Jessica Hannan writes at I4U that Elon Musk pulled his children out of an established school after discovering they weren't receiving the quality of education that catered to their abilities and built his own school with only 14 students whose parents are primarily SpaceX employees. Musk wants to eliminate grades so there's no distinction between students in 1st grade and 3rd and students focus on the important elements of each subject. By integrating the thinking process to include a progressive step-by-step approach, children will be challenged and able to understand result through a systemic pattern. "Let's say you're trying to teach people about how engines work. A more traditional approach would be saying, 'we're going to teach all about screwdrivers and wrenches.' This is a very difficult way to do it." Instead, Musk says it makes more sense to give students an engine and then work to disassemble it. "How are we going to take it apart? You need a screwdriver." When you show "what the screwdriver is for," Musk explains "a very important thing happens" because students then witness the relevancy of task, tool, and solution in a long term application."
According to Hannan, Musk's approach to delete grade level numbers and focus on aptitude may take the pressure off non-linear students and creates a more balanced assessment of ingenuity. Admitting books were "comforting" to him as a child and to reading everything from science fiction to the encyclopedia and philosophers from "morning to night," Musk points out that not everyone will be strong in every subject, or be able to retain regurgitated standardized aptitude facts beyond the test. "It makes more sense to cater the education to match their aptitudes and abilities." So far, Ad Astra "seems to be going pretty well," according to Musk. "The kids really love going to school."
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:41AM
q: what do you want to be when you grow up?
a: a basketball player
beep! wrong answer. let's try that again
q: what do you want to be when you grow up?
a: a rocket scientist
ding! correct answer
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:48AM
This seems more like a good tutoring/mentoring environment, not a school. Is there a reason Musk calls it a school, instead of just saying that he's hiring tutors for his kids (and some of his friends'/employees' kids)?
From memory, students usually do better with a more favorable student:teacher ratio. Musk can afford to make this fractional (more teachers than students), and he can also pick and choose to find good/inspirational/[insert positive trait here] teachers/tutors.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:57AM
This seems more like a good tutoring/mentoring environment, not a school.
So schools are not supposed to be tutoring/mentoring environments? What does school mean to you then - daycare?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by kaszz on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:12AM
Shaping future working drones and keeping the offspring of everybody's lawn, even their own parents.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:24AM
I pity your bitterness. I'm figuring it is from thinking yourself so brilliant that school was holding you back because they had to cater to the unwashed masses, thus your disdain for "the sheeple" or "Joe Sixpack".
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:21PM
Or maybe the GP just went to public school. Public schools (in the US) do seem to be set up this way. IIRC, my high school principal would refer to the school as a plant, as in an industrial plant spitting out it's product, students. A system that does its best to be efficient (for some definition of efficient) by treating 50 million kids as if they are identical, is not a system that is trying to help every student reach their full potential. It's a system that is trying to create 'working drones'. It's also inhumane. My interpretation was that the GP was complaining about the public school system, not the students.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @08:39PM
Or maybe he is just projecting all his perceived faults and failures upon his primary school upbringing. "You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, public school."
Besides, the UK system is horrible too. I saw all about it in this biography [imdb.com].
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:20AM
Rich guy sends his kid to private school. News at 11.
This is fine and all, and it is great for him that he has the resources to do it for his kids, but it isn't the kind of thing that scales to tens of thousands of kids.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:14PM
This is slightly different, as it's "Rich guy sends his kids to private school that he himself owns and that he created for exactly that purpose."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Dunbal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:29PM
but it isn't the kind of thing that scales to tens of thousands of kids.
They said the same about Tesla and SpaceX. Musk is a pretty cool guy, myself I'll wait and see.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by tibman on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:49PM
Careful, it's uncool to like him now. I was an instant fan back in 2005 when reading a torn up Popular Science about his desire to start a space company and retire on Mars. Most people like him now because they bought Tesla stock before it went through the roof. But other than that he is seen as an eccentric rich guy, not the engineer that he is. I don't think everything he does is perfect. But i think he actually attempts to solve problems and not just pump people for money. His riches are deserved.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Wednesday May 27 2015, @05:16PM
Cool or not I don't care. I like him (too). He's made more money than he'll ever need and I think all his latest enterprises (SpaceX, Tesla, SolarCity etc) have more to do with his vision of the future than just making money. Of course he wants them to be profitable, otherwise the ideas die with him. But he's got the guts to put his money on the line, develop his ideas and bring them to market.
(Score: 1) by Placenta on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:45AM
It sounds like Montessori education [wikipedia.org] to me.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:30AM
I'll find Elon Musk an interesting person. Not only does he have money. He also have the brain and vision to make use of them efficiently.
Some I4U snippets I found interesting:
The article also mentions that the current approach in the USA may be a hindrance for someone who prefers to read or learns through visual mediums instead of texts.
Perhaps Musk students will be way better off than standard school students?
(Score: 2) by wantkitteh on Wednesday May 27 2015, @12:21PM
Of course Musk's school's students will be better off, the per-pupil KPIs will be off the charts compared to regular schools. The challenge is to take the lessons learned from the approach he's taking and work out which ones can be applied to improve education for the less well off. I think the counter-intuitive method of starting with the practical problems and working back to teaching the tools would have done wonders for me personally, I guess we can only wait for the experimental educational establishments like this to bootstrap themselves to a large enough sample of students before we can tell whether it works for everyone in general.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:14PM
Is there any reason to believe the students will be barred from university due to lack of a standard grades?
Perhaps the same could be said of high school.
Btw, is primary school level?
(Score: 2) by wantkitteh on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:09PM
I could definitely see an admissions department frowning and doing a WTF when they saw the application with no grades on it at all, although that's what covering letters are for. It's up to Musk et al to ensure that they aren't hamstringing the futures of their budding offspring, either by getting them the recognised qualifications they need somewhere along the way, or intervening in the applications process themselves to ensure their kids aren't sold short.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:16PM
I think just having a piece of paper with Musk's signature on it would get your foot as far through any college door (that was worth going to) as it needed to be.
When has anything, including academia, been about WHAT you know, instead of WHO?
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 27 2015, @04:33PM
What I'm not understanding, at least not yet, is the difference between what Musk is proposing and the existing Montessori methods. Montessori is all about learning via exploration and problem solving rather than sitting in neat rows of desks, and that seems to be exactly what Musk is talking about doing.
I will say this much: so-called "traditional" methods aren't all that effective in tying what a child is learning in school with actually being able to do something they weren't able to do before.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by kaszz on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:07PM
Einstein deplored the rote learning of his time (and joining the military).
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:37AM
However, this only works on the small scale, where you can practically actually mentor everyone. And it costs proportionally more. But it's worth spending money on for those who will benefit the most from it. For the masses, the conveyor belt will still be the only cost-effective way. There's no contradiction in coexistence.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Covalent on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:00PM
This is the problem. Everyone in education knows how to produce amazing education: Lots of teachers. If you have a teacher who can focus on just a few kids, that teacher can tailor instruction just for those kids. Most teachers would be amazingly successful in that arena.
But now imagine you're a high school teacher with 209 students. This number is not unusual, by the way. Just remembering their NAMES is tough duty, much less the intricacies of their strengths and weaknesses. Even the best teacher can't tailor specific instruction to that many people, and so some kids get stuff that is too easy, some kids get stuff that is too hard, and many kids get stuff that is too boring, so they tune out.
If you really want to improve education, the answer is the same as it is for software engineering, or having a space program, or fine dining: You get what you pay for. Get those class sizes way down, pay teachers a lot more money, and you'll see impressive results. But if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.
http://parentsacrossamerica.org/what-finland-and-asia-tell-us-about-real-education-reform/ [parentsacrossamerica.org]
You can't rationally argue somebody out of a position they didn't rationally get into.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:15PM
Keep your eyes on the radar for stories about the Estonian. That's where I'm currently paying my not-quite-as-horricic tax bills, and the education system does seem to be patting itself on the back fairly often nowadays when international comparisons are published.
Clearly, if you want your education system improved - find me a job in your country!
(However, a side effect of this is that you will also adopt the Euro within 2 years. The UK doesn't want me back!)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @08:20PM
everything is eventually paid for by taxes
What a novel perspective.
I guess that makes me a crazy socialist.
Any moment now, someone will try to declare the so-that-everyone-has-enough meme a pejorative and say "Greed is good. It works".
you will also adopt the Euro within 2 years
You must have missed how Greece is struggling to make their payments this time and how it looks like the next time they simply won't.
You can't get blood from a stone.
The just-completed local elections in Spain had major wins for The Left and anti-austerity and anti-corruption.
They have national elections mandated before December 22.
What it looks like to me is that the days of the Eurozone are numbered.
Greece will stop saluting the greedy German bankers and will exit the Euro to be joined by Podemos.
The house of cards that never offered any advantage to the little countries will then collapse.
-- gewg_
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday May 28 2015, @07:18AM
And I've noticed that Greece and Spain have been struggling for 40 endless years, it's nothing to do with the Euro. Between the 70s and 90s, in the spirit of European cooperation, Germany was paying on average about 9 billion quid into an EC pot per year, and Spain was being funded to the tune of #9bn per year too. The UK was only paying about #6bn/yr into that pot, and Greece was being propped up to the tune of #6bn. Those two have *always* been charity cases.
The german bankers aren't greedy - they're bitter.
Your final sentence is ignorant bollocks. I live in one of the little countries, and we've benefitted enormously.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @08:29PM
If the German banksters are so much better, why is it that are they giving loans to entities that obviously can't pay them back?
What Germany is is a flock of vultures.
In 1953, Germany got half its debt written off by its debtors.
...yet Germany won't make a similar move for Greece.
This doesn't even cover the damage that Germany did to Greece during the invasion and occupation of that country.
Germany is not better; it is predatory and evil--and that goes back a lot of decades too.
-- gewg_
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Wednesday May 27 2015, @08:17PM
Teacher pay is actually not bad in most places (since most of SN is in the US, this is true in most States [teacherportal.com]), compared to other professions with similar demands. Whatever teachers say, in most places they do get a lot of time off, and during the school year they don't work more overtime than other professions. Class size is also pretty reasonable, ranging anywhere from 20 to 35 - and the larger sizes actually tend to be in places with better school performance (stereotypically, more rural locations). The problems lie elsewhere.
First, "everyone in education" does not know how to produce amazing results. The education majors are, let's be honest here, far from the best and brightest. Individual exceptions, sure, but on average they're not exactly rocket scientists.
Second, it would be fine that education majors aren't brilliant, if they only taught through early primary school. By 5th or 6th grade, a teacher needs solid knowledge of the subject matter being taught - and needs to be better at it that than even the good students. That means that teachers must have degrees in their subject material, with a few courses on the side in pedagogy. That's how it is in most countries that do well on things like PISA. However, in the USA and the UK, you can have a education major who barely passed a couple of math courses teaching calculus - and that's just pathetic.
Anecdote: I went to school in the US, and I was better at math than my public school teachers, starting around 6th grade. I'm good at math, but I'm no genius - the teachers were just that bad. Now I'm in Switzerland, and my kids' teachers are good at what they teach; mostly, they have masters' degrees in their subjects. Wow, what a difference!
Finally, culture and family play a huge role. HairyFeet pointed out in another post that American black urban culture is poisonous, and that education is not even on the radar of that culture. In Europe, I can tell you that there are also poorly integrated subcultures here that have the same problem. You cannot educate someone who doesn't want to be educated. What, exactly, you are supposed to do with them? Well, that's a difficult question, but pouring extra time, effort and money down a black hole is probably not the answer.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 1) by KGIII on Wednesday May 27 2015, @10:39PM
You said "most teachers would be amazingly successful in that arena." By using the word 'most' you have made me wonder. Is this a world-wide view, US-centric, or in another country? My experience, in public schools in the US, is that most teachers are apathetic, teaching to a book, or teaching to pass a standardized test. It makes me doubt the validity of the word 'most' in that context. I can not speak for the planet as a whole nor for other countries thus I decline to opine as such would be speculation and would also be invalid.
"So long and thanks for all the fish."
(Score: 4, Interesting) by martyb on Wednesday May 27 2015, @11:44AM
I see something missing here.
My years in school were simultaneously exhilarating and frustrating. Exhilarating in that I had an insatiable curiosity and did well in my classes. By no means an all "A" student, I had to study and at times, study hard. Yes, even with that, there was a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment as I gained some mastery in my classes. I was fortunate to be a part of a school system that challenged the students, and to have parents who placed an emphasis on my schooling.
Those years were frustrating because my accomplishments in my studies did not carry into my skills in socializing. I had few friends and most of those were similarly afflicted with social anxiety and awkwardness. The quintessential nerd, if you will. Yet, that was a valuable experience for me, too. Learning how to deal with disappointment and exclusion helped me build strength of character that has helped me endure and persevere in trials that might have caused others to give up.
Many years later, I've managed to build those social skills I had lacked and can now easily start and continue a casual conversation. With a school population of only 14 students, there's a limited number of social interactions available. Little opportunity to experiences and learn from social adversity. I'll bet they do well in their studies; I only hope that they also do well in learning how to deal with all kinds of people, too.
It's not just what you know, it's also who you know and how you get along with them.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by WillAdams on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:02PM
Up until 8th grade, one worked at one's grade level in academic classes (math, science, English), up to 4 grades ahead --- I was in 4th grade and taking 8th grade classes.
Socialization classes and activities, homeroom, recess, physical education, social science, were taken at one's age grade level.
At 8th grade the advancement cap was released and one was allowed to begin taking college level courses (the school had an arrangement w/ a local college for professors to come teach classes).
One could graduate from high school and get a college diploma as well.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:42PM
But was it founded by Elon Musk?
If it wasn't founded by Elon Musk, noone give a rat's ass.
(Score: 2) by demonlapin on Wednesday May 27 2015, @07:28PM
(Score: 1) by WillAdams on Wednesday May 27 2015, @08:26PM
Moot point, since the courts decided the program was illegal.
(Score: 2) by demonlapin on Thursday May 28 2015, @03:05AM
(Score: 2) by That_Dude on Wednesday May 27 2015, @01:21PM
I understand the benefit of grappling with abstract concepts through a physical medium. It builds confidence, exposes the application of insight and hones analytical skill. Once that foothold is established, one starts to see that wrapping your mind around new things becomes only a question of the slope of the learning curve. It is usually against my nature to condone activities where there exists a very real possibility of exploitation, but I have to agree with the principle. As far as the removal of grades is concerned, I've observed plenty of instances where a person's age has nearly nothing to do with aptitude or motivation. On the other hand I've seen many "adults" who are hardly worthy of the title. If one tends to think about another's ability in terms of grade, (or degree even), it obfuscates their capability because it only claims completion of whatever set of expectations. Well, that's not entirely true with kids getting passed on nowadays regardless of whatever they've been able to achieve. I'd rather have people who can demonstrate something useful by showing showing solutions they're able to conjure up from facing obstacles rather than people demonstrating that they're lost and bewildered with no idea of even where to start and ending up living a compromised existence.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @03:13PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education [wikipedia.org]
BTW check out the list of alums at the bottom of the Wiki page! Hmm....
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 28 2015, @06:05PM
1 in 11 of those alums is a terrorist, this education system must be banned before it creates more terrorists.