[mnazim]

Agreed motivation comes from curiosity. But in case of 10 year old with all the distractions on the internet, can he/she or will he/she really spend enough time on Khan Academy to learn maths, science, language etc. on his own?

[sudhirc]

If that is the case then you should be force feeding the child to become something they never wanted to be. Children coming from poor families will focus their energies on learning especially when will head from likes of Bill Gates that khan academy is all you need to learn something.They will atleast get started and go for it. Sugata mitra is experiment[1] clearly demonstrate what childrens can do once they are left to their own devices.

Problem with children is not the desire to learn, problem is bad teachers who does nothing but inhibit and curb their student's creativity.

[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_t...

[mnazim]

Dear sudhirc. Please read my comments. I am constantly mentioning "primary school education".

I don't give a damn about careers, I don't give a damn about degrees; because by the time people are in (senior)high school, they are smart to use the 3 pound coconut God put on their shoulders and figure things out for themselves.

All I care about primary school education. And children NEED hand holding and general direction providing at such a nascent level which can only be provided by a trained teacher within a pedagogically sound system and can never be achieved by any level of technologically marvelous device of any sorts. Period.

That is why when I have children they are not going to school until they are at least 10 years old. :P

PS: I don't care what Bill Gates says. Since when is he an authority on education? What are his credentials/contributions in the field?