I did something today I never thought I would do: I created one of those White House petitions you hear about. The petition is to award Salman Khan the Medal of Freedom. I have to get 100,000 signatures in a month to get the attention of the powers that be, but I think it’s worth doing.

If the name is familiar then it’s probably because you or someone you know has told you about khanacademy.org. Khan Academy is a free website, with hundreds and hundreds of short videos on everything, from basic math to differential equations. Millions of kids have used it, and discovered that they really can UNDERSTAND math and science!

I actually used khanacademy as a refresher, for differential equations and statistics, and they just keep adding more, and better material. It truly is an amazing resource for anyone who can get online, and It’s making a tremendous difference.

How bad do we need innovators in STEM? Let’s put it this way: America in the early 21st century is a nation where a majority of the congressional committee on science and technology, will not publicly admit to accepting the foundational scientific facts of biology (evolution), geology (age of the Earth), astrophysics (The big bang), and atmospheric physics (climate change).

I rest my case.

Please sign it!

PS I made a mistake in the petition and gave him a doctorate. He has a BS and MS from MIT. Unfortunately, you cannot edit petitions once submitted. He certainly deserves an honorary doctorate in education!