Google Prep Classes

Every class that I teach is designed to prepare students for college.  If a student enrolls in this course, does that mean they should be going to college?  But, which college am I preparing them for:  Harvard or Community College?

What if instead of College Prep courses, we designed Google Prep courses?

 I came across this article on Twitter today about the hiring process at Google and I wanted to highlight a couple of key points.

1. GPA doesn't matter--Google has found that GPA is not an indicator of any success in the company nor does where you went to college or if you even went to college.
2. Informal leadership is more important than elected positions.  Leaders are people who step up and take the lead when part of a team, but also know how to be part of the team and let others take the lead when necessary.
3. Expertise will hurt you. They don't want someone who has done a task a hundred times. They want people who will take a novel approach to solve the problem. Even if the solution to the problem is the same as what has always been done, it has been seen with a fresh set of eyes.

Google, one of the most successful companies in the world, cares more about employees who are passionate, are resourceful, and are imaginative in their solutions.  Shouldn't we be teaching these skills to our students instead of simply preparing them for college, especially when the best companies don't even care about having a degree?

Just food for thought.