Khan Academy Pilot Educators On Khan Academy

theodp writes "In what may surprise Khan Academy backers Google and Bill Gates, educators from the Los Altos School District where KA was initially piloted and implemented have responded to some recent KA critiques with a blog entry which notes, 'Teachers in our district have determined that the greatest value of the Khan Academy lies, not in the videos, but in the exercise modules and data generated as students work practice problems.' Not too surprisingly, when it comes to revolutionizing student learning, teachers are bullish on teachers. 'Key to this revolution are the Los Altos teachers,' the educators conclude. 'Teachers in our district are highly valued for their pedagogical perspective, content knowledge, experience, and creative abilities. When district administrators put tools in the hands of teachers and give them room to work, amazing things happen for students. Tools will come and go, but it's the teachers who create meaningful learning experiences that challenge students to grow.'"

Comments

Re:And who is surprised?

[aurispector]

It doesn't. In california, the teachers union (along with other unions) operates like the mafia. Tax dollars come in and are funneled directly to the unions via the public school districts. The unions in turn use their voting bloc and monetary support for the democratic party to cement control.

They have a stranglehold on education dollars and they control the legislature. Nothing even vaguely threatening to the current union system will get to the floor for debate much less come to a vote. The losers are the taxpayers and the students.