Elon Musk Revolutionizes Education for Children of SpaceX Employees

“If you want something done right, do it yourself” is something that Elon Musk, CEO and CTO and Founder of SpaceX, CEO and Product Architect of Tesla Motors and Chairman of SolarCity, strongly believes in. He announced that he did not like his kids’ school, so he started his own in an interview on Beijing Television. The school is named “Ad Astra” which means “To the stars” and it does not have its own landing page or a social media presence yet.

“It’s important to teach problem solving, or teach to the problem and not the tools,” Musk said. “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. A much better way would be, like, ‘Here’s the engine. Now let’s take it apart. How are we gonna take it apart? Oh you need a screwdriver!‘“

He says that Ad Astra currently has 14 kids and will increase to 20 in September and it is in its first year after launch. The school does not have any grade levels such that there is no distinction between students in 1st grade and 3rd. He is “making all the children go through the same grade at the same time, like an assembly line,” he says in the interview.

“Some people love English or languages. Some people love math. Some people love music. Different abilities, different times,” he says. “It makes more sense to cater the education to match their aptitudes and abilities.”

The school program is small and experimental at the moment, but considering its approach, it shouldn’t for too long. This is a significant step taken in the direction to improve the teaching methods and education pattern overall. It is nice to see folks doing such advancements in the field of humanity. What are your thoughts on this? Let us know them in the comments section.

Thank you The Verge for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Business Insider.