Khan Academy is an Amazing Treasure of Lessons!

February 19, 2012

An old November 14, 2011 issue of Time Magazine caught our attention last week in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Most time-worn, old magazines hardly grab the attention, but this one was different. Unfortunately, as is often the case with magazines in doctors’ offices, the first integral pages were missing of the article “Education Can Save Us”  but we were so fascinated by the discussion of the Khan Academy, that we further explored it later on-line. It is simply amazing! Here is the Youtube introduction:

This FREE stockpile of lesson plans is well worth the attention of parents, teachers and students! We were looking at the lessons in beginning arithmetic. Some people complained about the lessons being a bit on-the-back-of-a-napkin crude, but considering how it all came about, it still helps students learn by drilling on the basics. Here is an article How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education by Clive Thompson from wired.com that explains how it evolved.

You can peruse the website without logging in. If you want to track your progress, you will need a Google or Facebook account as explained on the Getting Started page.

By the way, I found the missing pages (as well as the rest) of the article “Education Can Save Us” on-line as “When will we learn?” here by Fareed Zakaria.

Check out my other blogs about things to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too!
🙂

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College Education and Employability – Succeeding in School

March 13, 2010

I found the Numbers page of the March 22 & 29, 2010, Business Week fascinating. I wanted to link to it but couldn’t find the page on-line. I know it is getting more and more expensive to get a college degree every year – BUT – it is definitely worth it in the long run. Most colleges and universities have programs to help. I believe it is very important to start early to instill in your young children a love of learning – and a lot of it is done by watching your example!

So, I will share the facts I thought very interesting:

Using data gathered since 2000 and ending in February 2010, the unemployment rates were binned by level of education. Here are the results.

Of the people who had Bachelor or higher degrees, 5.0% were unemployed.
Of the people who had Associate degrees or some college, 8.0% were unemployed.
Of the people who had high school diplomas but no college,10.5% were unemployed.
Of the people who had not earned a high school diploma, 15.6% were unemployed

Nobody got fantastically big raises for 2009; however, the median salary for advanced degree holders was triple the median salary of people with less than a high school diploma!

All right. Then what?
I found an interesting article called Educational Systems of Japan and the US on the University of Michigan website that discusses the different emphasis put on education in Japan and the US. I found the whole study food for thought.

Ok….
So, how do we help our kids? Ahhhh……

I have found a great website Helping Children Succeed in School by the University of Illinois Extension (University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign) for the adults. Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa — do take some time to peruse this wealth of information and absorb the guidance.

Here’s a fun, educational page for the kids. Yes, the two adjectives fun and educational can be used at the same time! 🙂

Check out more ideas and activities to do with kids on https://mygrandmasue.wordpress.com by the author of the award-winning children’s book Grandpa, Do It! I Do It, Too! 🙂

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