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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 does Rodriguez's editor say about his idea for a book?

2. Does Rodriguez believe that his mother knows about his book?

3. Does Rodriguez's mother blame him for what happened to their family?

4. According to Rodriguez, what do minority students need to succeed in college?

5. Based on his conversation with his classmate, what does Rodriguez decide?

Short Essay Questions

1. As a teacher, how does Rodriguez interact with these other minority students? Why does he act that way?

2. What does Rodriguez decide to do about a job?

3. Now that he is older, how do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color?

4. What does Rodriguez think about the Civil Rights Movement?

5. As a child, what does Rodriguez learn about dark skin?

6. How does Rodriguez describe his mother's interaction with the public world? Give specific examples.

7. How do Rodriguez's ideas about religion change as he grows up? How does his practice of religion change?

8. What does Rodriguez's mother tell him about writing about their family? What does his editor tell him?

9. How does Rodriguez overcome his attitudes about dark skin? Give two specific examples.

10. Why does Rodriguez's mother call him "Mr. Secrets"? In spite of his secretive behavior, what does Rodriguez believe she knows?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Part One: What does Rodriguez argue about bilingual education? Explain his argument thoroughly and give specific examples that he uses to support his argument.

Part Two: Do you agree with Rodriguez's arguments? Why or why not? Provide your own examples to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Rodriguez spends a lot of time analyzing his education and how it affected him.

Part One: What lessons can a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can any student draw from his story?

Part Two: What lessons can the parent of a minority student draw from his story? What lessons can the parent of any student draw from his story?

Part Three: What lessons can the teachers of minority students draw from his story? What lessons can any teacher draw from his story?

Based on that, to what group(s) of people would you recommend this book? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Part One: Compare and contrast the two religions - Mexican Catholicism and English-speaking Catholicism - that Rodriguez experiences as a child.

Part Two: Which one had a more profound effect on him as he grew up?

Part Three: Does his "New Catholicism" look more like Mexican Catholicism, English-speaking Catholicism, or an equal blend of the two?

(see the answer keys)

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