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So except for local geography, local history and local civics and polity and the art of making real life friends, there's nothing a physical school offers that Khanacademy + YT doesn't. So would you send your kids to the internet for school?
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.
This is a very engineer-y way to think. You optimize the instruction and assume the other qualities of in-person learning are disposable.
They absolutely aren't for most people and almost all kids. They generally crave the socialization they get at school. There isn't a digital substitute for it.
One could also argue that the art of making friends is one of the most helpful for ultimate life success.
It's notable that most people with means that I know are raging against virtual education and are instead moving to "pods" (2-10 kids with a private teacher).
The longer answer is that schooling is complicated and often highly regulated. It is not immediately clear that Khan Academy and YouTube pass the muster where I live. Even if they did, for me there is a larger non-starter.
I believe schooling is not best achieved by placing kids at a computer all day and that there is a clear expectation that homeschooled children be schooled and supervised at home by an adult. Secondly, I think my kids get too much screen time as it is. Finally, with the end in sight for ACT/SAT style standardized testing, I am not sure how universities would view or evaluate a "do it yourself via YouTube" high school education.
Even if the content is great, I'm not going to risk these unknowns. They might however make great supplements.
Now, I know that not all teachers, schools, districts, etc., are created equally and everyone has different experiences.
How do you know your child is well suited for KA? And what do you do if a learning disability of some form is discovered at some point? Dyslexia and ADHD may not be apparent until well into elementary school.
Do you or KA have the ability to recognize if there even is one? If so, what do you do? What resources or support do you have to navigate it?
We have experienced this with one of our children. Teachers, staff and administration have been amazing. The support are resources are incredible. We have seen our child flourish with their help, our child's pediatrician and our involvement, of course. But we could not have replicated that on our own.
And the social aspect cannot be understated. We look to involve our kids with friends and family and organizations and activities outside of school and our home, but there are many constraints around this, particularly now. I see public school as an important testing ground for the eventual reality of existing in a society that isn't solely constructed for your own success.
KA will always be there. And you may find that a more traditional setting isn't right or is limiting your child in some way. Or you may find that it is a great place for them and that they also bring positive benefits to the system that our entire society relies on to work well.
Of the core trinity of “reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic”, I'll note that what you have covered plus what you have listed as missing includes only one of the three.
Also, while I'm less familiar with KA, YouTube is at best a less-information-dense substitute for a book, not a substitute for active instruction and graded exercises with feedback.
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.