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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. When does Rodriguez think that minority students should get help?

2. Where does Rodriguez go for his fellowship?

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

4. Because of his skin color, what did Rodriguez's parents worry about?

5. How does Rodriguez describe the 1960s student?

Short Essay Questions

1. What conversation does Rodriguez have with a colleague about teaching positions? What decision does Rodriguez make as a result of that conversation?

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

3. Rodriguez looks at the students of the 1960s and 1970s from a teacher's perspective. What does he see as the difference between them?

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

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

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

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

8. What are Rodriguez's parents' ideas about masculine and feminine characteristics? How does that affect Rodriguez?

9. How does Rodriguez handle applying for teaching positions?

10. How do people respond to Rodriguez's skin color when he is younger?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rodriguez clearly sees books as something powerful and potentially dangerous. Early on in the book, Rodriguez describes himself as being afraid to learn to read because he was aware of the power of books. Later, he describes his mother asking him what was in all those books and why he needed to read all of them. At the end of the book, he describes his nephew, who is reading, as someone who may cause trouble.

Part One: What has happened in his life to lead him to that conclusion? Give specific examples.

Part Two: Do you think other people in the book would agree with his conclusion? Why or why not? Give specific examples.

Essay Topic 2

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

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

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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