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Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

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Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#21

Post by Jakobeha »

rohan_shah wrote: post #11
st1x7 wrote: post #9

No. Khanacademy is great for learning about a subject but no online service is a good replacement for going to school. In addition to better teacher interaction, there's just way too much meta-learning that goes on at school - how to behave around other people, how to be away from your parents, how to form relationships, how to deal with authority, how to speak in front of people etc. I would feel like I'm socially c…

So if they want to a class where a teacher was general present but everyone learned through KA while doing interactive activities in between - how about that?

I mean when I was in school for a few grades some of my teachers assigned Khan Academy so it was basically that.

I don't think it worked well, but honestly I can imagine a good teacher just replacing whatever course material they're using with KA and lecture off of it, while still somehow incorporating classroom interaction

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#22

Post by itronitron »

I would (and do) for middle school and high school because my options for in-person are less than ideal (private schools that really fail at effective communication and discipline.)

I'd like Khanacademy to add a feature that allows parents to actually task assignments to their students/children. That seems like a major gap now. So we're currently enrolled in a different online program that has much more structure, but is still self-paced.

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#23

Post by 8589934591 »

itronitron wrote: post #22

I would (and do) for middle school and high school because my options for in-person are less than ideal (private schools that really fail at effective communication and discipline.) I'd like Khanacademy to add a feature that allows parents to actually task assignments to their students/children. That seems like a major gap now. So we're currently enrolled in a different online program that has much more structure, bu…

> we're currently enrolled in a different online program that has much more structure, but is still self-paced

Which one is that? Do you have any recommendations?

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#24

Post by itronitron »

8589934591 wrote: post #23
itronitron wrote: post #22

I would (and do) for middle school and high school because my options for in-person are less than ideal (private schools that really fail at effective communication and discipline.) I'd like Khanacademy to add a feature that allows parents to actually task assignments to their students/children. That seems like a major gap now. So we're currently enrolled in a different online program that has much more structure, bu…

> we're currently enrolled in a different online program that has much more structure, but is still self-paced Which one is that? Do you have any recommendations?

The following link lists about 25, not sure if they all offer degrees. Some are affiliated with existing private schools, and others with universities (Both Texas Tech Uni K-12 and UTHS teach the standard curriculum for the State of Texas.)

https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/top/online-high-schools/

There is also a range of how much classroom interaction they require (some have a lot, others none) so picking one depends on what the student prefers for their learning environment.

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#26

Post by phobosanomaly »

DoreenMichele wrote: post #16

art of making real life friends I homeschooled my sons. They were better off socially without being bullied and what not at school. The argument that homeschooled kids don't learn social skills is old and tired.

I'm sure your kids are fine, I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with what you did. I just want to float this idea.

There is the possibility that they are less-prepared in terms of the coping skills that normally help us adults deal with others who are located somewhere on the 'bully' spectrum.

From the hostile police officer that pulls you over on a fishing expedition, to your first boss who is on an ego trip, to terrible in-laws, to the neighbor trying to get the HOA after you because your kids play too 'loudly.'

Bullying never goes away in life, and there is something to be said for kids learning coping skills early-on in situation where your parents can't necessarily swoop in and help you.

But, maybe they're better-prepared in other areas.

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#27

Post by phobosanomaly »

rohan_shah wrote: post #10
codingdave wrote: post #2

Nope - we looked into it. I love KA. But my kids hate it. They hate most of the educational apps out there that we have tried, including the ones forced upon them this year for remote learning. I see a big problem where adults are creating apps that teach in ways adults think kids want to be taught. But it isn't really hitting the mark.

How about a general tutor + KA? So the tutor will take of queries and keep a class full of children interactive - but children will learn maths through KA?

Just to poke at that idea a bit what's the difference between that and a normal classroom?

Is Khan Academy that much better at teaching Long Division than the average schoolteacher?

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#28

Post by phobosanomaly »

cdnsteve wrote: post #20

The challenge with the public school system is that your learning at the group pace, which means if you are smart and a fast learner, you're going to be very bored. My youngest is 8 and learning 0 to 3 times tables right now. My oldest is 11 in grade 6 and just doing his 3 times tables... The speed of the class for my grade 6 is not keeping pace and they are doing stuff my son in grade 3 is doing. My youngest did a 0…

Have you tried sitting him down in front of Khan Academy on the evenings and weekends? Does he stick with it for weeks and months at a time with little supervision?

Maybe try that and see how far he can go before he gets bored or starts losing interest. If he genuinely blows the doors off of everyone and spends his nights and weekends doing math and he's good in the other subjects, the school would probably be fine with just bumping him up a grade.

Or, if he finishes everything way before the other kids, just start sending him to school with problems out of Morris Kline's Calc book or something, and he can work on them while the other kids are catching up.

It's possible he'll slow down, maintain his pace as he progresses through school, or he'll figure out that he has a burning passion for theater or oil painting or the 300-meter-dash or something.

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#29

Post by DoreenMichele »

phobosanomaly wrote: post #26
DoreenMichele wrote: post #16

art of making real life friends I homeschooled my sons. They were better off socially without being bullied and what not at school. The argument that homeschooled kids don't learn social skills is old and tired.

I'm sure your kids are fine, I don't mean to imply that there's anything wrong with what you did. I just want to float this idea. There is the possibility that they are less-prepared in terms of the coping skills that normally help us adults deal with others who are located somewhere on the 'bully' spectrum. From the hostile police officer that pulls you over on a fishing expedition, to your first boss who is on an e…

There is no shortage of assholes on the planet, that's for sure. But bullies tend to target the weak, the vulnerable, people who have been groomed to play the perfect victim.

I'm absolutely certain that my sons are bullied and otherwise mistreated less than they otherwise would be because their mother didn't expect them to learn to "cope" with being bullied. I removed them from the situation, thereby firmly setting the expectation that "This is not remotely acceptable behavior. Period."

Anyone who thinks bullying is a normal, routine part of life should consider the possibility that their childhood experiences groomed them to be good and cooperative victims. It is possible for a person to work on putting that behind them.

https://genevievefiles.blogspot.com/2019/09/putting-victimho...

Re: Ask HN: Will you send your child to Khanacademy instead of a physical school?

#30

Post by [deleted] »

st1x7 wrote: post #9

No. Khanacademy is great for learning about a subject but no online service is a good replacement for going to school. In addition to better teacher interaction, there's just way too much meta-learning that goes on at school - how to behave around other people, how to be away from your parents, how to form relationships, how to deal with authority, how to speak in front of people etc. I would feel like I'm socially c…

[deleted]
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