I've never dismissed out of hand the charges of cultural bias on US standardized tests. When working as a remedial reading teacher, I saw enough cases where a child knew how to spell or read a word, but was confused by the graphic representation of an unfamiliar object.
In America, most children learn, even before they go to school, that "a" is for apple. To get an idea of the cultural barriers to test success that some children face, look at a Japanese equivalent and tell me, in Japan, what is "o" for?
My resident Mancunian replies, "Strawberries with elastoplasts?"
Any Japaneses preschooler would associate the picture with onigiri, a sticky rice ball garnished with a strip of seaweed. For lunch or hand-held snack, onigiri is as familiar to a Japanese child as sandwiches are to an American child .
Thursday July 4, 1991
09:50 Buy postcards and shirojiki at Hori Bung.
12:37 Forget that Toyomi is closed today and have to walk to Marashoku in the rain to buy lunch.
17:30 Tutored Noriko and Miho. Videotaped this session.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
July 04, 2002
Share Your Thoughts
A is for candy. I is for dog. U is for horse. E is for paint. O is for rice balls.