I Heart Khan

August 17, 2023

I deeply adore a man who is not my husband.

Now, before you go making assumptions: You know how, when you encounter someone who profoundly improves your kids' lives, you want to fling your arms around the person who made it possible? It's that kind of love. The man is educator Salman Khan, of Khan Academy, which is an online learning resource that can teach your kids just about anything—FOR FREE.

In 2006, Sal started creating video tutorials in math and science to help one of his cousins, posting them to YouTube. That led to his founding Khan Academy, a not-for-profit organization whose goal is to educate people around the world in all kinds of subjects. Sal's vision is that information should be free, to everyone; if you can get to YouTube, you (kids AND adults!) can build knowledge for school and for life, without paying a cent. As you know, my mission is to share information for free, too, so Sal is a man after my own heart. And he's the secret success weapon you want in your pocket as the school year begins.

Whether you're a homeschool family as mine is or your kids are traditionally schooled, Sal is the pal who takes the burden off you and hands it to experts. "Let's see if Khan Academy has a video to teach us that" has bounced off our walls for years. There is even a Khan Academy Test Prep section that raised my daughter's SAT score by over 100 points in a "gamified" environment that analyzed her previous tests to see where she especially needed help. Sal and his fellow teachers are clear, patient, and don't mind saying the same thing over and over. And did I mention it's free? Oh yes, I did, but it bears repeating.

The best thing you can do when you encounter a wonderful online resource is to tell a friend. Well, I'm hereby telling 800,000 friends about Khan Academy. Thanks, Sal. Sending you love and gratitude from my little corner of the globe.

—Deb