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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. How many children can work at the art easel in the new classroom?

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

3. At what age did students enter Std., Form II in New Zealand?

4. What did Ashton-Warner call the "weakest" words in the language?

5. In the scene in which Ashton-Warner laments the family using school supply money for poker, how much did she say a pencil cost?

Short Essay Questions

1. In her discussion of pedagogy as marriage, what did Ashton-Warner mean when she said that "love interferes with fidelity"?

2. How did Ashton-Warner describe the moments in her life when she knew the meaning of what was happening to her?

3. To what did Ashton-Warner attribute the lack of cohesiveness in some of her later students' stories?

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

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

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

7. What happened when Ashton-Warner attempted to secure school uniforms for her students from a nearby shop?

8. 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?

9. What was Ashton-Warner's attitude toward the white students who accused Maori students of theft?

10. What did the students' compositions reveal about their family lives?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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."

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

A professor told Ashton-Warner that "tidiness kills education." She so admired the expression that she asked him to repeat it. How was this philosophy reflected in Ashton-Warner's teaching style? What advantages are there to maintaining a sense of chaos and disorder in the classroom? Is learning a neat and tidy activity, or is it naturally messy? How can teachers ensure that maintaining a "neat" classroom does not interfere with students' natural learning patterns?

(see the answer keys)

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