Education Reimagined — Salman Khan

A lot of my cultural upbringing has revolved around education. My grandparents were school principals and pharmacists. My parents provided me with great access to schooling, after-school tutelage, visits to the library, and access to any book I desired.

As a young child, it was difficult to understand the priviledged access to first-class education I received until the other side. During my recent travels in Mexico and the pandemic, I learned from a teacher that the children weren’t completing their homework. The reason was the children had limited Internet access and their parents were prioritizing the need to put food on the table. Homework is the last thing on their mind…

I went through the ‘traditional’ means of education which were primary, high school, and then university. However, there have always been questions as to whether on not the system was correct. No system is correct and Salman Khan, the founder of Khan Academy wrote The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined Paperback to deeply examine this from his perspective and research.

His story started by teaching his niece mathematics through Skype and illustrations on the spot. His niece was intelligent however was stuck / ‘blocked’ at a certain part of the mathematics course which was difficult for her. He then started to identify the gaps in her learning and revise the fundamental parts she was missing. It then ‘clicked’ for her and she started to accel in mathematics. He then started to teach more students and then started Khan ADcamy as a means to provide education for the masses at scale.

How we learn

Every child learns differently so there is no one-size-fits-all model. Some learn more visually, auditory, or in bursts of knowledge. This contrasts to our somewhat unidirectional model of teacher + student relationships with a quarterly parent and teacher review.

This is where a lot of students become uninterested or get lost in the subject matter.

How we could teach

The current system goes through many modules at a rapid pace to fit into the term/semester schedule. If a child (i.e. Khan’s niece) gets stuck in a module, the classroom teachers do not have time to accommodate as they are three modules ahead. The students adopt a rote-learning method (remember all things without proper comprehension) or get left behind.

As Khan discovered through his Khan Academy teachings (over 10,000 videos) he came to the conclusion that mastery is the point of learning a subject or skill, not plain memorization. From learning the violin to learning to code, understanding the fundamentals are the primary blocks to learning before the preceding topics. As they understand these building blocks, students were more interested and engaged with the subject matter.

Self-pacing is another factor Khan emphasizes as all students learn at different speeds. Some might have more affinity for mathematics but not in English so it is necessary to provide an environment that allows students to learn at their own pace so they can stay motivated.

Learning outside the classroom

Learning should not be construed in the physical (or Zoom) classroom. Khan spent many summers volunteering at summer camps and through his observations, he realized a lot of students in these camps learned leadership and social skills that are applicable in the real world. He strongly emphasizes the value in children attending various summer camps to widen their learning whilst balancing the value of being a child.

For higher and university education, real-world application and experience is a strong indicator for new graduates to accel in their careers. The University of Waterloo is an exemplary university which places their students in many internships before they graduate so they know how to interact professionally but also experiences non-textbook applications.

This model is very interesting and something I explored by taking internships since my first year of university.

Technology and Education.

Student/teacher ratios (i.e. how many teachers to a student) have been a focal point and indicator for the quality of education however when combined with the fact that all students learn differently, the ST ratio is an outdated model. Khan suggests (through some bias) supplementing it with educational learning such as Youtube tutorials and articles so the students can reach mastery. Sofware is a great enabler for this and can be accessed by all, irrespective of location and economic status which is liberating.

Summary + Concluding Thoughts

It was an interesting insight to understand his journey and perspective on how he created a very impactful platform. It was not all glamorous as with any entrepreneur's journey, however many students around the world have improved their learning and knowledge across various subject matters.

An important part of the book that resonates with me is the ‘turning point’. At some point, a student may choose to quit and lose interest or get to the ‘aha’ moment. This turning point could change a student’s life trajectory and this is a profound thought. We should be doing as much as possible to help them reach that ‘aha’ moment and not lose interest/quit.

Another thought is the technology and education aspect. Sure the Internet has democratized access to the information access and it is easy to say it is accessible by anyone in this world but how do we help students in less-resourced regions and economic parts to access and see value in platforms such as Khan Academy.

With subjective bias, I walk on the streets of Mexico where they are binging on Youtube or mobile games. Khan Academy type education is not really top of mind for these children and students. Pure consumption of content or media is preffered.

How do we flip this model or help them? Or is it necessary to push individuals? I guess that’s another debate.