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The advent of COVID has brought a myriad of issues around the world to the fore, including hard-to-swallow achievements on the systems that surround, shape and often dictate human society. Education is one of those systems affected by the global pandemic.
As students moved their learning experiences from the classroom to their living room, it became evident that the traditional education system was not equipped to shape young minds in the midst of a pandemic. At the same time, however, the effect of the coronavirus on schools and learning has highlighted some issues that have plagued the education sector for some time.
Some parents, teachers and other advocates for learning have taken the time that the pandemic has given us to try to address some of the fundamental problems that have arisen in mainstream education systems across the world over the years, before COVID.
The school of synthesis has taken a different path.
Led by Josh Dahn (Co-Founder and Creative Director), Chrisman frank (Co-founder and CEO), and Ana Fabrega (Chief Evangelist), Synthesis School seems to go to the root of learning and education by teaching children and young adults fundamental problem-solving skills through a medium that comes naturally to them: games.
“Synthesis school took over the games that were played on the Ad Astra campus, at SpaceX’s laboratory school. We have taken these games and expanded them to bring them to children around the world. Their particular goal is the teaching of broader concepts such as game theory, collaboration, network effect. What it’s like to work in a team, in strategy… ”, declared Jessica Bogart, coordinator of the synthesis school Teslarati.
Bogart left the entertainment industry after two decades to join Synthesis School as a facilitator. She sat down with Teslarati and explained the patterns of each class and how it helped to enrich and cultivate young minds to deal with the daily issues that life will throw on them.
Elon Musk’s teaching principles from Ad Astra – the SpaceX laboratory school he created for his sons with help from Josh Dahn – form the core of the Synthesis School. Musk described the two foundational principles of Ad Astra years ago as: 1) Abandoning the assembly line model, not grade levels, and 2) Focusing on problems, not tools.
At Synthesis, around 18-20 children are divided into groups called cohorts. Each group has a facilitator. Bogart explained that facilitators do not teach their cohorts, as teachers do in a classroom.
A typical reunion starts with connecting the cohorts to one of Synthesis School’s games and a Zoom call. The facilitator does not give them any instructions on the game. Each cohort has time to explore and learn the patterns of the game on their own.
After exploring, the cohorts talk to each other to learn information that others might have found about the game. Then the cohorts are divided into several groups and must navigate the game together to achieve a given goal.
“There are no wrong answers and there are no grades. It’s about seeing how you think, ”Bogart said. She explained that Synthesis did not teach children by rote memorization or focus on grades and teaching the test. It was more focused on critical thinking, problem solving, and teaching children how to find or learn the tools they need to solve complex problems.
“In a regular school, an example would be, here are 50 different screwdrivers and you’re going to memorize the size, shape and handles and where they go on the board,” Bogart explained.
“The way that [it was being taught at Ad Astra] at the time here is the motor which is broken and we need to fix it, but what do we do to remove the housing? Well we use a screwdriver. And now you’ve made that connection. ”
In Jessica Bogart’s Cohort Missions, she was able to teach her children concepts such as the network effect or Stag Hunt game theory. Just before his interview with Teslarati, Bogart taught his cohorts offensive and defensive strategies based on The art of War by Sun Tzu.
Synthesis School already has cohorts from all over the world, including Australia, England, India, Bahrain, and the United States. The enrichment club offers weekly classes for $ 180 per month and plans to add more classes in the future.
It’s a growing community dedicated to teaching children and young adults the foundational skills they will need to learn and thrive in life through games like Constellation which were developed and conceptualized by Josh Dahn and inspired by Elon. Musk. According to Jessica Bogart, synthesis school helps children “embrace chaos”.
Given today’s global landscape, embracing the chaos of the world, and having the ability to overcome it, may be what the doctor ordered.
For more information on the Synthesis School, click here.
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