Sal Khan Quotes

"A one-size-fits-all lecture is not the way to go about education."

"The answer is pretty clear that your intelligence can actually be changed."

"We don't believe that you should ever replace physical education. Even in a thousand years, a computer will never be able to do so."

"Free educational materials will, at minimum, prepare more people for college and allow them to be more successful once they get there. Most students want credentials that employers respect, and free educational materials alone will not do this."

"Great people are attracted to great people and great visions."

"Formal education must change. It needs to be brought into closer alignment with the world as it actually is, into closer harmony with the way human beings actually learn and thrive."

"I never viewed technology as a replacement for the human experience. I viewed it as something that could liberate the human experience."

"Creating a clear and engaging video explanation of a complex concept is a great way to demonstrate mastery and to help others understand and love the subject, too."

"Rather than saying, 'I can't do this,' 'Sesame Street' encourages us to say, 'I can't do this... yet!' That one word changes everything. It emphasizes that your capability isn't fixed. It highlights the reality that our brain is like a muscle."

"One cannot be dogmatic about the right solution."

"I realized that there are many people who are very good students, but they think of themselves as bad students. At the end of the day, what they are really missing is way to understand where their gaps are and a way to address those gaps."

"Education is not an end to itself. You need to know algebra but also how to navigate the world."

"Suffice it to say that our over-reliance on testing is based largely on habit, wishful thinking, and leaps of faith."

"You only have so much time in the day, and you only have so many working years. Where do you want to invest that life?"

"Education has to be more than tests and formulas."

"One's perception of themselves has a much bigger role than has been acknowledged to determine who succeeds and who does not."

"Louisiana was as close to South Asia as the United States could get: it had spicy food, humidity, giant cockroaches, and a corrupt government."

"I am personally an idealist. I was lucky enough to follow my dreams in my own life, so you should definitely follow your dreams."

"The single most important personal finance decision you make is your career."

"I see no reason why there still are large lectures in universities throughout the world. When people gather, they should be interactive, problem-solving, and experimenting; not passively listening."

"Kids and adults alike are having their curiosity drained away by boredom in class or the workplace, and by the unremitting background noise of a dumbed-down pop culture."

"As my kids grow up, I think a lot about the lessons and values I want to impart to them. More than any particular skill or even financial support, I believe perseverance and resilience will serve them best, regardless of what curveball life inevitably throws them."

"There are things you can get in that physical experience you cannot get virtually."

"I've already got a beautiful wife, a great son, and a house. What else do you need?"

"I learned from my peers, and I learned from doing projects, and I learned from mentors, but I learned very little from lectures, and I've talked about how little I attended them."

"At a lot of college graduations, you'll hear people say, 'Follow your passions,' and that is important, but no one talks about the stress of not having enough money, the issues of debt, and the issues of work stress."

"Our goal with Khan Academy Kids is to inspire a life-long love of learning."

"At the end of the day, what matters is whether your product works and whether people like it."

"I'm actually a bit of a technophobe, which surprises people. I like to stay unplugged as much as possible."

"Some of the beauty of a university is that every professor is given a lot of autonomy over what he or she does. That's also what makes it very hard for even a very forward-thinking president to change courses."