RoC & MAT comments-Wendi Coats

RoC

"Why Standardized Tests Are Bad...":  I found this article confusing.  A previous article, "Expectations and At-Risk Children", spoke about having consistent expectations for all students and not accepting excuses about a self-perceived inability to learn, while this article spends quite a bit time blaming the government/teachers/etc. for students not learning and espousing excuses based on race and economics.  In my situation, my parents weren't middle class, but I still excelled at most subjects at school.  I think there are some aspects of different cultures, that is ignored most of the time, that I've witnessed in my own friends/family, which is, that if a student begins to excel in school and become "better" than family/friends, then the student makes a choice to "dumb down" to avoid criticism, thus hurting themselves.  I think that is a bigger issue to address.

"Thoughts on Teaching Native American Literature":  I liked this article and how it explains that this type of literature is not really discussed.  I enjoy hearing the stories and the background behind them. 

MAT:  The Lessons 1-9 sound very fun to try.  I think I would like to try, for my collaborative assignment, the chalk drawing or the comic book.