It’s been a busy couple of days in our classroom at Wisper, and I’m watching something pretty special begin to happen.

Our students are still getting acclimated to this very different style of learning. Before we invite guest speakers into our classroom or head out for site visits, there’s always preparation that needs to happen first. We’ve been spending time building the business skills that truly matter.

Sometimes that looks like practicing a handshake.

Sometimes it’s role-playing a phone call to a business owner.

Sometimes it means standing up in front of the class and speaking, even when your comfort zone is telling you to stay seated.

And sometimes it looks like closing your eyes, letting your imagination expand, and thinking about the questions you might want to ask a business owner, entrepreneur or community leader when you visit their business.

Little by little, I can see the walls coming down.

They’re getting more comfortable with each other. They’re getting more comfortable with me. And that 6:50 arrival time doesn’t seem quite as daunting as it did a few days ago.

Most importantly, they’re beginning to get comfortable with their own voices.

Our group is becoming a safe space for sharing ideas, brainstorming, taking chances and asking questions. And they’re learning that there really is no such thing as a dumb question or a wrong answer when you’re learning.

Tomorrow, we welcome our first guest speaker into our classroom.

They’re excited.

And maybe a little nervous.

Honestly, I think that’s exactly where they should be.

If you’ve been enjoying seeing what happens inside Silver Creek Area CEO, please take a moment to click the Follow button on our page.

Our students watch this page. They see the comments. They notice the growing number of people who are paying attention to what they’re doing. And every bit of that community support is another way you can encourage them and remind them that what they’re doing matters.

You may think it’s just a click.

To them, it means so much more.