Hi, my name is Paul and I want to make the world a better place. To me, there is nothing more satisfying than creating something with purpose and function. As an entrepreneur, I am constantly searching for a better solution to our world’s most pressing problems. And boy, are there a lot of problems. There are roughly 7.3 billion people on God’s green earth and each has an unique story to tell and a specific problem they face. While some are born in privilege, others are born in poverty. There are extroverts and introverts. Some are smart; others are athletic. Some are both.
I always found this quote by Bill Gates quite profound: “If you were born poor, it’s not your mistake. But, if you die poor, that’s your mistake.” I think that is especially true for those who live in America. I remember as a child how my Korean parents fawned over the idea of the American dream and how it was the “land of opportunity.” However, the quote is biased in itself. Unfortunately, those of lower income are influenced by gang violence and drug trafficking even at a young age. Instead of having dreams of becoming a doctor, the President or, a star athlete, they are often negatively impacted by the situation they’re presented.
But, a child’s aspirations are learned and cultivated in school. The community of teachers, administrators, and counselors instill passion in students by identifying and growing their interests and talents. But, the education distribution in America is beyond unequal, something that I’ve seen so clearly while doing community service in Baltimore City schools. Schools in impoverished cities lack proper conditions for learning. Many lack new textbooks, class supplies, and calculators. Teachers are underprepared and underfunded so schools lack after-school activities and sports.
Surprisingly, something I did see was that almost every student had on them a smartphone. While their schools did not have the funds to buy new textbooks and school supplies, almost every student had access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Vine. Witnessing this power of technology, I created The GIVEN. I wanted a space for people of diverse backgrounds and situations to come together and share their knowledge. With the internet, we can connect people to a new level of learning where, collectively, we can help each other grow. This is how humans were made to learn and that is the future of education. I hope that, together, we can make a difference. Come join us at http://www.thegiven.co
Cheers,
Paul Kang
CEO and Co-Founder of The GIVEN
You have shown me that there are many ways to learn math. There are so many options such as Khan Academy, after-school academies, private math tutors, YouTube, Wolfram Alpha, Chegg and The GIVEN
The GIVEN 