Every Wednesday, I share my thoughts on Learning and Personal Development.
Sometime in the early first grade, I came to the conclusion that I was "bad" at Math. I attribute it both to my own personal attitude and to a teacher who perhaps herself didn't like math and wasn't too great at teaching it. I managed to survive those elementary school years, high school math, and even barely scraping by in Pre-Calc my first semester at Notre Dame before landing in the "dummy math" class second semester. My classmates there, largely members of various Fighting Irish sports teams, were also bright people who just didn't "get" the whole math thing.
In our home, the division of parenting labor found me squarely in charge of helping with most homework except anything related to math. Once the boys evolved beyond memorization of times tables, I was out of my league.
So imagine my surprise when I recently discoverd the amazing Kahn Academy and found myself voluntarily watching videos of Math lessons! The Kahn Academy, a not-for-profit educational endeavor launched by Salmon Kahn in 2006, is truly revolutionizing the way people learn using technology tools and a systematic approach to teach not only math, but also science, humanities and even test preparation. It's a terrific resource not only for the students in our lives, but also for "grown ups" who -- like myself -- gave up all hope of learning math years ago.
A quick visit to the Kahn Academy website is sure to inspire you to spend ten minutes per day learning something new -- whether it's simple equations or a history lesson, this style of learning offers us the ability to go from "bad" at something to proficient in no time!
Have you used Kahn Academy for yourself or a student in your life? What other types of online services help you and your family to learn and grow?



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