Educating the Educated

After completing 6 of the 8 courses for the 2010 Leadership Wichita class, I have to admit, The Greater Wichita Chamber of Commerce and the Leadership Wichita trustees do an exceptional job at accomplishing their goals to inform, inspire and involve participants. I feel so privileged to have had the opportunity this fall to spend time hearing different perspectives in leadership, government, the media, economic development, education and various aspects of our community. Each session I leave inspired to do my part to ensure a thriving future for my community.  That also translates immediately into my role with Youth Entrepreneurs, helping thousands of young people achieve great success in their lives and communities.  

But what does “my part” mean?  I like the quote by Peter F. Drucker, writer and management consultant, who describes leadership like this, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”  It’s easy to agree with the statement that we are better equipped to do the right things if we’re first knowledgeable of the root issues and some potential solutions.  What is more difficult is to determine the right solution, and sometimes even what the root issue really is.

I have found it interesting that the speakers from which I’ve learned the most can also be quite controversial in their respective fields.  Should government spend any money toward economic development efforts, and if so, should we focus on spending millions of dollars toward incentives to lure big companies to the area or pour more efforts into the local small businesses who are trying to become medium-sized businesses?  

Is education on the right path? Steve Wyckoff certainly had some great evidence about why we need radical education reform. I was excited that so many of his suggestions to take education to the next level fit what we’re doing in Youth Entrepreneurs classrooms including the opportunity to apply what they’re learning immediately. 
 

After hearing about the phenomenal growth opportunities in taking composite materials used to build airplanes and reconstructing them for the medical field, I wondered why I hadn’t studied biomedical engineering in college. Are we giving students enough opportunity to see what career opportunities exist a few years down the road?

In some cases, a little knowledge provides a very clear solution, but even in the situations where there is no clear solution, each of the conversations and following reflective thought is beneficial to a better ability to lead and to have informed conversations with fellow leaders.  

We want our YE students to have similar experiences, where they become observant of the market, scratch their heads and question the possible solutions, and then apply their new-found knowledge in innovative ways. Like Leadership Wichita, YE also strives to inform, inspire and involve. Inspire our future leaders with a vision of a bright future, inform them of the rules, values, and skills it will take to achieve it, and involve them in the practice and application of what we teach. We hope it will be noticeable the next time you talk with a Youth Entrepreneurs graduate.

- Phoebe Bachura