José Montero He is a journalist and father of five children. He has specialized in business communication for more than thirty years. He is the promoter of the most varied business initiatives related to journalism, the environment and education, among which are a forum of sustainable companies, a scientific platform for entrepreneurs and one of the first magazines in Spain specialized in threatened nature. It is also present on the Internet through a nature news blog and a digital newspaper on renewable energy. And for two years he is actively working on Thamer Creative School, the first company in Spain specialized in entrepreneurial training at an early age.
What is Thamer Creative School?
Thamer Creative School is an educational project, promoted by a group of parents, teachers, pedagogues and entrepreneurs, and aimed at forming the entrepreneurial mindset at an early age from 6 to 14 years old. It is born from the conviction that entrepreneurial skills can be acquired from the early years of childhood, when the neuronal activity of children is more intense and it is more natural to stimulate their innate creative and discovering spirit.
The word Thamer, which is of Arabic origin, means "he who begins the way"
What are the activities carried out at Thamer Creative School?
Thamer Creative School activities are carried out in extracurricular hours, and we call them Practical Learning Cases, an original educational formula, created by our pedagogical team that combines creativity, play and learning around the solution of a specific case that is always related to the stimulation of a certain entrepreneurial skill. These case studies vary depending on the ages of the students and the entrepreneurial skills we promote and constitute a very solid training framework that guarantees the effective learning of the entrepreneurial mindset. This is precisely one of the things that distinguishes us from other initiatives, and that is that in Thamer we do not just offer a series of activities, but we apply a whole method specially designed to effectively train, and not only stimulate, the capabilities entrepreneurs of the kids.
What skills are worked at Thamer Creative School
Our Educational Method does not pursue that the boys learn a series of knowledge or subjects related to the world of the company or the economy, but that they acquire a series of abilities and skills that are those that for us constitute the entrepreneurial mentality. These skills have been identified after a joint effort of pedagogues and businessmen who were asked what they thought were the essential skills in an entrepreneur.
The Method thus brings together ten skills that are the pillar of the entrepreneurial mindset, and range from leadership to the ability to know one's thinking, work as a team or gather information.
What we pretend is that the values that underlie what children consider a game when they set up a candy stand or something like that, do not remain in mere children's entertainment, but rather be the beginning of their integral development. What we want in Thamer is not the training of small entrepreneurs, but something much more valuable that is related to the ability of children to solve their own problems, the art of governing themselves and the ability to control complexity, and this It is, for us, the entrepreneurial mindset.
What value does a school like Thamer Creative School bring to traditional education?
At Thamer Creative School, we are committed to a very innovative educational model, which drinks almost twenty educational experiences from different countries of the world, recognized for their results of school success, maturity of students and full satisfaction between parents. From these experiences come some values that we could call traditional, such as respect for others and especially towards the teacher, the value of punctuality and effort, or the ability to overcome failures and learn from mistakes. And also other innovative elements such as permanent self-evaluation, which allows the student to know at all times the result of their learning, and is, for us, one of the keys to self-motivation and self-esteem.
What shortcomings have you identified in the Spanish educational programs
The Spanish education system is very complex, and is currently being questioned by a large number of parents, education professionals and educational authorities, which shows that, although it brings together positive elements, it requires an urgent review and implementation up to date. As regards the formation of the entrepreneurial mindset, we consider that it should not be focused as the learning of certain subjects such as economics or business.
We think that it should be rather a transversal training, since it should not pursue the acquisition of knowledge, but rather a series of skills that allow life to be approached from an entrepreneurial perspective.
How children with an entrepreneurial mindset can change the world
It is not up to the children to change the world. They have to learn and train. And then, when they leave childhood, if they have done well, they will be able to face their life and that of their environment from entrepreneurial positions, that is, in a spirit of initiative, eagerness to discover and ability to innovate. And, of course, a child who reaches maturity with that baggage in the backpack, will be able to change the world.
It is possible to work the creativity of children at home involving parents
Of course yes. And not only is it possible, but it is essential. A child who is not surrounded by a creative or entrepreneurial environment will hardly acquire that mentality. On the contrary: a child who lives in a family climate in which creativity is in full swing, the desire to discover is stimulated, risk is conceived as a possibility of growth, or is taught to turn ideas into acts, It is in the best conditions to acquire a solid entrepreneurial mindset. Therefore, parents should be involved in this task. They do not need to do anything extraordinary. Many times we say that it is enough that they do not inhibit the discovery spirit of the children, and that they always answer their questions and concerns. We also advise that you read in your company, slowly, enjoying and learning what you read. And of course, they should not pretend to be a model of wisdom, but of learning, something essential in the entrepreneurial mindset in that it stimulates the eagerness to overcome difficulties and continuous effort.
What techniques and materials are used in Thamer
At Thamer Creative School we intend for children to develop in an environment of creativity and permanent education, for which we use our own methodology, based on the resolution of practical cases that encourage the learning of specific entrepreneurial skills. We also instill the intelligent management of digital media, and from the first day each student has their own digital tablet, which is their usual notebook of notes, and Internet access in a dosed form depending on their age. The teachers have all received specific training to impart this educational method, and they are also bilingual, since the activities are all developed in English and Spanish.
What expansion plans does Thamer have for the future
At the moment, we are consolidating the first Thamer Creative School center, in Seville, and from 2013 we will expand the model under the franchise formula to other capitals of Spain, from which we have already received some applications, in addition to opening new own centers . We are also promoting a specific model, aimed at schools that want to teach the Thamer Method in their own facilities as an extracurricular activity. And in parallel, we are beginning to provide training to primary and secondary school teachers, interested in developing entrepreneurial training modules in their own schools. For the holiday period we have already planned the Entrepreneurs Camps, during which we will develop our methodology intensively and accompanied by other recreational activities. We will also soon launch the Thamer Foundation, which will be dedicated to raising funds to continue researching in the field of entrepreneurial mindset training at an early age.
How much does it cost to access the activities of the Thamer Creative School
The price of our activities varies greatly depending on some circumstances such as format, payment method, single family tuition or the number of siblings. But in general terms it is equivalent to that of any language school for children, about 50-60 euros per month. We are convinced that the price is no obstacle for parents who want and effectively value this type of training.
So far the interview with José Montero of Thamer Creative School, leader of an initiative launched by a group of parents and pedagogues in Seville aimed at promoting the entrepreneurial mindset of children between 6 and 14 years old. We congratulate José and his team for the initiative and we are sure that they will stimulate the innate creative and innovative spirit of the little ones.
In addition, José has sent us 15 questions and answers about Thamer We reproduce below for all those parents who want to get more information. We also include access to the web page to have a global vision of the project.
What is THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL?
Thamer Creative School © is a pioneering educational initiative, specialized in the entrepreneurial training of young people from an early age. It was born with the objective of extending the entrepreneurial culture in our society, for which it considers it essential to stimulate it from the first years of childhood.
Who promotes it
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © is created and promoted by a group of parents, entrepreneurs, teachers and educators, concerned with finding effective formulas that help improve the response of children and young people to the challenge of innovation, creativity and entrepreneurial mindset.
Who is it for?
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © is designed to foster entrepreneurial mentality in children of all cultures and mentalities, from six to fourteen years of age.
Is there any educational method
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © is based on the Thamer © Method, a pioneering educational formula with great educational wealth, the result of more than a year of research by pedagogues and neuro-learning experts, which stimulates innovation and entrepreneurship of young people , guaranteeing their learning from an early age.
What is the Thamer © Method?
It is a unique educational method specifically designed for entrepreneurial training, which is developed based on ten entrepreneurial skills and ten learning subjects, in addition to two unique elements, which are the Student Engagement Agreement and Self-Assessment.
What does the Thamer Method ©
The Thamer © Method is designed to stimulate the entrepreneurial mindset of young people and train them in a technically efficient way. It does not pursue the training of entrepreneurs, but of young people with innovative spirit and ability to undertake, who are able to face their future from positions of autonomy, initiative, self-confidence and commitment to society.
What is meant by entrepreneurial mindset
The Thamer Method © understands the entrepreneurial mindset as a way of facing life, characterized by three basic elements: the spirit of initiative ("Thamer" means in Arabic "the one who starts the way"), the eagerness to discover and the ability to innovate, composed in turn by the sum of effort, determination and vision of the future.
Why it starts at such early ages
One of the greatest successes of THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © is in the evidence that the entrepreneurial mentality must be acquired by young people in the early years of childhood, when their neuronal activity acquires greater intensity and it is more natural to stimulate their innate creative and innovative spirit.
How does it work
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © educational centers carry out their activities in extracurricular hours, one day a week from Monday to Friday in the afternoon, and on Saturday mornings, in two-hour sessions.
What the activities consist of
The activities consist of practical cases that make learning fun and stimulating and demanding.
Students learn something else
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © students also learn English and new technologies, since all activities take place in a bilingual and digital context. The teachers are all bilingual. All students have a digital tablet, which is their usual practice and learning notebook.
It is not too much burden for students
The Thamer © Method and the activities of THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © are designed so that learning becomes fun and exciting, which does not generate excessive work or heavy obligations on students. In addition, by their own methodology, the activities they develop help them improve their school performance.
Who are the THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © teachers?
THAMER CREATIVE SCHOOL © teachers are all university graduates, bilingual, with pedagogical experience and a deep knowledge of the entrepreneurial abilities of young people. They have been trained in the Thamer © Method, and every year they update this specialization.
Parents can participate in this training
Parents not only can, but must participate in the formation of the entrepreneurial mindset of their children, thus making it much more complete and effective. For this, they have the permanent advice of the teachers and at least two tutorials a year.
What guarantee of the results
Much of the success of the Thamer Method © lies in the so-called Commitment Contract, an agreement that obliges parents, teachers and students to fulfill a series of basic duties, on whose observation the results of learning ultimately depend.
