Larry Page, Google's CEO, encouraged attendees at an event back in 2012 to have a healthy disregard for the impossible.
It's this message that he's infused into the workplace and work environment at Google which has resulted in revenue growth at IPO date of around $800 million to now just under $20 billion... quite remarkable really.
Having said that, what if this kind of mentality and mindset was infused into the educational setting? How would this type of approach affect education and impact the overall structure and organization?
There are almost 4 million educators and nearly 50 million students in the United States who are literally shaping and writing the future of our existence. It's the ideas being discussed in classrooms around the world and the concepts being taught that ultimately define what we believe and how we engage in this crazy thing we call 'life.'
Traditionally speaking, and true more often than not, educators tend to play it safe and tend to be those who are good at doing what they are told. Many educators were the 'good' kids in school and tended to excel in a schooling model that rewarded compliance and obedience.
The world we live in now has shown time and time again that it's rewarding and acknowledging those who aren't just thinking outside the box, but rather those who are literally creating an entirely different box.
It's this thirst and unyielding commitment to transforming life as we know it that is so vigorously sought by society. Society yearns for 'new' and demands for 'different' yet we are still working within a schooling model that wants compliance and obedience.
What if instead of saying 'we can't,' we started saying 'why not?'
What if instead of reprimanding those who question 'why' and instead empowered them to be a part of determining the 'what' based on their own individual 'whys?'
What if we encouraged students and educators to challenge the status quo by rewarding and acknowledging those who go against the grain rather than those who merely drift with the current?
What if the impossible wasn't something we feared and avoided but rather something we focused on obtaining and exploring further?
The next Google won't be born out of talking about and focusing on what's already possible.
The next Google will be born out of solving a problem somebody previously said was impossible to solve...
The next Google will come from an insatiable appetite of being challenged with something others avoided.
The next Google is in our classrooms and in our schools right now... let's make sure we are removing the barriers and unleashing a tidal wave of excitement toward making the impossible possible!
It's this message that he's infused into the workplace and work environment at Google which has resulted in revenue growth at IPO date of around $800 million to now just under $20 billion... quite remarkable really.
Having said that, what if this kind of mentality and mindset was infused into the educational setting? How would this type of approach affect education and impact the overall structure and organization?
Traditionally speaking, and true more often than not, educators tend to play it safe and tend to be those who are good at doing what they are told. Many educators were the 'good' kids in school and tended to excel in a schooling model that rewarded compliance and obedience.
The world we live in now has shown time and time again that it's rewarding and acknowledging those who aren't just thinking outside the box, but rather those who are literally creating an entirely different box.
It's this thirst and unyielding commitment to transforming life as we know it that is so vigorously sought by society. Society yearns for 'new' and demands for 'different' yet we are still working within a schooling model that wants compliance and obedience.
What if instead of saying 'we can't,' we started saying 'why not?'
What if instead of reprimanding those who question 'why' and instead empowered them to be a part of determining the 'what' based on their own individual 'whys?'
What if we encouraged students and educators to challenge the status quo by rewarding and acknowledging those who go against the grain rather than those who merely drift with the current?
What if the impossible wasn't something we feared and avoided but rather something we focused on obtaining and exploring further?
The next Google won't be born out of talking about and focusing on what's already possible.
The next Google will be born out of solving a problem somebody previously said was impossible to solve...
The next Google will come from an insatiable appetite of being challenged with something others avoided.
The next Google is in our classrooms and in our schools right now... let's make sure we are removing the barriers and unleashing a tidal wave of excitement toward making the impossible possible!