October+17

Feel free to respond to one of the questions below or to one of your own creation. Be sure to post one of your own postings and respond to at least one peer.

Option 1:
 * Does Hilliard provide a persuasive argument on bias in testing? Why/why not?
 * Do you think there's anything to be done about bias in standardized testing, or is it an inevitable reality? As a classroom teacher, what could you do to address the bias of standardized tests?

Option 2: Both Ladson-Billings' concept of "permission to fail" and Purcell-Gates' description of the school's "deficit" response to Donny and his mother illustrate the ways that educators form opinions and biases on the basis of language. For me, both of these chapters are about how we as teachers form expectations of our students and how we enact those expectations in interaction and instruction.

KIPP Schools made famous the "no excuses" mantra in urban, low-income schools: all students should be held to a rigorous standard of learning; as teachers, we cannot allow students to not turn in homework or stay off task in class simply because we "feel sorry for them." (here's a link if you're still curious: kipp five pillars).
 * What do you think Ladson-Billings and Purcell-Gates would say about this philosophy of education?