In Oklahoma Education, We Have to Stop Pretending

Scott McLeod (@mcleod) has thrown down the gauntlet: What are five things we need to stop pretending about in education?

We have to stop pretending… http://t.co/jhU5rnYkXl cc @gcouros @smartinez @wfryer @coolcatteacher @web20classroom #edchat #edtech #cpchat

— Scott McLeod (@mcleod) April 13, 2015

Here’s my list. When it comes to education, we have to stop pretending…

1. We are giving elementary students a grade in “science” when we haven’t provided any opportunities all year for them to conduct an experiment, measure something, collect any data, or form a hypothesis.
2. We still live in the 20th century when communication, commerce, and learning opportunities were analog rather than digital.
3. Coding is a skill students should wait till high high school or college before learning.
4. That educational quality comes from mandated curricular pacing guides, benchmark tests, and a myopic focus on multiple-choice exams.
5. That it’s acceptable for over 1000 K-12 classrooms in Oklahoma this year to be without a certified teacher.

Now I’m passing this torch/meme to some #OklaEd bloggers and change agents: I tag Michelle Waters (@watersenglish), Rick Cobb (@okeducation), Kevin Hime (@coach57), Erin Barnes (@elynnlll), and Rob Miller (@jmsprincipal).

Please join us. When it comes to education, what are 5 things that we have to stop pretending? Post on your blog, tag 5 others, and share using the #makeschooldifferent hashtag. Feel free to also put the URL of your post in the comments of Scott’s original post so others can find it!

   by  Wesley Fryer