For those of you who are trying to supplement your child’s schooling or wish to buck the entire public/private school system altogether, I’d like to recommend the Khan Academy. Started by former hedge fund manager Sal Khan, the Khan Academy is essentially a free on-line school that teaches everything from basic addition to the French Revolution to statistics. Here is a profile on the PBS Newshour:
This might very well be the greatest thing since sliced bread – at least for parents like me who are unhappy with the educational establishment and the local school. The Khan Academy is a bit lacking so far in the humanities and social sciences, but the math and science offerings are deep. I haven’t looked at the lessons on the more advanced subjects like the Geithner Plan or the Paulson Bailout – so my enthusiasm could decline as I start to explore the more politically charged lessons. However, I’m sold so far on the basics and look forward to participating in this very liberating experiment in free on-line education. I’ve been skeptical of the power of on-line education in the past, but I wonder if we are in for a revolution in education delivery at the K-12 level (and maybe in the realm of higher education as well….gulp!).
PILEUS 