Chapter 9: Strategies for Creating Successful Corporate Partnerships

Chapter 9
Schools are designed to help promote higher thinking skills that prepare students for the real world. Business's will partnership with schools for several reasons including: businesses whose products are used for educational purposes, businesses who conduct research, businesses with a financial interest in the educational market, businesses that use education for ostensibly prosocial reasons, and business that use schools for mark (Richards, 2001). Businesses use science, math, and language arts in an interdisciplinary way (Richards, 2001). Many people believe that since schools need money and businesses have it that only good will result in partnerships. However, this is not always the case due to financial disagreements and ethics (Richards, 2001). Richards (2001) discusses several problems that result from partnerships: commercialism and marketing, divergent perception of time, buy-ins, mutually recognized need, ignorance or the education profession or business (Richards, 2001).
BBN and the Co_Nect design is a good example of how partnerships can fail. Instead of allowing time in implementing the new design. Drive can not be finances and a lot of support is needed. Cable in the classroom is a network that act as partners with teachers and partents that provide a free cable connection and commercial-free educational programming. This helps schools with having supplementary classroom materials (Richards, 2001). CNN student Bureau gives older students a chance to publish their work and be recognized on CNN. This is a real world application.
At my school we are partners with a couple businesses such as Harcourt and Breakthrough to Literacy. They provide us with great resources and assistance in furthering our students education.

Richards, J. (2001). Technology in its place: Successful technology infusion in schools. Strategies for creating successful corporate partnerships. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass.