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. Which student chose "King of the Rocket Men" as a key word?

2. What educational thinker was quoted at the beginning of "Organic Writing"?

3. What was the ideal number of students to whom a teacher could give individual attention?

4. What figure signified divinity in the Chaldean writing system?

5. How many fancy-dress costumes did Ashton-Warner own?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Russian peasant students react to Leo Tolstoy's experimental school?

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

3. What did Plato believe about dance?

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

5. What was the importance of the "inner illustration" in the children's self-written stories?

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

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

8. In what way does nature provide lessons that books or indoor plantings cannot?

9. How can a teacher tell when a book is valuable to her students, according to Ashton-Warner?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

The Maori children in Ashton-Warner's classroom encountered racism from the majority white population in New Zealand. How did these attitudes affect the students at home and in the community? How did it affect them in the classroom? Did having a white teacher have an impact on them, even if she was open and accepting of them? How do societal assumptions and expectations impact a child's ability to perform in school? Do children internalize the prejudices they encounter or are they able to escape them in the classroom? How do teachers deal with the impact these prejudices may have on their students? Is it possible to fully counter them in school?

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 1,050 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample