Teaching Change

 

Welcome to Episode 3 of Teaching Change. Since the last episode, Courtney has presented at the Florida Library Association Conference. Her presentation focused on how the Valencia East Book Nerds, the student club she advises, has helped its members succeed in their personal and academic lives. Meanwhile, Jerrid took a group of students on a field trip to First Green Bank to learn about its sustainability program. Kyle Sanders, the manager of the Winter Park branch, was a great host as the group learned about several of the bank’s initiatives such as energy efficiency, LEED-certified building material, recycling, and solar roof panels.

The conversation turns to Chris Miller’s blog post “10 Things Social Entrepreneurship is Not.” Chris Miller is the founder and CEO of Mission Center L3C. Jerrid is quite fond of the list because it covers common misconceptions that he has encountered during the course of his work.

At the top of the list is social entrepreneurship is not Facebook. As social media continues to be a ubiquitous part of society, it may come as no surprise that some people confuse the two. However, social entrepreneurship has more to do with business practices and social value than it does with likes and posting. Sure, Facebook can be used as a tool to promote businesses that may include social entrepreneurs, but the purpose of each is quite different.

Jerrid and Courtney also cover the blog’s assertions that social entrepreneurship is not charity, not necessarily nonprofit, and that it is most definitely not anti-profit. TOMS Shoes, which has been quite profitable, is a great example of this criteria. At TOMS Shoes, every time someone purchases a pair of shoes another pair is donated.

In another part of the world, India’s Grameen Bank also exemplifies how social entrepreneurship is not a synonym for charity. Founded by Muhammed Yunus, Grameen gives microloans to people who need small loans but are not eligible for traditional loans because they do not have capital. Muhammed Yunus and his bank were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.

The rest of Miller’s list is reviewed, including social entrepreneurship not being a fad and not being about corporate responsibility. All of the “not” talk ultimately leads to a clearer understanding of how social entrepreneurship operates and how it impacts the world.

Teaching Change Shout-outs

For more information on topics discussed during the show, see the list below.

“10 Things Social Entrepreneurship is Not” by Chris Miller

First Green Bank

Grameen Bank

 

Dr. Leonard Bass joins Jerrid and Courtney for Episode 2. Leonard is the Dean of Learning Support at Valencia’s east campus. As dean, he oversees New Student Experience, the library, Supplement Learning, the Academic Success Center as well as a host of other projects and initiatives. Plus, Leonard is Jerrid and Courtney’s boss!

Leonard tells the story of how he became involved with Valencia’s social entrepreneurship work thanks to Jerrid. At the time, Jerrid was working on his doctorate and saw a potential for starting a program.  Leonard says, “It is important for those in leadership to be comfortable with new ideas.”

The New Student Experience course also provided fresh perspectives into the value of social entrepreneurship education. The first common read for the course was Blake Mycoskie’s Start something that matters which tells the story of social entrepreneurship powerhouse TOMS Shoes. The basic principle of the company’s business model is that for every pair of shoes that is purchased one pair is donated.

The themes in the book provided a toolbox of strategies for students to use in their academic and everyday lives. Themes discussed included collaboration, building networks, time management, and good reputations. The positive student response to the book was another impetus for starting a full-fledged social entrepreneurship program. To that end, Jerrid wrote a white paper and he teamed with Leonard to look for others who were interested in joining what Jerrid fondly calls the Guiding Coalition.

The social entrepreneurship program has been a success so far. Leonard credits this with recruiting faculty who have a deep desire for the work and who have a certain level of expertise. He also found it essential to devise a strategic plan to assist in articulating the program’s purpose.

One other biggie, collaboration is key. You just might find allies in the most surprising places. For Leonard, his pleasant surprise came in the form of Valencia’s Sustainability Department. While he did not originally think to partner with Sustainability, the director Resham Shirsat has become one of the program’s staunchest advocates. So throw those assumptions out the door!

With what little spare time he has, Leonard serves on Convenant House Florida’s board which focuses on addressing the needs of homeless youth. He is a classically trained bassoonist, and also participates in mud runs.

 

Teaching Change Shout-outs

For more information on topics discussed during the show, see the list below.

Start something that matters by Blake Mycoskie

Covenant House Florida

Tough Mudder

 

 

 

 

 

**Credit: The theme music for Teaching Change is provided by bensound.com.**

Join Jerrid and Courtney as they examine the fine, often interchangeable, line between social entrepreneurship and social innovation.  As Jerrid explains it, social entrepreneurship encompasses using business practices to create wealth and social value.

In some ways, social innovation can be thought of as the umbrella under which social entrepreneurship falls. This takes into account all of the people who may be socially innovative but not necessarily social entrepreneurs. To this end, the purpose of social innovation is for social progress and value creation. This purpose divulges ever so slightly from social entrepreneurship because social innovation may or may not have a wealth generating component.  Still with us?

Take this example. Jon Territo—true story—is a music professor at Valencia who wants to find ways to infuse social innovation into his courses. One idea is to have his choral groups and ensembles play at fundraisers so students can learn the benefits of giving back to their communities.  Or perhaps his students may perform at a concert where the admission is two can goods. Both options fall under the social innovation umbrella.

While seeds of social innovation may be planted in the course lessons of some faculty, the main focus of the work at Valencia is social entrepreneurship. The academic program helps students create businesses that do well and do good. Courtney is curious how Jerrid teaches such a broad topic to his students. As it turns out, Jerrid has plenty of resources in his toolkit which includes a systematic literature review he co-authored with Rollins College Professor Mary Conway Dao-on.

Jerrid, as does Courtney, likes to teach through examples. He spends the first 2 weeks on terminology then the class begins to narrow down the list and dissect the remaining definitions until a cohesive understanding emerges.

The show wraps up with the hosts sharing their extracurricular activities. Courtney was inspired by a workshop she attended at the Orlando Public Library that focused on seizing your dreams. She was also thrilled that the student club she co-advises, the Valencia East Book Nerds, received Program of the Year for their banned book trivia event.

Jerrid was also having a great week. He is also an advisor to a student club, the Social Entrepreneurship Student Organization (SESO). SESO hosted a successful event where social entrepreneurship extraordinaire, Eric Glustrum, was the guest speaker. An inspiration in the field, Eric Glustrum’s credentials include being an Ashoka Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, Forbes 30 Social Entrepreneurship Under 30, and founder of Watson U.   

Teaching Change Shout-outs

For more information on topics discussed during the show, see the list below.

“The winding road of social entrepreneurship definitions: a systematic literature review” by Mary Conway Dato-on and Jerrid Kalakay  

http://www.watsonuniversity.org/

 

In the inaugural episode of Teaching Change, Professor Jerrid Kalakay and Librarian Courtney Moore set the stage to chronicle social entrepreneurship education at Valencia College and beyond. As Jerrid defines it, social entrepreneurship is the practice of using innovative business practices to create social value and wealth. The co-hosts, who both work at Valencia, begin with personal introductions that provide details on their respective backgrounds and interests.

At Valencia, Jerrid pulls double duty as a full-time instructor for the New Student Experience course and as the Social Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator—and this is just his day job! Jerrid, having earned a Ph.D. in leadership and change with a focus on social entrepreneurship, brings a vast field of knowledge to the podcast. He has long been a steadfast advocate for social entrepreneurship education and was instrumental in developing the program at Valencia. A married man and father of three, Jerrid’s motivations are quite simple. For his family and society as a whole, it is his hope that everyone makes the world a little better than when they found it.

While Jerrid is very much the insider, Courtney is stepping into new territory with a podcast on social entrepreneurship. Most days she is either at the library’s reference desk or teaching information literacy instruction classes. Courtney’s role as a librarian has constantly enhanced her worldview and has set her up as a staunch supporter of lifelong learning who walks the walk. Her master’s degree in library science and information studies has allowed her a professional platform to champion the value and access to information. Courtney’s burgeoning knowledge of social entrepreneurship is bolstered by her experience as an educator and self-confessed podcast addiction.

Outside of work, both Jerrid and Courtney make the most of their spare time. Jerrid is a not-so-undercover fanboy who loves a good binge of nerdy television. The SyFy channel is a must. Jerrid also has an affection for hip hop music due to its running themes of shared experience.

Courtney moonlights as a member of Weekend Toastmasters—a club that builds public speaking and leadership skills. She also has ambitions to one day parlay her fiction writing hobby into a Shonda Rhimes, “Scandal”-size gig.

Teaching Change Shout-Outs

For more information on topics discussed during the show, see the list below.

Clean the World

Downtown Credo

Fluente

**Credit: The theme music for Teaching Change is provided by bensound.com.**