This week, rather than posing an issue, this post contains a proposal about a way to improve the school curriculum. A lot of successful billionaires have either funded or launched programs in order to improve the educational system in this country. All of them had different ideas. However, one idea that stood out the most was Elon Musk’s Ad Astra School.
This school was created for his children and some of the children of SpaceX employees. Apparently, this school follows by a non – traditional school curriculum, as students learn about simulations, case studies, fabrication and design projects, labs, and corporate collaboration. This was interesting because it became an innovative and somewhat crazy approach to educate the younger generation. There were a few pros and cons of his program specifically. On the bright side, these students will grow to learn skills actually used in the working field in school. However, the choice of their career path has been made as the responsibility has fallen completely into their parent’s hands.
Although Elon Musk’s idea is probably a stretch for a lot of the people in this generation, the mindset of this billionaire should be taken into account. The current United States school curriculum is very rigid and there is no room to take classes as per student interests until college. There should be room for a career exploring at a younger grade level. Of course having basic knowledge in mathematics, English, science, and social sciences is important. However, 12 years of public education should reflect more than that. An example of a way of changing a school is to sort the students into “academies” or “pre-majors.” I went to a technical high school where students were tested and placed into seven different academies. 
I was in the medical academy and throughout the four years, I was able to take three-hour labs, specific medical classes, and participate in medical/research clubs. It was almost like a taste-testing of what college would be like. In the end, I chose to major in economics but having this high school experience helped me decide what I as a person liked and was more suited to study.
In the end, widening the field of experimentation in education at a younger age will help students make secure decisions about their future. Although the decisions do not need to be made earlier, a student can gain an idea of what they want to specialize in. A continuous improvement in rates of specialization will also be beneficial to the economy in the long run. Education is a form of investment, and it should be done right!
This is a really interesting post. I had never heard of this Ad Astra school but I love the idea. As for the point of parents choosing their children’s careers, I think this may be an exaggeration. With the technical skills learned, a person could work in most stem fields. Additionally, if a person grows up doing stem stuff, they are likely to enjoy it and thus enjoy that career path.
This is a great topic! My group actually did our deliberation presentation and issue guide on how to increase engagement in schools and my approach revolved around revamping curriculums and educational standards to allow students to take more career and interest based courses. I think that is it great that you got to, in a way, “take a trial run” of a possible career path or college major. I went to a public high school and they didn’t even offer any electives in the major I am currently pursuing. It would have been really helpful to get that foundation in high school so I doesn’t feel like I am going in completely blind.
I agree with you in the fact that career path exploration should be emphasized in high school. My high school was not technical, nor did we have certain tracks to pursue; but they required us to shadow individuals in our community. I shadowed an art museum coordinator in Harrisburg. Though I was passionate about art, this experience made me realize that I wanted to earn a professional degree in science. Like you, I do not necessarily agree with Musk’s idea of schooling for his children. It should be more interdisciplinary and incorporate a wider range of topics so his children can select a future career that meets their interests.
Hey Beatrice! I highly agree that experimentation in education at a younger age will help the students decide their future securely and educatedly. I was reading about Elon Musk’s Ad Astra school the other day and the idea really fascinated me. I always believed in practical knowledge because in the end, what really matter is the education that you can apply in the real world scenario. The school follows this exact ideology to educate the students and it will be interesting to see if it becomes a role model for the curriculum of other school in the future.