Growth Mindset: Khan Academy's Director of U.S. Content on academic belonging

My name is Brian John Jude and I manage the arts, humanities, and social science curriculum here at Khan Academy.

I was the first person in my family to attend college, and I remember my freshman year. The first course I was taking was in literature and history, and we were reading a primary source. It was talking about the Norman invasion in 1066, and I remember reading that the Normans took a boat from France to England. I remember thinking, "Why would they take a boat? Why wouldn't they just walk?"

So, I went home and I opened a map. I realized, oh my gosh, because England's an island! My history education was so subpar in high school. Here I was, a first-generation college student in a class my freshman year, thinking I don't belong here. I don't even know that England is an island.

I had two choices in front of me. I could have quit and acknowledged that I don't belong here, that I shouldn't be in this course, or I could ask for help. At least 10 times a day, which is what I did. I went to office hours; I got help from the librarians who gave me extra books to read and recommended books on course.

I mean, really, I was craving a resource like Khan Academy because I knew I had these gaps, and I needed someone to help me fill them. I really struggled with my writing, and so I was at the writing center almost every day in college, recognizing that I needed to get better.

I could just avoid writing or avoid those courses, or I could say, “I know this is going to be hard.” The way that I'm going to get through it is by asking for help, by admitting my own humility, and knowing what I don't know. Just signing myself up for the struggle.