Basically, the We Have to Stop Pretending challenge asks participants to pass along 5 thoughts on the topic and then to tag another 5 people to keep up the momentum.
I am going to do this cold, not looking at what others have already said, but will surely look later.
In education, we have to stop pretending:
1) That a child's home life and socio-economic status are not significant factors in a child's readiness to learn and succeed in school;
2) That students who speak a second language and come to the USA from other countries with different cultures will miraculously integrate into our educational system;
3) That comparing students' educational levels to those of students' in other countries where very different variables exist makes sense;
4) That music, art, and physical education are not just as important as other subject areas such as math and English/language arts; and
5) That schools are not becoming reflections of the unfortunate violence we find surrounding us in society and the world at-large.
I pass along the challenge of We Have to Stop Pretending to these five connected educators who make a difference in a student's life every day, knowing they'll accept the challenge and write a blog post and tag 5 others.
Marialice Curran @mbfxc
Sarah Thomas @sarahdateechur
Starr Sackstein @mssackstein
Scott Boylen @iowasboy
Paul Solarz @paulsolarz
Follow along on Twitter #makeschooldifferent to find others' responses to this challenge.
