Khan Academy/Common Core Clarification

Yesterday I shared on FB how much I like Khan Academy's math. Following that, in a comment, I shared that Khan has aligned his stuff to Common Core. With the many posts that I've shared against Common Core Standards, I really felt the need to clarify.

Sal Khan started creating these tutorials and putting them on YouTube well before Common Core became a reality. When I say that he has aligned his lessons to Common Core, what I mean is that at the bottom of each lesson, he shares what CC Standard that particular lesson aligns with.

To what extent he has allowed Common Core Standards to dictate his more recent lessons, I don't know. Yet since he has been doing this since 2006, my assumption would be that the majority of them have not been influenced by Common Core.

My main arguments against the Math portion of Common Core are that...

1. It is developmentally inappropriate. 

For those who don't know, that means that they're asking kids to do things that their brains are not mature enough to do. Experts in child development will tell you that most elementary schooled children just are not wired for the tasks that CC is requiring them to complete.

It's like asking a baby to walk before he crawls, or is able to stand up with good balance.

2. The Common Core math lessons that I've seen have been extremely confusing in presentation, not only for children but for many college educated adults as well. 

I recognize that we are talking about standards and not a curriculum. Yet the majority of schools are purchasing scripted resources from Pearson Publishing. School boards are purchasing these items and expecting their teachers to use them, as is. There's little room for changing the content to scaffold learning or to accommodate for the unexpected things that happen in human interactions daily.

You could not pay me enough to subject my children to that.

I have none of these concerns in regard to my children taking lessons from Khan Academy because...

1. They don't even ask for a child's age when he/she signs up. Therefore there are no preconceived notions about where a child should be or what he should be capable of doing by a certain time. 

As we know, (though it seems to have been forgotten in many parts of the public school sector) every child has his own unique time table for learning. 

 

2. Khan Academy has a system that is customized to fit each child. Each child takes a pre-test and the program gives suggestions about where he "might" want to start. Yet ultimately, those decisions are mine to make.

As a "coach," I determine what skills my children work on by making assignment recommendations. Therefore I am determining the trajectory for learning.

Again, I didn't want you all to think I had "jumped ship" or thrown my long held values to the wind. Therefore I felt this post was necessary. 

Again, Khan Academy is free. I signed up months ago and haven't been contacted by them in the interim with the exception of a few e-mail notifications in regard to their offerings. If you're tempted to try it out, go ahead. There's no hassle involved.