Tips on joining the conversation.

We’ve been asked about the best ways to get involved. There are endless possibilities for helping us build up The Startup Classroom. Here are a few tips on how you can join the conversation:

Take a course.

Whether you're a teacher, entrepreneur, or a community member interested in the world of education, continued learning is always important. Join one of our courses here.

Learn more.

Read beyond the headlines. From the Common Core to the Maker movement, there is more going on in education than ever before. And its future is in our hands.  

Start a conversation.

Ask deep questions in the spirit of inquiry, not judgment. Talk to a teacher, your neighbor, your kid, a college student, a politician. Or join a ongoing conversation. Teachers are on Twitter like no one else, so find a few. Eavesdrop at first if you must, but we know eventually you’ll raise your hand.

Connect with your local school.

If you have school-age children, you probably already are connected. Take another step. Approach a different school or teacher. Bring what you’ve learned and find out how it applies (or doesn’t) to that particular school or those particular students.  

Offer your time.

Ask how you can help. Really. Maybe it’s being in the classroom to do whatever needs doing. Maybe it’s more. Can you be a mentor, for students or for a teacher? Invite them into your world and spend time in theirs.

Host a group.

At your business or at your home, you can bring a whole class or invite a few teachers and business people to share a meal and ideas.

Facts + Figures

Teachers make as much as 3,000 important decisions each day. (Danielson, A Framework for Teaching, 1996)

Teachers engage in over 1,000 interpersonal interchanges each day. (Murray, 1986)

Teachers are the most likely professionals to say they smiled or laughed a lot yesterday — 88%.

Teachers’ level of stress is second only to physicians, with 47% saying they experience it daily.

Relevant Reading

Business + Education

See how business is building new partnerships with the nation’s school system. “Lasting Impact: A Business Leader’s Playbook for Supporting America’s Schools,”

Learn ways business leaders can help students achieve more in school and be better prepared for the workforce. http://www.nj.com/education/2014/02/businesses_are_changing_way_they_support_education_report_finds.html

If you were offered a job that paid an average annual salary of $49,000 and required you to work 12- to 16-hour days, would you take it? See the new infographic that shows what the average U.S. teacher can expect when walking into a classroom.

The latest numbers on teachers’ work hours.  http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/08/how-many-hours-do-educators-actually-work