RETHINKING EDUCATION –

ELON MUSK’S AD ASTRA SCHOOL

Think!
1. If you could change ONE thing about modern schools,
what would it be? Why?
Read!
2. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the correct parts of the sentence. There is one extra phrase.
Elon Musk's Views On Education
Elon Musk believes the current education system could be vastly improved. And it's not surprising. Musk
didn't like school as a child. "I hated going to school when I was little, it was torture," confessed Musk,
_________.
And Musk's views extend to the university experience as well. "I think college is basically a place to have
fun and show that you can do your homework, _____________," Musk said in December 2020.
__________________, Musk has decided to take matters into his own hands.
Musk has criticized America's educational system on several occasions, but instead of just making
complaints, ______________. In 2014, the billionaire announced the creation of Ad Astra,
______________, in which his children and only a select few study.
Ad Astra, which is Latin for 'towards the stars', remains totally secretive. Very little is known about this
exclusive school, _________________. The curriculum is said to include artificial intelligence, applied
science, coding, and design.
a. he got down to business
b. a mysterious disruptive school with its own system
c. located at the SpaceX facility in California
d. but that's not for learning
e. and they don’t care much about it
f. with seven children of his own
g. who was bullied as a child in South Africa
Watch!
3. Watch the video [Why Elon Musk Built a School for His Kids - YouTube] and finish the sentences:
a) Before setting up his own school, Elon was dissatisfied with …
b) The kids at his school do not just study formulas, but learn …
c) The example with batteries illustrates …
d) Children who study at the school come from different backgrounds: …

4. True, false or not stated? Specify what is said in the video about this.
A. Elon Musk’s school is situated on the premises of the SpaceX headquarters.
B. Before Elon set up his own school, his children attended a regular public one.
C. Josh Dahn, one of the first teachers Elon hired, previously worked as an engineer.
D. Classes are formed on the basis of the students’ abilities, regardless of age.
E. The most talented students receive financial aid to cover the tuition.
F. The school aims to prepare their students for Ivy League Universities.
Speak!
5. Here are three key values of the school. Explain what they mean and how they affect the learning
process.
1) Be an alternative to the age segregation model.
2) Focus on problem solving.
3) Gamification.
 Dancing with the dead - Madagascar

A funeral tradition followed by the Malagasy tribe in

Madagascar, people literally dance with dead bodies as part of
the Famadihana custom. After bringing bodies of ancestors
from their burial place, they re-wrap them in fresh cloth and
dance around the tomb to live music. The ritual is followed
once in seven years, but has been in the decline of late.

Throwing the baby for good luck - India

This ritual is mostly followed in Karnataka where newborn babies are thrown off the 50-feet high Sri Santeswar
temple. Before you jump to a conclusion; the babies are obviously caught by the family in a cloth. Couples who are
blessed with a baby after taking a vow at the temple follow this 500-year-old tradition. It is believed to bring good
luck to the babies.

The Crocodile Cult – New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, as part of a rite of passage, a boy will go into a Hans Tambaran, or a
hut, and his skin will be cut and scarred to look like a crocodile. The ritual is a symbol of a
boy being eaten by a crocodile and coming back to life as a man.

The Ant Gloves – Brazil

Rites of passage are as old as time, and today, many young kids go through it in some shape or form, be it bar
mitzvah, sweet sixteen, or humiliating prom. But for the Satere Mawé Tribe, they force their boys to shove their
hands into gloves full of ants that inflict painful bites. They wear the gloves twenty times for ten minutes each time
as they dance around. The ants are not any normal house ant but the bullet ant, an ant that got its name because its
bite feels like being shot by a bullet.
Vegetarian Festival – Thailand

Don’t let the name fool you, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival isn’t all about vegetables. During the
festival, people abstain from meat for nine days. That may sound bad enough, but it gets much,
much worse. To honor the animals, they shove sharp objects through their mouths and cheeks.

Finger cutting – Indonesia

This tradition in the Dani tribe in Indonesia takes bizarre to a whole new level. When a family member passes away,
women from this tribe have to suffer physical pain besides suffering from emotional grief. And to do so, they cut off
a part of their fingers. This is supposedly done to 'satisfy ancestral ghosts.' No wonder why men do not follow this
custom. This custom is forbidden now, but older people still follow the ritual.

Jumping over babies – Spain

In Spain, at the festival of El Colacho, men dressed in red and yellow, like devils, run through the streets insulting and
whipping people. During this, newly born babies are laid out on mattresses in the streets while these men dressed as
devils leap over them. It’s believed this was once a fertility ceremony that mixed with Christianity to symbolize the
triumph over evil.

Answer the questions

 1. In which country throwing a baby from a temple guaranties good luck?
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2. Why do men in devil costumes jump over babies in Spain?

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3. How should women in Indonesia grieve?

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4. What happens to the dead in Madagascar?

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5. In which ritual pain is inflicted?

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6. What can’t people do in Borneo after getting married?

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7. How long do people not eat meat at the Vegetarian Festival?

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8. Why is a boy’s skin cut in New Guinea?

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9. What do you think of traditions and rituals?

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10. Which of these rituals do you find most radical?

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11. Have you ever participated in such a tradition? Where? How was it?
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12. Are there rituals in your country? Which one?

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13. Do you know other rituals? Which one?

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14. Do you have a ritual or a tradition yourself? Describe.

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15. To what extent are rituals important for society?

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16. Do you think that dangerous rituals or traditions that cause pain should be banned? Justify.
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