Page 180 - 1-Entrepreneurship and Local Economic Development by Norman Walzer (z-lib.org)

Effective Entrepreneurship Education Programs 169

school graduation provides a major opportunity to increase the number of
young Americans who pursue an entrepreneurial career and lifestyle.

The Dual Role of Entrepreneurship Education
In the fact-based movie Searching for Bobby Fischer (Paramount Pictures
1993), chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin develops his talent through relation-
ships with mentors who introduce Josh to the two competing aspects of be-
coming a grandmaster. Josh’s initial interest in chess results from a chance
encounter in New York’s Washington Square Park with Vinnie, a drug ad-
2
dict, who has mastered the game of speed chess. Bruce Pandolfini, a chess
enthusiast hired by PBS in 1972 as an analyst for the Boris Spassky-Bobby
Fischer world championship match in Iceland, develops Waitzkin’s under-
standing and application of the technical aspects of the game. While Vinnie
teaches Josh the importance of passion and risk-taking, Pandolfini counters
with the need for knowledge and discipline.
In many ways, Searching for Bobby Fischer is the perfect metaphor for en-
trepreneurship education. It sheds light on the two roles—motivation and
technical competence—entrepreneurship education plays in developing
students who aspire to entrepreneurial lives.
Waitzkin’s introduction to and education in the game of chess provide
some valuable clues. How do we ensure that the emergence of the next gen-
eration of entrepreneurs is not based on chance encounters? Where do we
find the “Vinnies” who will ignite the passion for entrepreneurship that lies
dormant in so many youth? And finally, where and how do these future en-
trepreneurs gain the knowledge and discipline which improve their odds of
success? As Pandolfini tells Josh’s father, Fred Waitzkin, “To put your son in
a position to care about winning and not to prepare him is wrong!” The in-
tersection between motivation and competence becomes the central theme
as one thinks about the educational path that best leads students to first un-
derstand their own entrepreneurial potential and later to develop the com-
petencies that give them a greater chance of success.

Keys to Effective Entrepreneurship Education
With the major contribution of entrepreneurship to regional and na-
tional economies and the increasing visibility of successful entrepreneurs,
one might expect a proliferation of entrepreneurship education at the ele-
mentary and secondary levels similar to that at U.S. colleges and universi-
ties. This has not been the case for a number of reasons. Unlike the natural
sciences, there are no formulas or algorithms which, if followed closely,
guarantee a predictable outcome. In addition, many tenets of entrepreneur-
ship are counterintuitive to traditional thinking, requiring both students