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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. In the illustrations accompanying "Organic Writing," what fatal accident did one child claim had happened to him?

2. At what time of day did Ashton-Warner "teach" the Golden Section?

3. How did Ashton-Warner describe the energy released during the spelling period in "The Mechanics of Teaching Organic Spelling"?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Plato believe about dance?

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

3. In "Workbook," what did Ashton-Warner mean when she said that one cannot plot life?

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

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

6. How did early exposure to white cultural norms adversely affect the Maori?

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

8. What was the connection Ashton-Warner drew between the infant room and war and peace?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ashton-Warner criticized the use of workbooks in schools, although she said she understood why some teachers relied on them. Do workbooks provide any benefits to the students? Are they absolutely necessary for determining how well a child is learning? Would it be possible to devise other ways of measuring a child's development? Are workbooks used because the curriculum is standardized for all children? Would they be helpful if curricula were tailored to individual students?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

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