"The child played with ____ truck" doesn't fit the paradigm, since the
reference is to a specific child who is either male or female (and the
speaker would presumably know which). Quite different from "Each child
should play with ___ truck," where "their" would fit.

 

Dick Veit

________________________________

Richard Veit
Department of English
University of North Carolina Wilmington

________________________________

From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Alison Cochrane
Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2007 12:37 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: more teaching questions on grammar

 

If the sentence on such standardized tests reads:  The boy played with
_____ truck, and the choices were either his or their, of course the
standardized answer would be his.  However, if the sentence were to
read: The child played with ______ truck, and the choices were the same,
I think then there would be a question of gender/cultural bias in this
assessment.  

 

Hopefully more times than not, students will be assessed authentically
through their writing and not by multiple choice questions.  This will
allow them to show their knowledge instead of limiting them to
right/wrong answers that engage low level thinking skills.

 

Alison

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up
where I needed to be. " 
~ Kahlil Douglas Adams





________________________________

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