Dear politicians, here's how you can save Denmark
Entrepreneurship in schools was my proposal for encouraging more people to build businesses in Denmark. In this video from May 2011, I argue for spotting and developing business talent earlier in school.
Entrepreneurship in schools starts with recognising talent
I was concerned by a news story about Danes’ appetite for becoming entrepreneurs. It made me think about my own schooldays and pupils who take initiative, speak loudly or find it hard to sit still.
I thought some of those qualities could also be put to good use: Selling, arguing a case, negotiating and getting others on board with an idea.
That was my interpretation of the problem. The video doesn’t establish that any particular behaviour in itself makes a child an entrepreneur.
Schooling with practical opportunities
I suggested special schools where pupils would still learn Danish and maths, but could also work on good business practice, customer service and writing effective copy.
For example, I mention selling something from a stall or giving a presentation to others. The idea was to put that energy to constructive use rather than simply insisting that everyone fit the same mould.
A political proposal from 2011
I talk about starting around fifth grade and imagine schools in different parts of the country, followed by other opportunities to develop that talent.
The numbers of schools and costs in the video are my rough suggestions and estimates. They are not a fully worked-out budget.
I also make sweeping generalisations about teachers, gender and school culture. Those are my opinions from back then, not documented characteristics of all teachers or pupils.
The central wish was to give enterprising young people room to get better at what they could create, while still gaining basic school skills.
Also read my call for entrepreneurship and openness.
The worrying thing is the lack of desire
The day before this video, I saw on the news that fewer than ten percent of Danes wanted to become entrepreneurs. I find that depressing. But to me, the worst part of the story was the explanation: It wasn’t primarily fear about money or whether it would work out. People simply didn’t want to.
What I miss is the very heart of entrepreneurship. The feeling of how great it could be to create something of your own, be your own boss, shape something with your hands and sell it to others. To enrich other people’s lives and your own, and make something flourish.
I see several reasons. I think Denmark has a strong employee culture, and I think we can be too comfortable, preferring more holiday and welfare to working for a higher salary. That’s my blunt assessment in May 2011. I’m worried that, in the longer term, that attitude could mean less welfare and a society that can’t sustain itself.
I also expect a difficult period in the short term, but that’s not what this video is about. I want to talk about what we can do in the longer term.
Why do we only put effort into what Jens is bad at?
I think part of the problem starts at school. If little Jens isn’t good at writing, we put all our effort into that. But do we also notice that he may have a talent for business that should be developed too?
My concern is that we make everyone equally average at everything, without really letting anyone stand out. And as I remember my own schooling, we often suppress exactly the qualities that can be useful in a trader and, later, an entrepreneur.
It could be the child who shouts a bit louder, can’t sit still or daydreams. The child who takes initiative and is a little cheeky or doesn’t fit in. I also use the example of someone buying a bicycle in Den Blå Avis for DKK 300, fixing it up, polishing it and selling it for DKK 800. That’s business sense in practice.
I don’t think we notice the positive possibilities in that energy enough. Instead, it becomes the child who doesn’t fit in and whom the teacher gets tired of. I think that’s a real shame.
My own strength meant I wouldn’t let myself be held down
I was one of those pupils. I experienced plenty of attempts to put me in my place and make me fit in. But I came from a strong family and was so stubborn and hard to suppress myself that I got through it. Also read Skab din egen succes about finding your own way, even when you don’t fit the usual mould.
In the video, I also describe it as strong genes. That’s my way of talking about my own resilience, not an explanation of who can become an entrepreneur. My concern is for those who have some of that same drive, but not quite the same resilience.
I’m afraid some of them end up saying "fuck it", skipping school, smoking cannabis or becoming outcasts instead of putting their energy to constructive use. I’d like to see them as part of Denmark’s future rather than as people we’re simply trying to get to sit still.
Folk high schools and boarding schools are an option, but start earlier
My first thought was a folk high school for entrepreneurship. We have sports folk high schools, so why not somewhere that develops business talent and the desire to build companies too?
The same applies to efterskoler, Denmark’s residential secondary schools, and young people who want to take tenth grade but don’t really know what they want. An entrepreneurship programme could give them something to work towards. That would clearly be better than nothing.
But I think we need to start earlier. We could try spotting the talent in third, fourth or fifth grade. If the government asked me, my concrete proposal would be ten to fifteen entrepreneurship schools around Denmark, starting around fifth grade. That’s when I imagine you’d begin to see what there is to build on.
Danish and maths still need to be included
Of course pupils need to learn Danish, both written and spoken. That’s extremely important. Maths and the other basic subjects need to be included too. I’m not suggesting simply avoiding learning the things that are hard.
But teachers need to understand that they’re not just facing loud-mouthed "losers". They may be dealing with exceptional individuals and some of the raw talent Denmark needs. There need to be adults who can accommodate that energy and help put it to use.
I also challenge schools’ expectations of boys and girls
I make a pointed, sweeping remark that perhaps it shouldn’t be women teaching these particular pupils to quite the same extent. I know that remark could get me a beating. I say it because I feel that female educators and teachers often get annoyed with boys who shout loudly.
I contrast the sweet girl with plaits who sits drawing with the restless boy who goes out into the playground and hammers nails. The first is easier to deal with. The second demands more and needs more stimulation.
Those are my generalisations in this video, not a description of all women, boys or girls. What I specifically want is adults who can put the child’s energy to positive use: Let’s set up a roadside stall and sell lemonade. Let’s build something and get our hands moving instead of only saying "be quiet".
From a remoulade sandwich on the board to a presentation in front of others
I think the framework of Denmark’s state schools can become too narrow when it mainly rewards sitting still, drawing, doing neat written maths exercises, listening and learning by heart. Some pupils don’t fit that box very well.
It could be the one who takes initiative, gets up in front of others or pulls a little stunt. I use a wild example of a pupil throwing a remoulade sandwich onto the board. The question is whether we only see the misbehaviour, or whether there’s also energy and a desire for attention that could be put to better use.
So let the pupil stand in front of an audience and get help with rhetoric and argument. Teach negotiation, good business practice and customer service. Buy for less and sell for more. Write good copy. Give that initiative a constructive direction and some skills to build on.
A proposal for politicians, not a finished budget
Ten to fifteen schools would cost money. I also mention the possibility of bringing pupils together there and perhaps closing a few other schools, where that would free up space. Afterwards, efterskoler and folk high schools could continue developing the talent.
At the end, I ask whether roughly DKK 100 million could be found within the large sums spent on schooling. That’s a rough estimate in my video, not a calculation of what it would actually cost. The idea is to prioritise a trial and see what it could become.
Develop business talent. Give young people room to speak loudly and be a little unconventional when that energy is used creatively, positively and to move things forward. I believe that approach could help with many of Denmark’s problems. Come on, politicians. You can do it.
Best wishes, Martin
Ingen tæsk herfra – det er de voksne, som skal give børnene en chance.
Vi må gerne støtte mennesker i forskellighed – om det er iværksætterånd, påklædningsdukker, blækregning, træklatring eller hvad som helst, så kan vi godt støtte børn i det.
Og må jeg tilføje: Smid nu religion af skoleskemaet og få undervist i personlig styrke og kommunikation i stedet – det giver børn 1000 gange mere end bønner….
Mette Glargaard Andersen