Astra Nova is latin for Bright Star and is the name of the school Elon created for his children, and for the children of some of the engineers he works with.
Initially the school was named Ad Astra, which means to the stars.
Elon has some great ideas about how children should learn, which has certainly influenced how his school is run. The first unique divergence from the norm is there are not any grades.
On a clubhouse audio conversation Marc Andreesen (Salesforce CEO) asked Elon: What kind of education would you recommend for a five year old?
Part of Elon’s reply was: “I think generally with education you want to make it as interesting and exciting as possible…
Unless relevance is established people will have a hard time remembering.
This is much better than having a course on wrenches or a course on screwdrivers.
Start with a problem and ask what tools do I need to solve this problem?
That establishes relevance and a compelling narrative thread.
Asking: How can we make this engine better, what do we need to do?”
The education is catered to the unique abilities of each student, rather than using a one size fits all approach. In a 2015 interview Elon explains:
“Some people love English or languages, some people love Math, some people love Music, and have different abilities at different times. It makes more sense to cater the education to match their aptitudes and abilities.
The Astra Nova website explains:
Each Year Anew: We redesign each year based on our students. We apply the lessons learned from every project, lab, and discussion to inform our next move.
Another important concept they touch on is the importance of creating…
A school children love: What if students were taken seriously and their time well spent? Astra Nova believes in meaningful student experiences across age levels and domains.
In an effort to make the style of education from Astra Nova more widely available a new company named Synthesis was started. Synthesis is a weekly, 1-hour enrichment program for students who want to learn how to build the future.
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