I Think I Am In Love (School Reform Part III)

My dad saw this guy on 60 Minutes the other night and told me to check him out.

He proceeded to tell me about this hedge fund manager turned YouTube tutor gone viral. This guy is not at all what I expected. Meet Salman Khan.

That's his TED Talk. Seriously watch it.... It not only inspired me, it made me laugh as well.

Some of his ideas fall in line perfectly with the suggestions I proposed in Parts I & II. And although technically he said this first, I think if people from different backgrounds and walks of life are coming to the same conclusions about ideas, it indicates that change is in the air....

Here's some more points from this talk that really hit a chord with me:

• Reverse the method -- watch the lecture on your own time, do the work in class when a teacher is there to help
• Don't move onto a new concept until you understand the one before -- you can't ride a unicycle until you master a bicycle (there is no such thing as 75% mastery)
• Keep kids of different ages and skill levels together -- let them help each other (I made this point as well)

Sometimes I feel like a frickin' genius. My mind is churning out ideas that are in sync with what the best minds are proposing at the very same time. But then sometimes I feel like a hopeless fool. What good are dreams that will never come true? Yeah, I homeschool so why do I even care? Well, it's not just about my kids. They are going to get a great education, I have no worries there. What about the kids who have two working parents? What about the kids who live one block over in the "bad" school district?  What if I get in an accident? I just can't help but want more for all of us.

It feels so close.