, networking, and sales. “We miss an opportunity to find kids that have entrepreneurial traits,” says Herold, “and to show them that being an entrepreneur is a cool thing.”
In his talk, Herold rails against the school system for grooming kids for “good jobs,” but not promoting entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
And while that’s not a new argument, Herold’s talk goes one step farther and invokes a troubling dichotomy: that you’re either a student or you’re an entrepreneur.
Arguing that entrepreneurs tend to be poor students and suffer from ADD and bipolar disorders, Herold seems to posit a choice that young kids must take: a path of education or one of entrepreneurship. What we do, says Herold, is give kids Ritalin to force them into a specific type: “Don’t be an entrepreneur, be a student.”
But what his argument also suggests, perhaps, is that kids who struggle in school don’t need help, they just need a good business opportunity.
The video is embedded below. What do you think?
