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Schedule

Thursday, October 1, 2020 
7:30 p.m. Moderated Discussion
8:10 p.m. Audience Q&A — Questions welcomed via YouTube Live and Facebook Live

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As schools begin reopening for the fall, administrators and teachers are confronting unanswered questions about how safe it is to congregate students back on school campuses, how badly COVID-19 affects younger populations, and how severe the resurgence of infections might be as schools reopen. Amid these concerns, many K–12 school districts have transitioned to online instruction, raising the question of what the future classroom will look like after the pandemic. Will remote learning continue? Or is this an opportunity to explore what educators call “blended learning” — a hybrid instruction model that combines some face-to-face interaction with online content? But virtual classrooms present their own challenges, including unequal access to internet and technology, the inaccessibility of other resources provided by schools such as regular meals, and complications for working parents. Educators may also face difficulties in designing successful digital classes or following up with individual students who need additional help, while students can struggle to adapt to remote learning and miss the benefits of social interaction.   

Join Asia Society for a discussion with Khan Academy founder Sal Khan on how students, parents, and educators can best prepare and adapt to distance learning, the issues related to educational equity amid COVID-19, as well as what the classroom might look like after the coronavirus, including opportunities and challenges. 

About the Speaker

Sal Khan is the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. He is also the founder of Khan Lab School, a nonprofit laboratory school in Mountain View, California, where Sal teaches humanities and sciences.  

Sal’s interest in education began while he was an undergraduate at MIT. While there, he developed math software for children with ADHD and tutored fourth- and seventh-grade public school students in Boston, Massachusetts. Sal also taught test prep courses for the MCAT and was named Teacher of the Year by a national test prep company. He holds three degrees from MIT and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  

Sal founded Khan Academy as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Khan Academy offers free lessons in math, history, grammar, physics, biology, and many more subjects. The nonprofit organization’s mastery learning system allows students to learn at their own pace. Teachers can use Khan Academy to track student progress, identify gaps in learning, make assignments, and provide tailored instruction.  

Khan Academy offers free personalized SAT practice in partnership with the College Board and free personalized LSAT prep in collaboration with the Law School Admission Council. Today more than 100 million registered users access Khan Academy in 43 languages in more than 190 countries. As a nonprofit, Khan Academy relies on donations from foundations, corporations and individuals around the world, as well as earned revenue 

Sal has been profiled by 60 Minutes, featured on the cover of Forbes, and recognized as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. In his book, The One World Schoolhouse, Sal outlines his vision for the future of education. The ideas in One World are the basis for Khan Lab School.  

Sal lives in Mountain View, California, with his wife and three children. 

About the Moderator

Laura E. Arnold is Co-Chair of Arnold Ventures. The philanthropy’s core mission is to invest in evidence-based solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice.

Until late 2006, Laura was Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Cobalt International Energy, L.P. in Houston, Texas. Prior to that, she was a mergers and acquisitions attorney at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz in New York, New York.

Laura has a J.D. from the Yale Law School, an M.Phil in European Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. from Harvard College. After law school, she clerked for the Hon. Judith W. Rogers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Laura currently serves on the Stanford PACS Advisory Board and is a founding partner of the REFORM Alliance.

Asia Society hosts today's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect Asia Society views.

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