Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has time and again shared that he is no fan of the traditional schooling model by revealing his own horrible experience of studying in public school. He shared that he was not just bullied but also made to learn lessons which were neither valuable nor interesting. We feel you Musk!
Musk in an interview had said, “I think a lot of things that people learn probably there’s no point in learning them because that they never use them in the future because kids just in school kinda puzzled as to why they’re there.”
The billionaire businessman also does not care much about college degrees and certificates when it comes to hiring for his companies. He had told Auto Bid in 2014 that an applicant’s formal education is not a priority for him.
“There’s no need even to have a college degree, or even high school really. If someone graduates from a good university that may be an indication that they are capable of great things but that is not necessarily the case,” Musk said.
Musk has not been vocal about his preference and choice but has also gotten into a few interesting Twitter exchanges on the same. Last year, Musk has responded to a Tweet that said, “You can’t succeed in life without a degree. That’s why you need schooling you want to go to Harvard.”
To which Musk replied, “That’s not true. Don’t confuse schooling with education. I didn’t go to Harvard but the people that work for me did.”
Musk is also a firm believer in practicing what he preaches which is exactly why he has chose to build a school for his children so they could pursue their own paths in learning.
Musk said in an interview, “I didn’t see the regular schools doing the things I thought should be done…Some people love English or languages. Some people love math. Some people love music. Different abilities, different times. It makes more sense to cater the education to match their aptitudes and abilities.”
He also went on to explain how hands on experience is more important than making children memorise and regurgitate answers to questions.
It’s important to teach problem-solving, or teach to the problem and not the tools. 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,” he said.
Musk then explained that it is better to actually let them take apart an engine, in real life, and figure it out for themselves.
“How are we going to take it apart? You need a screwdriver. That’s what the screwdriver is for. And then a very important thing happens: The relevance of the tools becomes apparent,” he said.
If one of the most brilliant inventors and entrepreneurs in the world doesn’t trust his children’s brains in the hands of the government, maybe you should reconsider your choices if you currently have children in public school.
Aye Aye Captain Musk! We’re with you too!
