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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. Which student picked the word bomb as a first key word?

2. How many students, according to the university professor quoted in "The Unlived Life," are capable of creative thought?

3. What was the most powerful word under the "fear" category?

4. What poet is quoted at the beginning of "Tone"?

5. What interesting word did Brian use to describe a bus in his story?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Why did Ashton-Warner throw out words that students did not recognize the second time?

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

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

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 3

Many of Ashton-Warner's children used violent imagery in their writings, some of it reflecting their daily family life, some of it made up. In most schools today, that sort of imagery would be a cause for concern. Is it wise to allow students to express themselves in their writing if it is violent? Should teachers and school officials question the content of a student's writing? Why did Ashton-Warner allow her students to write in this way? Were their any advantages to doing so? Could students with emotional problems or bad home environments benefit from having an outlet for their feelings at school? Or do schools have a responsibility to rein in children's violent feelings for the sake of the entire class?

(see the answer keys)

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