

Sylvia calls the children to attention each morning by playing the first eight notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Let’s explore how this worked in practice, starting with an example from her best-known book Teacher. It must start from a person’s experience and relate to their world.Ĭhildren were then able to learn quickly and, in the process, develop their inner strength. Sylvia believed in organic reading and writing.

So what was the secret of her success? Philosophy and background She produced excellent results, but had the reputation of being somewhat difficult. Sylvia was a gifted but complex teacher who worked with Māori children in New Zealand from the 1940s onwards.Įxperts flocked to study her methods for helping children to learn to read and write. The link above takes you to one of the few interviews with Sylvia Ashton-Warner.
