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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. To what Dickens novel character did Ashton-Warner refer in "Maori Transitional Readers?"

2. How did Ashton-Warner describe the worst assistant she ever had in the classroom?

3. To what natural phenomenon did Ashton-Warner describe the mind of a young child?

4. What was the condition of the student-made books after several reading sessions?

5. How many Maori transitional readers did Ashton-Warner end up with?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What was the role of handwriting in the Maori students' stories?

3. How did the Maori early readers provide a bridge to eventual reading of European material?

4. Why did Ashton-Warner find the European and American early readers two-dimensional?

5. Why was the class so noisy while the children studied their individual key words and what did that noise signify?

6. What did Ashton-Warner mean when she wrote that "we don't waste enough in school?"

7. What was Ashton-Warner's reaction to the sometimes violent imagery used in the children's stories?

8. Why did Ashton-Warner describe the language of published first readers as "dead"?

9. Why were "key words" so essential to learning to read?

10. By what process was spelling taught in Ashton-Warner's classroom?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At one point in the book, Ashton-Warner admitted that at least one of her white students would have performed better had he been given access to the "white" readers she hated so much. Did her efforts on behalf of her Maori students come at a cost for her white students? Is it possible to help one previously disadvantaged group while also ensuring that the "advantaged" group does not fall behind? Should teachers base their teaching on reaching specific groups or should all the students, regardless of background, be expected to conform to the standard used in that classroom? Is it possible--or desirable--to differentiate instruction in a diverse classroom?

Essay Topic 2

Sylvia-Ashton Warner wrote about her attempts to bring some order to the classroom when the students got out of hand. She eventually realized that the first few bars of Beethoven's Fifth on the piano did the trick. Write an essay exploring how music can be used in the classroom to bring calm during difficult times. What is it about music that speaks to all humans, regardless of ethnic or racial background? How does it provide a form of "quiet control" that is more effective than yelling or making other loud noises to get attention? Why were the Maori children entranced by Western classical music?

Essay Topic 3

As Ashton-Warner listened to a Maori adult teach her students a traditional song, she realized that she could not have done that because she was not Maori herself. She knew she could not bring forth the same passion that the Maori teacher did. How did being white affect Ashton-Warner's abilities as a teacher to a mostly-Maori classroom? Did it limit her in any way? Was she required to make changes to her technique because of the racial difference? Were there other situations (besides the traditional song) in which Ashton-Warner would have been at a significant disadvantage as a white person? Is it necessary to have teachers reflect the ethnic or racial makeup of their classrooms?

(see the answer keys)

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