Everyone knows about google. It is a company that provides internet support through search engines, cloud-based systems and much more. They are number three of the world’s most valuable brands and number one of America’s best employers (“Google on Forbes Lists,” n.d.). When trying to get a job at Google, the number one quality they are looking for is learning ability. Second most important is leadership ability, but not in the traditional sense. Google hires people who can become leaders when necessary when working with members of a team. The least important quality they look for is expertise because expertise can be acquired over time (Friedman, 2014).
Google’s philosophy for hiring employees is fantastic. Expertise used to be the most valuable quality in employees, but how do you gain expertise when first starting out? You learn it. If you aren’t able to learn certain things, you won’t succeed. Therefore, expertise is not the valued quality, it is learning ability. The same goes for students. Successful students are not the students who walk into class already knowing how to complete math problems. Successful students are the ones who do not know how to solve the problems, but learn how to do it, then complete the problems.
I believe I prepare my students for getting a job at Google to some extent. I teach my students that hard work, perseverance, and creativity are how students do well in school. Good grades always come from students who show all three of these qualities. Now, good grades are not the only thing students should be striving for, and I’m learning this. However, students get the highest marks in academics and citizenship skills if they work hard, persevere, and are creative. I have my students create presentations on various topics and I allow them time to add pictures, transitions, animations and more. Some students are able to branch out and be creative and some students need more prodding. This is something I want to continue to support my students in.
Our district is focusing on 21st century skills, also known as the four C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (“An Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four Cs,’” n.d.). I believe these four qualities go hand-in-hand with what Google is looking for. I implement projects in my classroom to allow for collaboration and communication between my students. I provide real-world problems that give students the opportunity to use critical thinking skills. And I give my students opportunities to creatively demonstrate their learning using technology on google documents, presentations, forms and sites. I also realize that all of those sentences begin with “I give/implement/provide my students with…” which is something I will be working on next year. I would like to have my students be more active in their learning and develop their own projects, problems and products. I believe this will better prepare them for a job at Google. However, I’m relieved to know that I am somewhat preparing for the future. Now, I just need a little bit of fine tuning.
Resources
An Educator's Guide to the "Four Cs" (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2015,
from http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=3
Google on Forbes Lists. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.forbes.com/companies/google/
Google’s philosophy for hiring employees is fantastic. Expertise used to be the most valuable quality in employees, but how do you gain expertise when first starting out? You learn it. If you aren’t able to learn certain things, you won’t succeed. Therefore, expertise is not the valued quality, it is learning ability. The same goes for students. Successful students are not the students who walk into class already knowing how to complete math problems. Successful students are the ones who do not know how to solve the problems, but learn how to do it, then complete the problems.
I believe I prepare my students for getting a job at Google to some extent. I teach my students that hard work, perseverance, and creativity are how students do well in school. Good grades always come from students who show all three of these qualities. Now, good grades are not the only thing students should be striving for, and I’m learning this. However, students get the highest marks in academics and citizenship skills if they work hard, persevere, and are creative. I have my students create presentations on various topics and I allow them time to add pictures, transitions, animations and more. Some students are able to branch out and be creative and some students need more prodding. This is something I want to continue to support my students in.
Our district is focusing on 21st century skills, also known as the four C’s: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (“An Educator’s Guide to the ‘Four Cs,’” n.d.). I believe these four qualities go hand-in-hand with what Google is looking for. I implement projects in my classroom to allow for collaboration and communication between my students. I provide real-world problems that give students the opportunity to use critical thinking skills. And I give my students opportunities to creatively demonstrate their learning using technology on google documents, presentations, forms and sites. I also realize that all of those sentences begin with “I give/implement/provide my students with…” which is something I will be working on next year. I would like to have my students be more active in their learning and develop their own projects, problems and products. I believe this will better prepare them for a job at Google. However, I’m relieved to know that I am somewhat preparing for the future. Now, I just need a little bit of fine tuning.
Resources
An Educator's Guide to the "Four Cs" (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2015,
from http://www.nea.org/tools/52217.htm
Friedman, T. (2014, February 22). How to Get a Job at Google. Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/23/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-to-get-a-job-at-google.html?_r=3
Google on Forbes Lists. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2015, from
http://www.forbes.com/companies/google/