The Relevance of Education

In a recent article I came across an interesting piece of information about a CEO who had both the means and, dare I say, forethought to create his own school where he sent his elementary grade children to study, along with a few other interested parties.

Though obviously I expect this to be in its experimental phase I found this to be fascinating once I read further up on his reasoning behind such an extreme action that basically pulls the finger at the education system, and not just at his relevant resident country but one close to home as I discovered he was originally from South Africa no less.

However, Mr Elon Musk being previously from South Africa is irrelevant to my curiosity. What really intrigues me is his little experiment that he has started with his own children and the children of a few SpaceX employees, an experiment that, if done wrong, could jeopardize the future of a dozen or so tiny lives. Though something tells me this might not be the case.

The reason Mr Musk gives for taking his children out of the regular schooling system isn’t an uncommon one, after all how many of us who have attended, let alone those of us who are already preparing their little ones to attend, school have dreaded going to the place simply because the standards have dropped over the years and our expectations with it. In fact most influential people these days that become successful in the eyes of social media do it seemingly without the help of any schooling as they take to their interests and make it on their own. 

You can imagine how that can discourage the value of education in the eyes of the youth and the public who pays the taxes that should subsidize the education system.

Of course there is also the problem of the ‘standardised’ teaching of the general population as the system tries to cater to everyone equally and give them the supposed tools they would need to get by in their lives. However, with this type of teaching we see the stripping of innovation and creativity as sameness is promoted and individuality barely acknowledged.

With such an environment can it be blamed that the ability to solve problems has declined generation after generation? Because let’s be honest, people are different and people change and more importantly than ever they evolve.

What I love about Mr Musk’s idea for his school where all grades are stripped is that it promotes equality across the ‘grades’ and in the same breath it also goes against convention and acknowledges the individual and gives it a place to allow innovation and creativity to blossom. Yes, it’s a risky move, but it could promise high returns if done right.

Another thing that wins me over with this experimental school is Mr Musk’s approach in how he wants the children to be given problems to solve. His explanation of how giving children the tools first is far more ineffective than it would be if we were to first give them the problem itself directly and allow them to go from there is very logical as it highlights the relevance of the tools required.

His analogy of the engine and tools was brilliantly put as he explained how the children would benefit more from being given the engine and dissembling it than to being given the tools individually.

This kind of thinking would no doubt encourage some pretty amazing problem solving abilities. In fact it would be the answer to re-discovering the relevance of education, if applied correctly.

But truth be told, these kind of specialised schools still cost money, and that is not something everybody has access to. Though I wonder, why can’t the government at least learn from Mr Musk and apply some of the methods to the education system. Who knows, maybe something amazing might happen?