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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 did Ashton-Warner say many classrooms grow seeds for indoor study?

2. To what artist did Ashton-Warner refer to in "Workbook"?

3. What composer was Ashton-Warner playing when her students began doing expressive dancing?

4. What was the maximum number of children Ashton-Warner felt a teacher could give individual attention to?

5. At what time did the students turn to the new words during the "intake period"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Ashton-Warner mean when she referred to a workbook as a "middleman"?

2. Why did Ashton-Warner believe that standardized reading texts were damaging to children?

3. Why was teaching the class so back-breaking, according to Ashton-Warner?

4. Why was it important for the teacher to be a good conversationalist in the classroom?

5. How did the students perform when they did expressive dancing versus when they learned specific moves?

6. How did modern life in New Zealand make it difficult for people to use their inner resources?

7. What is wrong with the cadence in many published first readers?

8. What did Plato believe about dance?

9. Why did Ashton-Warner describe children's minds as volcanoes and how did that affect her teaching?

10. Why did Ashton-Warner say that the discussions of the children's stories were the "most significant" feature of the class?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Based on categorizing the "first words" collected from her students, Ashton-Warner decided that there were two main instincts represented in these words--fear and sex. Is that a fair and accurate assessment? Are these two "emotions" universal (in terms of being expressed as "first words" among children)? Is fear something that all children feel and need to express? What is their likely understanding of the role of sex in their lives and the life of their community? Would children of different cultures also focus on words related to fear and sex and would those words differ from the Maori ones? What do these first words say about human nature?

Essay Topic 2

Ashton-Warner's students spend much time dancing in the classroom, whether as a form of exercise or in free-dance exploration. Write an essay exploring the use of dance in the classroom. What are the benefits of giving students access to this art form? Are the benefits solely physical? Does dance help center children and does it have an effect on concentration? How can free-dance periods help children express themselves and how can that impact other areas of the curriculum?

Essay Topic 3

Ashton-Warner discussed the basic rule of organic teaching as a "creative vent." Explore what she meant by that expression. How does providing children with an opportunity to vent, whether in writing, dance or artwork, help that child grow? If the child is asked to conform to certain educational standards and suppress his own impulses, how does that affect his overall schoolwork? Is some degree of suppression necessary for the sake of classroom unity and atmosphere or should all students be given free rein to express themselves even if they do not follow the curriculum? How does the imposition of adult-determined standards stunt a child's growth, as Ashton-Warner suggested?

(see the answer keys)

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