Google Mentality

Greetings,

As I think about the future of education, I wonder what it will look and feel like for the teachers and staff. I read an article about the amenities that Google provides its employees and think about how they could apply to schools. In the Insider article by Lucy Yang, she listed 13 benefits of Google employees. A few that I think can be applied to schools are the breakfast/lunch counters, fitness gym, health and wellness programs, and collaborative spaces. Schools obviously don’t have the same funds as Google, but could create partnerships with companies and the community to take care of their educators. One complaint that hinders or decreases the retention rate is the lack of teacher appreciation, low wages, and lack of time. As a leader, I would like to create an environment that met the teacher’s daily needs. I believe that if you take care of the teachers, then they will take care of the students. Some of the complaints and difficulties I have experienced as well as my colleagues are scheduling appointments, such as, haircuts, oil changes, etc. Many teachers arrive early before many businesses open and stay later for various reasons, so they miss companies business hours.

I believe a school could collaborate with different food businesses to provide meals for teachers. I know it would not be feasible for companies to donate food and I would not expect that. However, with technology you could pay with card or ahead of time for meal plans similar to that of colleges. An advantage to having food partnerships on campus is that teachers would not have to leave and it would maximize their time.  This also benefits the restaurants or caterers because it opens a new market to them. In addition, research shows that students take more ownership when they have choice and the same goes for adults. This collaboration will help teachers feel invested and appreciated. Some examples would be to have a Starbucks similar to that of a hotel or grocery store. Nothing that would be too permanent or too space consuming, but enough to allow teachers to feel appreciated. Another example would be a rotation of food places each day of the week, for example Food truck Friday.

I think schools could easily promote health and wellness as well as fitness because many of the features are already in place. At the high school, most schools have a weight room, so it would be easy to open it up to teachers for specific hours. In addition, you could invite yoga, Zumba, or other types of fitness classes on to campus. Research agrees that an active fitness routine will help energy levels throughout the day.  Often, I think schools are underutilized and confined by traditional roles. My vision is to create a place where teachers could take care of all their needs without ever leaving. This way when they do go home they are truly going home, not have to run errands. I want to create partnerships with the community that benefit all stakeholders.

In addition, schools need to increase the amount of collaborative spaces for teachers and students. Some of the greatest work begins in some of the strangest places. People need an environment that allows them to get comfortable which opens the door for genuine collaboration. I think halls and main walkways should have some flexible seating and marker boards that promote creativity. Also, schools need to have a professional development section to enable them to grow in their practices. A place where teachers can find books on educational practices and philosophies, as well as, guides for certification and other test like the GRE. 

http://www.thisisinsider.com/coolest-perks-of-working-at-google-in-2017-2017-7#googlers-can-attend-or-help-organize-talks-at-google-a-program-that-lets-employees-bring-in-speakers-who-interest-them-3.