That Test You Take 3rd Period, You Will Forget By 6th Period.

I had to stop class today and collect myself.

I teach an entreprneurship class and students were giving their initial pitches to gather interest for their idea of a product or service.

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After the first pitch, I called on the second presenter... and I got:

"I can't go today... I'm not ready."  Then I called on the third... "Can I go tomorrow?"

I stopped the class and took a breath. I let the students know that I would take points off if they delayed going. Both students then quickly changed their minds... I took a deep breath again.

"That is what I thought... you are too worried about the points rather than the experience. That is exactly what the opposite of the entreprneurship mindset."

"Many of you are worried about the test you will take 3rd period but realize that test you take 3rd period, you will forget the material by the 6th period.

That becomes useless to your growth. What you are going to experience today is an event that YOU own. You should get up here and go with your idea and make mistakes! Get up here and fail in front of your peers. I will give you all the points because the points don't matter! Getting up there and putting something out there is where you need to be today. Don't worry about perfection!"

The students got the idea. Both the students who were going to delay did their pitch where they were on their idea at that moment. Yes, they were rough pitched. I video recorded them on their phones and gave the phones back to them.

"You have now put your idea out there. It may be rough, it may need work, and you did it! Now you have a place to start and build without fear of being perfect."

I thanked the students at the end of the class period for taking the risk.

We need to keep pushing our students to experience learning rather than waiting to check the box. It's not just used in entrepreneurship, it's also useful in life!