Chapter 9

Chapter 9 addresses the role corporations play with schools and integrating technology.

The relationship between schools and corporations should be mutually beneficial. In simplified terms, businesses have the money while schools offer positive P.R. and potential consumers. When the two sides manage to work together, both can reap great rewards. More often than not the partnerships fail for reasons such as poor marketing, over commercialism, of just plain ignorance (Richards, 2001).

I found it interesting Richards noted that the type of corporation influences what the agenda of the corporation is (Richards, 2001), and that really is true! Few businesses are going to donate money to a school without something in return. That something can vary from looking for good citizens and potential employees (good) to using schools as a means to exploit marketing opportunities (bad) (Richards, 2001). While money is a powerful aphrodisiac, it is our responsibility as educators to follow the code of the NEA and see that activities are responsible and educational, not irresponsible and exploitative.

I do have one real world example of a business partnership I have experienced in my brief teaching career, albeit on a tiny scale. This year I contacted Caribou Coffee about supplying free coffee and paper products for a "Poetry Cafe" in the library at Chancellor for my Creative Writing kids to read their poetry (ala the various coffee houses). Caribou happily obliged and really did not ask for anything overt in return....although their logo was on the cups, napkins, creamers, spoons, and coffee machine. To me that was a fair trade: free product that added legitimacy to my poetry reading environment in exchange for some logo recognition.

Incidentally, before anyone attacks me for turning today's youth into javaheads, we also offered an array of 100% fruit juices, bottled water, fruit, and other healthy alternative snacks. The coffee was mostly for the "coffee house effect" and the adults (although many kids do hangout at Starbucks, et al., and did have a cup). This is also just a twice per year event: once in January and then again in April (Poetry Month).

Anyway, bottom line is corporations and schools can work together (corporations certainly have the capital that schools need to build great things!), we just need to make sure that the dollar signs do not blind us to what is "right" for the kids. As long as nobody is being exploited or discriminated against, business/education partnerships can work.

Resource:


Richards, J. (2001). Strategies for Creating Successful Corporate Partnerships. In Collier, C. & LeBaron, J.F. (Eds.). Technology in its Place: Successful Technology Infusion in Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc.