The new coronavirus has destroyed education in America, leaving millions of parents struggling to cope with childcare and distance education. Of course, tech billionaires have entered this market.
But while Mark Zuckerberg has donated $ 6 million to educational projects and Twitter's Jack Dorsey has donated $ 10 million to provide devices and connectivity for students in California, Elon Musk is helping launch an online school aimed at relatively wealthy people.
The online school Astra Nova, which will open its virtual doors in September, will be the successor to the ultra-exclusive school that until recently operated from SpaceX, Musk's rocket company. Many employees from the old school will continue to work in the new one. Experts argue that this business model is at the intersection of education and inequality, and, according to experts, it does not quite meet the most pressing needs of the current pandemic times.
Since 2016, Ad Astra has taught a small group of children for free, including the children of Elon Musk and the children of some SpaceX employees. Leveraging Musk's interests, the innovative curriculum did not include native language, music or physical education lessons - students worked on complex projects like building war robots, discussing nuclear policy, and finding solutions to defeat evil AI.
The last time Ad Astra opened a suite for gifted students outside Musk's circle, more than 400 families applied. In the case of Astro Nova, “kind, motivated and serious about learning” children anywhere in the world (ages 8-14) can enroll in a new online school (as stated on its website).
What's the catch? A course of classes, held once a week, will cost parents $ 7.500.
The Daily Beast examined the documents and found out that the new school was registered by the head of Musk's office, Jared Birshall. Birshall has led many of Musk's new businesses, including The Boring Company, which builds transport tunnels in Las Vegas, and the brain-based interface company Neuralink. We were unable to get comments from Birshall, and requests to SpaceX and Tesla went unanswered.
Astra Nova director Joshua Don told The Daily Beast that Musk himself is not involved in running the new venture, but has confirmed his role as founder. “Elon helped with the down payment and basic administrative assistance to get Astra Nova up and running,” he wrote. "However, Ilona has no financial interest in school, and his children do not study here."
Either way, Musk's interests are still very visible in the Astra Nova curriculum. Children as young as 8 can learn bioethics or 3D printing in the morning and rocket science, law or virtual reality in the afternoon. The core course also includes collaborative problem solving through games and simulations.
Education experts argue that Musk is an internet troll that has recently received a wave of notoriety for reopening Tesla's California plant. Experts believe that Musk actually forced local authorities to submit to his will, despite fair fears about the infection of COVID-19, and also missed the opportunity to help historically disadvantaged communities (his own behavior raises questions - why parents would like him or his ideas appear in one way or another in the lives of their children).
“This is just another example of how rich people can offer their children something that communities with less means do not have access to,” said Julian Vasquez Heilig, Dean of the University of Kentucky College. "The Oakland School District desperately needs this kind of investment to support students of color, but instead the support goes to those people who can already afford a lot."
“The story of the coronavirus has taught us that not everyone has equal access to education,” added Nancy Herzog, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington and an expert on working with gifted students. "Every school district does its best, but my colleagues across the country say that hardware, computers, and networking are sometimes challenging."
To enter a new school, students need to watch a short video depicting industrial pollution and decide who is to blame for the situation. As the Astra Nova website reports, there is no right or wrong answer that school staff would like to hear. The admissions office is interested in how children think about ethical dilemmas.
The school also plans to start full-time education from September 2021. To get a place there, children must write an essay about their passions and complete one of five assignments. These include designing and completing a virtual art gallery, choosing the best astronauts for their maiden flight to Mars, or mastering the challenging strategy game developed by Astra Nova.
Ad Astra was a nonprofit school (billed as 501c (3)), completely free of charge for students, and Musk personally covered all costs. In turn, according to documents filed with the office of the Secretary of State of California, Astra Nova was registered as a traditional commercial business. According to the director of the new school, Astra Nova will be funded primarily through tuition fees, but it will not be aimed at making a profit, and the amount of payment will depend on the level of wealth and income.
Herzog believes that even if parents can afford to attend a new school, her program can be challenging for many children. interview with The Daily Beast. "It's all like a college education process."
“I don't blame Elon Musk for doing this kind of work,” added Vasquez Heilig. “I just would like him to partner with Oakland or Alum Rock, school districts that work with low-income students in Silicon Valley. There are many inequality issues in STEM education, and he had a real opportunity to help the whole society, not just certain people. "
If the initial sales level of the school speaks volumes, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
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