Being 42 an international network, the first thing I looked for in the admission page were language requirements.
But nothing seemed to be really required, apart being 18 years or older.
Admissions were made through a one-month long selection, made of individual projects, team projects and exams. And that was all.
Very rarely in life you are given the chance of being judged not in a 500 word motivational letter, not in a 10 minute interview, not in a 1 hour exam, but in a month. And very rarely in life you are given the chance to be totally responsible for yourself, such as to decide whether or not you have the language skills to be able to study in a country.
After entering 42 school, what struck me really hard was the total absence of hierarchy. If I wanted to, I could speak to the school director or send her a DM right now.
The school heads meet regularly with students and everyone’s problem, suggestion and complaint is actively listened to.
It’s a bottom-up system, and students work together with the school heads to make it happen.
The school heads know you as a person, with strengths and characteristics of your own. Diversity is encouraged and actually made possible. And by diversity, I do not only mean gender, race, religion, but also disability.
I saw for example students with learning disabilities being given more time for exams, and I find that very cool. You feel the school really wants everyone to succeed and feel safe.
In 42 you constantly have to talk to people from different backgrounds, as you would in an office with colleagues.
That’s really close to how things are in a workplace. In a company, you will need to ask Claire for … and Ahmed for …. and that’s ok.
It is always teamwork.
Sometimes school subjects change unexpectedly — which is life, right?
And it also means the school actively works on the curriculum to update it and constantly deliver the best skills required by the job market.
The world changes fast, so why what we study should not?
You are allowed to fail and retry.
It’s a built-in part of the learning process. Failing is normal and not demonized. Actually, in a way, failing is almost inevitable.
You will fail a project or an exam and retry and retry, and finally succeed.
In 42 school you do not need to wait 3 years to “be done”.
When I was in uni, I “had to” wait till the following semester to start my classes. I felt it was a huge waste of time.
In 42 you decide for yourself, which is at once difficult (need a bit of self-discipline) but also great, because you can treasure your time.
In 42 rules are few and clear.
It’s a very uncomplicated system, with very little bureaucracy.
Lastly, I find that 42 pedagogy really works.
There are no professors, and it’s completely peer-learning based.
In a class environment, we unconsciously tend to build a barrier between the teacher (the “authority”) and ourselves.
That’s why we find it easier when a friend or a youtube video teaches us a concept, because then, we are “open” to receive that information.
Exactly like the same thing said by a parent and by a friend hits us in a completely different way.
Of course, there are still many things to fix at 42.
Many students complain that the school is not gamified enough, that some subjects are not really interesting, and yes, that important announcements are often not sent to all campuses, or not at the same time.
It is a very young school and community after all, that I bet will evolve a lot over time.
