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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, 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_