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children as the imagery
they represented. Children who had labored for months over 'See Spot run' in the new Janet
and John readers took one look at 'corpse', 'beer' or 'hiding' and suddenly they could
read.
"The stories from which the key words were born
were told in colorful Maori-English. Sylvia recorded them faithfully on to big sheets of
paper and pinned them around the walls: 'I caught Uncle Monty pissing behind the tree. He
got wild when I laughed at him.' 'My Dad gave my Mum a black eye.' It wasn't exactly what
the Education Department had in mind when it advocated the use of children's experiences
in the teaching of reading, but it certainly worked. The excitement and the sense of
release created an unprecedented enthusiasm for reading."29
She realized that children were more interested in
their own stories than hers. So she helped her students write them. She put the stories to
music. And she constructed her own graphic presentations about their dreams and
experiences. She regarded each child as highly creative, and encouraged them to work with
clay and paint.
Above all, she summed up her philosophy in one
memorable sentence: Release the native imagery of your child and use it for working
material.
Some of the same techniques have been used by Felicity
Hughes to teach English in Tanzania30 and by Herbert Kohl to
effectively teach reading to youngsters from minority cultures in California.
Beginning School Mathematics
New Zealand's success in reading recovery has been
matched with some innovative approaches to teaching elementary mathematics. The
Beginning School Mathematics program, for example, includes very brightly-colored
puzzles and games. For their first two years at some schools, youngsters use these and
other manipulative material to learn about the main relationships that underlie
mathematics.
American writer Schulz summarizes her impression of the
program in action: "As we enter the classroom, a glance at the six- and
seven-year-olds tells us BSM is in full swing. Four students make geometric shapes by
stretching rubber bands across pegs on a board. Children at a table draw pictures using
cardboard circles, squares and triangles. One boy weighs household objects on a scale,
guided by a sheet that asks, for example, if a cork is heavier than a paper clip. Six
students stand in line by height and answer the teacher's questions about who is first,
second
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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