Laurie Block Spigel reviews Teacher, by Sylvia Ashton-Warner

One beautiful account of an educator with an open heart is Teacher, by Sylvia Ashton-Warner, who taught young Maori children in New Zealand. These children, raised in ancient Maori traditions, were forced to enter the British school system at age five, with disastrous results. Attempts at teaching these children how to read using traditional British texts failed. Yet when Ms. Ashton-Warner created simple books using the children's own words, ideas and experiences, they read and wrote with remarkable success.

Ashton-Warner's outdoor teaching experiences are also inspiring, recounted in her chapter The Golden Section. This title refers to the golden mean and fractals, mathematics and science in nature, and to nature itself. We forget that mathematics is one of the sciences, and integral to them all rather than separate. We forget, too, that all sciences, including math, have their roots in nature. It makes perfect sense to teach our children math and science outdoors. Ms. Ashton-Warner had her young charges count the fronds of a fern or the petals of a flower. She understood that science and math are inseparable from the natural world, an environment where all children are curious. Ashton-Warner then advises us to "...put every subject into the creative vent...." Children love to draw ferns and flowers, dance to a bird's movements, sing and play music found in natural rhythms and sounds.

Teacher is an inspirational journey for the reader. We not only discover the truth of child-led learning through the eyes of a true educational pioneer, we also fall in love with Sylvia Ashton-Warner's deep commitment to these children. It is indeed her love and passion, her open heart, which became this teacher's true path.

This review appeared in the HSNYC Newsletter, Vol. I, issue 2, January 2010