Sometimes answers come from out of nowhere. In fact, this happens a lot of times when dealing with large, perplexing problems. Education in the US is one of these large perplexing problems. We still develop the most creative minds on the planet, but this is due to the culture of America, not necessarily our education system.
We don't have bad teachers either. They are bright people, who know how to handle children well. Not the only problem, but a major one is enabling different students with different aptitudes and abilities proceed at their own pace.
Khan Academy is one of those forces coming out of nowhere to potentially help the American education system. Simple, low cost videos taken while Khan teaches is providing students with abilities to learn at their own pace at home. What I found really interesting is the teachers turning what I think of for online education on it's head. The students watch the videos according to their past performance and aptitude. Then they all come in to the same classroom where the teachers then provides one on one training to those students.
Lets hope this and other initiatives begin to take in the US school systems. We were the first (I believe) to make sure all kids get to go to school in the world. Now that the world is catching up, we need to be the first to ensure we that kids continue to be treated as individuals (again, individualism being unique to American culture) and enable them to progress or slow down at their own pace.
How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/07/ff_khan/all/1
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