Inside Elon Musk’s Texas Preschool That Will ‘Create the Next Generation of Problem Solvers’ – Firstpost

Elon Musk has several references to his name. He is the founder of SpaceX, CEO of Tesla, owner of X, head of Donald Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and now a teacher.

Last week, on November 14, Texas authorities granted a first permit to Elon Musk’s Montessori school, called “Ad Astra” (Latin for “to the stars”).

The question many are now asking is: what kind of school is Musk’s institution? What will the curriculum look like? And would you register your children for this facility?

What is Elon Musk’s new school project in Texas?

Elon Musk’s school, known as Ad Astra, is located in Bastrop, a picturesque ranch town that has become home to Musk’s other companies, including SpaceX and The Boring Company. According to reports, Musk has big plans for Ad Astra; he plans to build an elementary and middle school, and eventually a university, if all goes well. For this purpose, the billionaire has set aside almost $100 million through a non-profit organization called the X Foundation.

For now, plans focus on the kindergarten, which can accommodate 54 students ranging from three to six years old. The facility is located on a 40-acre former horse ranch, which also houses a basketball court.

It is not yet known whether Elon Musk’s children will attend the school in Texas. File image/Reuters

A news item from Fortune stated that the preschool’s state filing showed it would be led by Xplor Education CEO Greg Marick. He will be accompanied by three other teachers.

The preschool began advertising for applications in August and said it was awaiting a permit from Texas authorities. However, there were some delays, so the permit was now granted.

Ad Astra launches in Bastrop, Texas! Registrations for the 2024-2025 school year are now open.https://t.co/jOCsILQjj2

— Advertisement Astra (@adastra) July 31, 2024

What do you learn at Ad Astra?

The school promises to be different from traditional educational institutions. On the school’s website, the mission statement reads: “To promote curiosity, creativity and critical thinking in the next generation of problem solvers.”

The site further states: “Ad Astra’s educational approach is centered around hands-on, project-based learning, where children are encouraged to explore, experiment and discover solutions to real-world problems. Ad Astra offers a progressive learning environment that emphasizes the integration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) into the curriculum.”

The emphasis is on exploration and tasks such as colouring, making collages and studying maps and globes will be carried out.

According to the school’s website, students are given uninterrupted work periods during which they can fully engage in tasks of their own choosing, under the careful, individual guidance of their teachers.

According to Ad Astra’s website, the school’s educational approach focuses on hands-on, project-based learning, where children are encouraged to explore, experiment and discover solutions to real-world problems. Image courtesy of: www.adastraschool.org

In addition, classrooms will be organized into multi-age groups. This means that children of different ages will be grouped into one group, with the school saying such a setup will promote lasting relationships.

A Fortune According to the news report, the curriculum was inspired by the work of Alfred Adler and Rudolf Dreikurs, two psychologists and educators, to “teach young people to become responsible, respectful and resourceful members of our community.”

The school will also focus on the holistic development of children by teaching social and emotional life skills. Children will learn grace, courtesy and respect, along with empathy and compassion, resulting in well-rounded individuals, able to make positive contributions to society.

It is unclear how much parents will pay for their children to attend the Bastrop Ad Astra school.

And how do you get to Ad Astra? The school’s website states that Ad Astra School admits students on the basis of merit, without regard to race, color, national and ethnic origin, to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or available to students at the school are stated. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletics and other school-administered programs.

Where did Musk’s idea for Ad Astra come from?

While the idea of ​​Elon Musk building a school in Texas is new, his experiments with education go back a long way – almost a decade.

In 2014, Musk pulled five of his children from their prestigious private school in Los Angeles and placed them in a SpaceX conference room with some of his colleagues’ children and a teacher. He also called it Ad Astra, but after the tech mogul’s children graduated, it grew into an independent, remote school called “Astra Nova” in 2020, according to an interview the co-founder gave in 2021.

When asked about it, Musk said in a 2015 interview that he didn’t like the way “normal schools” were run and wanted to try out his far superior ideas. These included a curriculum that involved fighting robots with flamethrowers, but no music, sports or languages.

Elon Musk holds one of his children. He is the father of 12 children. In 2014, he pulled five of his children from their prestigious private school in Los Angeles and started a private school – his first experiment with education. File image/AFP

He said, “It’s important to teach problem solving, or to teach the problem and not the tools. Suppose you’re trying to teach people how engines work. A more traditional approach would be, “We’re going to learn all about screwdrivers and wrenches.” This is a very difficult way to do it. A much better way would be: ‘Here’s the engine. Now let’s take it apart. How are we going to take it apart? Oh, you need a screwdriver! ”

The school also had no grading system; all children went through the same grade at the same time, like an assembly line.

What about Musk’s Utopia in Texas?

Notably, the Ad Astra school in Texas is part of Elon Musk’s
Slakbrook – a township that he is building for his family and the staff of all his companies. Musk calls it “a kind of Texas utopia along the Colorado River” where employees could both live and work.

Reports say he has purchased a whopping 2,430 hectares (6,000 acres) in the Austin area, where he plans to build everything from homes to factories and even a church.

His move to Texas came in 2021 in response to California Governor Gavin Newsom signing a law that would ban school districts from enacting policies requiring parental notification if their child identifies as transgender.

With input from authorities