Bringing School Closer to Work Lowers Friction in Parenthood

Friction points are the places in life where people encounter a bottleneck or resistance en route to a goal. Waiting for a call-back after leaving a message with an automated phone attendant is a friction point. So is having to leave or skip work to pick up one’s child at a certain hour, say, 5 pm, when the workday doesn’t end until 6 pm.

“Coworking spaces that have revolutionized the traditional 9-to-5 are turning their attention to the full-time job of parenting.“

—From J Walter Thompson

This item from J Walter Thompson’s newsletter on travel and lifestyle trends describes how WeWork and other co-working operators are removing at least some of the friction inherent in parenthood. Called WeGrow, by combining workspaces with school spaces, this model appeals to today’s growing mass of flexible and gig economy workers. Read the description—the educational model closely resembles what we see on many private, independent school websites. Is this a formidable new competitor? Maybe, but we also see an opportunity for schools, especially those that can credibly claim superior educational expertise. What do you see?