Entrepreneurial Mindset More Important than Ever

March 31, 2020

Italian teacher Armando Persico has an impressive track record with his JA students: 16 European national prizes, four Italian national competitions, and 800 jobs that his former students have created. Named JA-YE European Teacher of the Year in 2010 and recipient of the JA Italy Ambassador Award in 2011, Armando, who turned from accounting to teaching in 1996, focuses on entrepreneurship and financial literacy in his classroom.

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, normal life has come to a screeching halt—and that includes traditional education models. Students are not gathering in classrooms and teachers are not leading groups in person. On top of that, economies and businesses have suffered, the full consequences of which are still to be seen.

Hailing from Bergamo, Italy—widely considered to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Europe—Armando and his family know the impact of the pandemic firsthand. Nevertheless, Armando, a 2017 Global Teacher Prize finalist, continues to promote entrepreneurship education. He has already seen students jumping to help, some using 3D printers to create personal protective equipment for hospitals. Armando calls this “a reaction of the entrepreneurial mindset.” Watch his video, below, for more.

Armando believes in the power of entrepreneurship education. “Teachers not only have to teach to transfer knowledge to students,” he said, “but in this moment, teachers have to transfer their trust in the future.“ It is up to today’s students to rebuild tomorrow’s economy, and that’s where JA comes in. Work readiness, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship are hallmarks of JA’s programs in over 100 countries around the world. We’re working with students, teachers, and volunteers now, and we’ll be here when the pandemic passes.