This Is Not a Test
The interview with the José Vilson
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José Vilson: That would be it. There’s a lack of nuance in all facets of what we talk about when we talk about education. So I took a different approach. I tried to address education through narrative and stories, which I think is way more powerful than just coming out and saying *I don’t like this crap.*
ES: At the heart of the book is your critique of an approach to education that overemphasizes standardized testing and what that means, particularly for children of color who had a different, unjust kind of education long before the current brand of reform came down. But let’s just say that people who are expecting a standard take on standardized testing are in for something of a surprise.
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ES: Speaking of new words, you used one I’d never heard before: tenebruous.
JV: I love dictionaries and I’d been saving that word. I thought, you know, if I ever write a book, I’m going to use the word *tenebruous.* And when it came up I was like *yes*!
ES: You’re not going to tell us what it means, are you?
JV: Nope. Folks will just have to buy the book.