View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What color were the sports pullovers the basketball players were knitting for themselves?

2. What did Mark claim had been stolen from him in "Life in a Maori School, 1"?

3. In what tense should verbs be when taught to beginning readers, according to Ashton-Warern?

4. What did one section of wallpaper depict?

5. What is a "taiaha"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the behavior of the children differ in the new classrooms compared to when Ashton-Warner taught at the school?

2. How did Maoris and whites differ in terms of communal gatherings?

3. Why did Ashton-Warner write at the end of "Holidays" that she was no longer lonely?

4. Why did Ashton-Warner criticize herself for the way she handled Matawhero's defiance after he hit Gordon?

5. Why was Ashton-Warner upset about the way she handled Mark Cutter when his mother insisted that her son was advancing too quickly in class?

6. Why was Ashton-Warner so worried about the prospect of being visited by the inspector?

7. Why did Ashton-Warner focus on teaching her Maori students nouns at first?

8. What was the reaction of strangers to Ashton-Warner's multi-colored Maori belt?

9. Why did Ashton-Warner's white student, Dennis, have a nervous breakdown?

10. What revelation did Ashton-Warner have in "Post-Holiday Notes" about using Maori readers with both Maori and white students?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ashton-Warner's book, "Teacher," was extremely influential and continues to be taught in schools of education today. Research if and how her approach to organic teaching has influenced the classrooms of today. How is organic teaching taught? Is it ever fully implemented or was it ultimately unique to a handle of schools and classrooms? Does today's push for school accountability and standardized testing make it more difficult to incorporate organic learning as practiced by Ashton-Warner? Or does organic teaching provide a promising way out of today's difficulties in the educational system?

Essay Topic 2

Ashton-Warner wrote about the "Golden Section" in education and how she incorporated nature into the classroom. What are the benefits of teaching about nature in the classroom? How does nature provide insights into other areas of the curriculum? Ashton-Warner's classroom was somewhat unique in that the nature was right outside and sometimes even entered the classroom. How do teachers living in more urban environments bring nature into the classroom? Is it possible for all teachers to take their students out into actual natural settings or can there be benefits to bringing natural lessons into the physical classroom? How does the natural world speak to children and how can that be harnessed?

Essay Topic 3

Ashton-Warner rejected the use of corporal punishment, while pointing out that many prominent philosophers embraced it. Write an essay exploring this issue. Is corporal punishment ever effective? What short-term and long-term impacts does it have on children? Does it make a difference if it is administered at home or in a school setting? What other disciplinary techniques can be used, both at home and at school? Include in your essay whether most schools today allow corporal punishment and how attitudes have changed since Ashton-Warner first wrote "Teacher."

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,128 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample