Whether your donation is $5, $10, $20, $50 or $100 or more,
it will help keep FR alive
and will be sincerely and truly appreciated!!
Posted on 07/27/2013 11:42:05 AM PDT by AlmaKing
I've been looking for a homeschool curriculum for my 6 year old. Khan Academy popped as a possibility, so I read through the website information thoroughly. I found a page which described the teachers' backgrounds and post a few below. It seems like these folks have liberal backgrounds. Many come from Google, Yahoo, various non-profits, arts programs, and other non-traditional backgrounds. I like creativity in teaching and learning, but I'm hesitant to use this site after seeing these backgrounds.
---
Elizabeth Content Scaling
Elizabeth works with math teachers, tutors, and professors to ensure Khan Academy's exercises comprehensively and rigorously cover the Common Core Standards so that students and teachers can easily find content appropriate to their level.
---
Craig Dean of Infrastructure
Craig is focused on the infrastructure that supports Khan Academy, from its databases to its developer tools.
Before joining, Craig worked for Google, where he was the first employee hired by Larry and Sergey.
---
Charlotte Manager of External Relations
Charlotte focuses on Khan Academy’s external relationships.
Prior to joining Khan Academy, Charlotte was the Business Manager and Director of Admissions of The School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL) in Washington, DC. Charlotte was the first hire at SEGL and helped open the school. She received her BA from Haverford College.
---
James Software Engineer
James keeps improving site performance and creating new features for the Khan Academy.
Previously James was a lead engineer at education.com, ran a non-profit delivering an email system to the developing world, and was a math teacher in the Peace Corps in Tanzania. He received two degrees from CMU in Physics and Computer Science.
---
Chris Software Engineer
Chris wields his experience with highly reliable, multilingual websites to support lifelong learning through Khan Academy.
Before joining, Chris spent a few years building the Yahoo! homepage.
-----
Joel Computer Science Beloved Leader
Known alternately as "Dear Father" and "Eternal Leader", Joel provides computer science tools to his thankful subjects, who are the happiest people in the world and love him dearly.
---
Alex Software Engineer
Alex believes in interactive, immersive education. Every day he brings science fiction just a bit closer to reality.
Prior to Khan Academy, Alex helped make peer-to-peer car sharing a reality with Getaround.
---
I think it is liberal. It’s just a guy and some staffers putting info out on subjects...not a real curriculum, much less accredited etc.
I just noticed that there’s a place near us called The Northstar Academy. I looked it up and I think it’s a home schooling org. Christian.
I read somewhere that Bill Gates funds it.
Perhaps you should look at the humanities section to see if its adequately unbiased. Hard to bias mathematics and such though.
Of course they’re liberals. Rock-ribbed conservatives wouldn’t be producing free videos.
I’ve used some KA videos and they are pure instruction. Want to know how to perform an algebra function or what is Newton’s Second Law? Just watch the video. They aren’t like leftist public skoolz where every topic has to find a way back to racism, gay marriage, or global climate change.
No, not paranoid at all. Liberals are infiltrating all kinds of formerly conservtive institutions....non profits....religious organizations....you have to keep your guard up at all times for this. Even that KLOVE Christian radio network is now infiltrated by liberals. It’s everywhere....
i dont know i thought zero was number one these days
I’ve looked at Khan Academy, although not lately. My take, as of a couple of years ago when it was only a little famous, was that it provided short lecture insight on a wide variety of topics, but it presumed a much higher level of education—say high school. It did not strike me at that time as an organized teaching curriculum for the very young.
Khan is a brilliant guy who has tried to make available access to a wide variety of topics.
I am not aware that they had developed a curriculum for the young, though.
Good one. lol.
>>Perhaps you should look at the humanities section to see if its adequately unbiased.
I only use KA for math and hard science. I’m sure that anything in the humanities or soft sciences would have some bias, since those subjects actually are more bias than fact.
Oh course you are paranoid, you’d turning your back on public union employees and their education camps.
But look more at why you’re examining such websites - you have a clue as to what you want your children to learn. Start with the basics - language (reading, writing and speaking), mathematics, history and critical analysis.
Teach them about the value of money, and the value of hard work resulting in rewards.
Give your children the tools, rather than worry about some abstract lesson plan. Because in the end anything you miss in teaching can be quickly learned.
That’s what I was thinking, just watch the videos and screen them for bias.
Khan has been useful for test review and extra practice for my college prep students in physics and chemistry.
I would not trust it as a complete curriculum, particularly younger ones.
Look at the content specialist background for STEM:
Lisa
Lisa is the STEM Coordinator and Math Specialist at the Aventura City of Excellence School in Aventura, Florida, and a member of the editorial panel for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics journal Teaching Children Mathematics.
Lisa also presents nationally on Common Core Math and Singapore Math, blogs at mathspot.net, and designs mobile apps for Common Core Math.
Somebody was going to do it sooner or later ...
When I say that to my Indian co-workers, they have no idea what I’m talking about. Most were born years after that movie.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
