Follow Up to We Have to Stop Pretending

I'm thankful for the people in my personal learning network that challenge my thinking on a regular basis. One of the people who consistently pushes me is Scott McLeod. A couple of months ago he wrote a post about things we need to stop pretending in education. I was inspired to write my own post about five things we need to stop pretending. This post stuck with me and I have thought about it quite a bit over the last two months. I have thought about how powerful it would be if it was used to kick off the school year. Imagine the conversations that would take place and the possible changes that might happen!

A few weeks ago I was presented with the opportunity to deliver the closing keynote at the TCEA Area 7 conference in White Oak, Texas. I have never done anything like this before and it quite possibly could be the last time I ever have an opportunity like this so I really want to knock it out of the park! After spending hours staring at a blank document trying to figure out what to talk about I realized this would be the perfect opportunity to explore some of the things I wish we would stop pretending. I will talk about some of the ideas from my original list as well as some ideas I have borrowed some other people.


Here are the thoughts of 135+ educators on this topic. I would like to share some of your thoughts on this topic when I speak in Texas. What are some things you think we need to stop pretending? Please share your thoughts on this padlet.