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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Mike's teachers encourage him to do so he might better understand what they were teaching?

2. Why did Bobby feel unable to achieve the same high standards at UCLA that he had been able to achieve in high school?

3. As a child, what did Mike like to read about?

4. What grades did Mike get in grammar?

5. What did Mike and his team do the other week days?

Short Essay Questions

1. In school, how did Mike defend himself against things he couldn't understand?

2. What did Mike mean when he said the classroom could be filled with possibility?

3. How did Mike describe the community of Maravilla?

4. What did Mike mean on page 102 when he said teaching "is a kind of romance."

5. What lesson did Mike design to help his students better understand vocabulary?

6. What type of ending did Hank write to the Rocky Raccoon story?

7. What did Mike do to make money while at UCLA?

8. What did Mike learn from Jack McFarland?

9. What did Mike say he learned from the four men who gave him a good liberal education?

10. How did Mike describe Mr. Wilson?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how in some ways Mike's childhood helped him to understand and fit into El Monte and how in some ways it prevented him from understanding El Monte. Use examples from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how Mike's time at Loyola both helped and hindered him at UCLA. Use examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the focus placed on test results and how it affected students' placement in school. Use examples from the book.

(see the answer keys)

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