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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. Where does Codell take her students on January 20?

2. Which student becomes teacher for a day, swapping places with Codell?

3. Why does Codell initially regret asking Twanette's mother to a conference on September 30?

4. What is Codell's general attitude toward Ms. Federman?

5. What does Codell call the subject of Math?

Short Essay Questions

1. What award does Codell win early in Part III, and why is it important to her?

2. What is B.B.'s home situation like?

3. Describe the story Codell tells about her landlord in a November 10 entry.

4. What is Codell's experience in proctoring another class for a standardized test?

5. Why does Codell take B. B. and his little sister in to her home for a night?

6. What is Codell's rationale for insisting her students call her Madame Esme?

7. How does Codell build up suspense in her class for the introduction of the "time machine"?

8. What does Codell's class do to learn about Native Americans?

9. What is Codell's opinion of the teaching education she received?

10. Who is Marky?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Is Codell emotionally involved with her students? Is "love" an appropriate term for Codell's relationship with her students? What might Codell say about the value (or danger) of a teacher's emotional attachment with his or her students? How might this attachment affect the learning process?

Essay Topic 2

In a few places in the text, Codell speaks of why she's doing what she's doing, and what reward, literally or figurative, she is receiving for her work.

1)Describe two times in the text that Codell has felt "rewarded" in her work.

2)What is the nature of this "reward"? How does this relate to a teacher's purpose in general?

3)What might be considered Codell's ultimate reward, to her mind? In a perfect world, what kind of satisfaction would she be receiving from her work, and what form would it take?

Essay Topic 3

At the end of the epilogue, Codell states: "Everything [my students] become, I also become. And everything about me, they helped to create." Dissect and explain this enigmatic statement. What implications does this have for the teaching process as well as the learning process? How might such a statement help to explain Codell's larger philosophy about the correct way to teach?

(see the answer keys)

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