Johnny has been paying attention in Social Studies class recently. Which is an improvement from his paper airplane phase.

Yesterday, we had an interesting conversation about entrepreneurship.

Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to the teacher’s weekly emails. I make note of his spelling list and high frequency words. But I rarely read the specifics regarding curriculum. So I had no idea that the teacher has been presenting an economics unit.

Here’s a sampler of the past weeks’ lessons. It partly explains Johnny’s newly espoused views on entrepreneurship.

Social Studies: Week 23 – Goods and Services: Producers make goods or provide services and consumers buy goods or services.

Social Studies: Week 24 – Supply and Demand: We will learn about economic principles that affect our choices as consumers, such as supply, demand, and scarcity.

Social Studies: Week 25 – Jobs: People earn pay or income in exchange for work.

Social Studies: Week 26 – Spending and Saving: Students will learn the difference between spending and saving money. They will learn that they can make goals for their money and use banks to keep their money safe. Students will learn how donating money can help others.

I’m rather impressed with those objectives. Surely his 1st grade class is ready for lessons on venture capital, inflation, and cryptocurrency. Now that you have the background, here’s the conversation as it happened.

Johnny: “Mom, can you give me a definition of an entrepreneur?”

Me: “Um, it’s someone who has a new idea or a new approach for a business.”

Johnny: “Do we know any entrepreneurs?”

Me: “Well, think of the people on Shark Tank. Those are entrepreneurs.”

Johnny: “So, those people on the show have an idea and they want someone else’s money?”

Me: “Yes. They are looking for someone to invest in their idea and give them money to grow their business.”

Johnny: “Did you know that most new businesses fail in the first five years?”

Me: “No, not exactly, but I’m not surprised.”

Johnny: “That’s right, Mom, You’ve got to have a good product at the right price point.”

He ran off to shoot baskets while I finished dinner. As I watched him from the kitchen window, I had one thought:

If I could bottle that personality and sell it by the ounce, I’d make a fortune.