The Fun They Had Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English
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The Fun They Had Extra Questions
and Answers Class 9 English
The Fun They Had class 9 English beehive chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers
are available here. All these questions are divided into short type questions
answers, long type question answers and extract based questions. These Class 9
extra questions are prepared by our expert teachers. Learning these questions will
help you to score excellent marks in the board exams.
Extra Questions for Class 9 English Beehive
Chapter 1 The Fun They Had
Table of Contents
Very Short Answer Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Long Answer Type Questions
Very Short Answer Questions
1. On what date did Margie make an entry in her diary about the real book?
Answer: She did so on 17 May 2157.
2. What did Tommy find?
Answer: He found a real book.
3. How old was Margie?
Answer: She was eleven years old.
4. How old was Tommy?
Answer: He was thirteen years old.
5. What was the real book, that Tommy found, about?
Answer: It was about ‘School’.
6. What did Margie hate?
Answer: She hated school.
7. What had the mechanical teacher been giving to Margie?
Answer: The mechanical teacher had been giving test after test to Margie in
geography.
8. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: She sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been doing
worse and worse in her geography tests.
9. Why did Margie hate slot most?
Answer: Margie hated slot most because she had to put homework and test
papers in it.
10. What was wrong with the geography sector of Margie’s mechanical
teacher?
Answer: The geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared a little
too quick.
11. What do you mean by a regular teacher?
Answer: It means the mechanical teacher that appears on the television screen at
the fixed time.
12. What is the name of Margie’s mother?
Answer: Her name is Mrs Jones.
13. On which two days there came no mechanical teacher on the TN. screen?
Answer: On Saturday and Sunday.
14. What subject did Tommy learn?
Answer: He learnt history.
15. Name the writer of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: Isaac Asimov.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Who are Tommy and Margie? How old are they?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are students from the year 2157. They are
neighbours and spend time together like children of their age usually do. Tommy
is a thirteen-year-old boy and Margie is an eleven-year-old girl.
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer: On 17 May 2157 Margie recorded in her diary the discovery of a real
book by Tommy. It was a very old paper book with yellow and crinkly pages.
3. Where did Tommy find the book and in what condition?
Or
Describe the book that Tommy had found in the attic.
Answer: Tommy found a real book in the attic of his house. The pages had
turned yellow and crinkly because it was at least two hundred years old.
Moreover, it was all covered with dust as it had been lying in the attic for ages.
4. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer: No, Margie had never seen a book before till she saw the one that
Tommy had found in the attic of his house. She had only heard about books from
her grandfather who himself had not seen any. He too had heard about a printed
book from his own grandfather.
5. Did Margie like the printed book? Why/Why not?
Answer: Margie was so excited to know that Tommy had found a ‘real’ book
which was unlike the on-screen books the two were used to reading, that she
recorded the discovery in her diary. As she turned the yellow and crinkly pages of
the book with Tommy, she found it awfully funny to read it. While Tommy found
it a waste, Margie was fascinated by it and liked it.
6. What things about the book did Margie find strange?
Answer: Margie lived in an era of mechanical education with telebooks stored in
a machine. So she found it strange that the words in the printed book remained
fixed unlike the moving ones on her television screen.
7. “What a waste!” What is Tommy referring to as a ‘waste’? Is it really a
waste?
Answer: Tommy thinks that the paper books with words printed and fixed on
them are a waste. Once a book is read, it becomes useless and must be thrown
away because it has the same content. Actually, printed books are not a waste.
They can be read by many people over and over again and should be preserved
for future generations.
8. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer: A telebook is a compact book in an electronic form. It is stored in a
computer and can be read by scrolling its pages up, down or sideways on a
screen.
9. How does Tommy find the telebooks of his own time to be better?
Answer: Tommy felt that his telebooks were better than the printed books of the
ancient times because they could be stored on television and read again and
again. They occupied very little space as compared to the printed books and need
not be discarded once they had been read.
10. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: Margie’s school was inside the comfort of her house. It was just next to
her bedroom. It was a customized school, set up exclusively for her according to
her level and needs. No, she did not have any classmates.
11. Why had Margie started hating her school?
Answer: Margie never liked school. But recently her hatred had increased
because of her poor performance in geography tests. Her mechanical teacher
gave her one test after another and her performance went on becoming worse
and worse.
12. Which part of her school did Margie hate the most?
Or
What did Margie hate the most about her school?
Answer: The part that Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put
homework and test papers. She always had to write them in a punch code that
she was made to learn at the tender age of six. Besides, the mechanical teacher
calculated her marks in no time which left no scope for Margie to relax after
submitting the assigned tasks.
13. What subjects did Tommy and Margie learn?
Answer: Tommy and Margie learned a lot of subjects like History, Geography,
and Mathematics.
14. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were not real
persons but televisions which had different subject sectors. These teachers were
customized to the level of a student. In case of malfunction, they were disbanded
and repaired.
15. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Or
Why did Margie’s mother shook her head one day and send for the County
Inspector?
Answer: Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been
performing poorly in Geography. The repeated fall in her daughter’s performance
disappointed her. So, she decided to call a specialist, the County Inspector, who
could locate the problem and correct it.
16. What views did Margie’s mother have about teachers and learning?
Answer: Margie’s mother was very particular about her child’s education and
made sure that Margie attended her tele-school regularly and studied properly
and punctually. She believed that a tele-teacher had to be adjusted to the mind
of each student and that each student had to be taught differently. Whenever she
noticed a snag in Margie’s tele-teacher, she sent for the County Inspector to get
the snag removed so that Margie did not miss Out of her school and learning.
17. What was the County Inspector trained to do?
Answer: The County Inspector worked as a technical expert. He was trained to
identify and rectify errors in the functioning of the system installed in the
mechanical teachers.
18. What idea do you form of the County Inspector as a person?
Answer: The County Inspector was certainly a kind-hearted man. Instead of
finding fault with Margie, he gave her an apple and told her mother that if Margie
was not performing well, it was not her fault, but the fault of the mechanical
teacher. He aligned the speed of the geography sector keeping in mind the level
of the girl. Before leaving, he patted Margie on the head and expressed
satisfaction at her performance.
19. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County
Inspector do to help her?
Answer: Margie was doing badly because the speed of the geography sector had
been fixed too fast for her level. The County Inspector slowed down the speed to
suit the level of an average ten-year-old. As Margie was of eleven years, she was
comfortable with the new level set by the County Inspector.
20. “Margie was disappointed,” says the author. Why was she disappointed?
Or
How did the County Inspector disappoint Margie?
Answer: Margie was disappointed because she hated school and hoped that her
mechanical teacher would be taken away for repairs as Tommy’s teacher was
once taken away for a month. But when the County Inspector promptly repaired
and reset it at her home itself, she was unhappy.
21. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Once, Tommy’s mechanical teacher had developed a fault and its history
sector had blanked out absolutely. The teacher had to be taken away for repairs
and it had taken a month to put it in order.
22. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. She studied from
Monday to Friday at the same time every day. Although her school was a large
black television screen installed in her own house, she had to attend it regularly.
Her mother thought that young girls learnt things better if they studied them at
regular hours.
23. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: Tommy describes the old school as a special building where all the
children went to study together. The students of the same age-group learnt the
same things which were taught by human teachers.
24. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: Tommy tells Margie that the teachers in olden times were not
mechanical but real men. They taught various things to boys and girls, gave them
homework and also asked them questions. The teachers went to a special
building called the school where they taught the children in the classrooms.
25. How did Margie react when Tommy told her that twentieth-century
schools had human teachers?
Or
Why did Margie remark, “How could a man be a teacher”?
Answer: Margie made this remark when she heard Tommy mention that children
were taught by human teachers in the times gone by. She could not believe the
truth of Tommy’s comment because she had not seen any human teacher; she
was used to studying with the help of her mechanical tele-teacher only.
Moreover, she believed that a human teacher could not match the mechanical
teacher in intelligence and knowledge.
26. Who interrupts Margie and Tommy’s conversation? Why?
Answer: Margie and Tommy were lost in unraveling the exciting mystery of the
‘real’ book that the latter had found in his attic, when Margie’s mother
interrupted them saying “Margie! School!” and she even suggested to Tommy
that it was time for him to attend school, too.
27. When Margie went to her school, what did the teacher on the screen
teach?
Answer: When Margie went to her school, which was a room next to her
bedroom, the mechanical teacher taught an arithmetic lesson on the addition of
proper fractions. It taught her how to add the fractions ½ and ¼.
28. Why couldn’t Margie concentrate on the Arithmetic lesson?
Answer: Margie could not concentrate on the arithmetic lesson because her mind
was pre-occupied with the thoughts about the school that Tommy had just
described her. She was awestruck to learn that children studied together and
were taught by real persons in these old schools. She thought how much fun
those students must have had while studying together.
29. Why did Margie think that children must have loved to go to school
when her grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy?
Or
Why did Margie feel that children in old times had fun while studying in
school?
Or
why does Margie feel that learning was fun in the schools of the past?
Answer: Margie attends a tele-school, which is just a machine in the room next to
her bedroom and she studies alone unlike students of the schools in the bygone
times. She feels that learning was more fun in those days because hundreds of
children had the opportunity of congregating and studying together with the
help of human teachers and printed books. Schools were huge buildings where a
lot of activities could be carried out by students in groups. Compared to that, her
present school is much too mechanical, boring, monotonous and demanding, and
she hates it.
30. What was Tommy’s opinion about the ‘real book’?
Answer: Tommy found the ‘real book’ a waste as once read you, just throw it
away. It did not seem interesting and useful. The words were fixed on it and not
any other thing can be printed on it.
31. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: He says that the old teachers did not live in the house. They had a
special building and all the kids went there. They gave homework to students.
They were not mechanical teachers, but human beings.
32. Who was the Country Inspector? What was his work?
Answer: The country Inspector was the man who repaired the mechanical
teacher. He adjusted the level of the teacher as per the child’s requirements and
intelligence.
33. Why was Margie doing worse in geography? What did the County
Inspector do to help her?
Answer: Margie had been doing worse in geography because the mechanical
teacher was very fast in displaying the questionnaire. The County Inspector
adjusted its speed up to an average ten-year level. Thus, the mechanical teacher’s
speed was controlled appropriately. The County Inspector assured that the overall
pattern of Margie’s progress was quite satisfactory.
34. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother
said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
35. Why did Tommy pronounce the word ‘centuries ago’ carefully?
Answer: Tommy pronounced the word carefully because he wanted to lay stress
on the fact that the school was very old and it was quite different from theirs.
36. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Once Tommy’s teacher was taken away for about a month because the
history sector had blanked out completely.
37. What is the ‘slot’? Why does Margie hate it?
Answer: ‘Slot’ was a space in the mechanical teacher where each student is to put
his homework and test assignments for marking. Margie hates it the most
because she has to work hard to punch code for answering homework.
38. Evaluate ‘The Fun They Had’ as a futuristic story.
Answer: The Fun They Had’ is a futuristic story. It tells us about the revolutionary
changes that will come in the field of education in the 22nd century. Technology
will replace the concept of old schools and printed books. Margie and Tommy are
the students of the year 2157. They are taught in their bedrooms serving as
virtual classrooms. A mechanical teacher will replace a human teacher. Computers
and e-books will replace old printed books.
39. How will the e-books be different from the old books that existed
centuries ago?
Answer: The very concept of ‘the books’ will change in the 22nd century. The e-
books will replace old books. The books will not be printed on papers. The words
will move on a TV/computer screen. The television screen may have more than a
million books on it.
40. What did Margie’s mother think about the teacher’ and ‘the school’?
Answer: Margie’s mother thought that every child had a different intelligence
and capacity to understand things. The mechanical teacher should be adjusted to
fit the mind of each boy and girl it taught. Each kid had to be taught differently.
She thought that little girls and boys would learn better if they learned at regular
hours at the ‘school’.
41. Describe the characteristics of the old school? How did it influence
Margie?
Answer: The old school had several characteristics — the children went to a big
building. The man worked as a teacher and taught the boys and girls. The teacher
gave them homework. He also asked them questions. They sat together and
studied the same subject. In the old school, children studied and played together.
It was quite opposite to the school that has been talked about in the chapter.
Margie was very much influenced by the old school. In her class, she was busy
thinking about the fun the children had at that time.
42. Will future schools be completely devoid of humans and human values?
Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Certainly, a revolutionary change will come in the field of education in
the future. The mechanical teachers and tele-books will dominate the scene. Every
student will be taught by the mechanical teacher according to his or her ability.
However, the institution of schools will remain in one form or the other. Human
teachers will not disappear altogether. Education will never be completely devoid
of humans and human values.
43. Why did Tommy and Margie think the old book a wastage of resources?
Answer: Because they found the words in the old book not moving. The pages
had turned yellow and crinkly. Moreover, the old book could not last long.
44. What difference did Margie’s mother find in the old school?
Answer: Margie’s mother was of the opinion that children should be taught
according to their individual needs. But in the old school, the children of the same
age group studied the same things.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy
awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an
age of total automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization.
Children do not go to a school building and they are not taught by a human
teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling teacher, a computer like a machine that
has millions of books. It can be customized according to the age and learning
needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen that
displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house,
he shares the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are
awestruck, for they had hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no
screen but only fixed text on pages that had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept
growing. They were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge
buildings where hundreds of children studied together with the same syllabus,
the same subjects and carried out the same activities and tasks. They were taught
by real human teachers with the help of real books. Margie believes that students
those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the
schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157.
Schools and teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the
twentieth century. Margie and Tommy’s school is not in a separate special
building but in a room in their respective houses where the television or the
mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the
help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed
according to the age level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their
homework. If the mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to
repair it. Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it,
as was the case when Tommy’s history teacher developed a snag. Thus, the
mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and Margie are fully
computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
3. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was
too regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week
except Saturdays and Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and
seek help from. Her mechanical teacher sometimes developed a snag and
assigned the tests that were quite difficult for her. Constant failure to perform
well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times when she wanted a
break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance. The
County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her
teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because unlike her
school, the ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the
whole neighbourhood came laughing and playing. Students of the same level
would be in the same room and were taught by human teachers. The students
would sit together in the schoolroom, go home together, learn the same things,
help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence, schools in olden
days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up together.
4. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place
where learning is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun.
Students get a chance to come out of their homes and travel to reach school. On
their way, they laugh, play and have so much fun. The schoolyard too is a great
open place where students get a chance to interact informally with each other.
They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each other. Their
learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They
have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled
way. Their teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches
them the same topic. In this way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them
develop the values of tolerance and cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that
schools today are more fun than her school is totally justified.
5. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about
Tommy’s real book that he found in his attic.
Answer: Tuesday,
17th May 2157
10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed
paper book. In fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was
cleaning the cupboard of his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which
have become yellow and crinkly with time. It is a strange experience to read the
words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my telebooks that keep moving as I
scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school
from olden times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a
school was not a room in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the
purpose of teaching and learning! The students of the same level studied the
same things sitting together in the same classroom. It is really wonderful to think
that the teachers were men and not machines. I really believe that it must have
been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking,
playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the
students helped each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time
and study in one of those schools.
6. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her
house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her homework or
assignments. The part Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put
homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun
because the students used to sit together in the classroom. They enjoyed,
laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at the end of the
day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with
homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a
company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and
dejected.
7. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer: The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed
in the building with the guru. Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed
into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In
these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of
paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s school replaced by e-text and
computers. The future generation would envy when they come to know about the
old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They
studied together, played together. They could have better innovative minds as
they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education
in which ‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his
personality. Future generation would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
8. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school
discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no
emotions and sentiments. It does not have the ability to understand the
psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted
modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They are
given training in leadership, sports, politics and science. They learn how to adapt
themselves to the new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit
and learn together forgetting their caste, colour and creed. These activities don’t
give vent to the feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.
9. Will the existing schools and teachers become totally irrelevant in future
‘school’? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the
coming centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and
mechanical. The ‘school’ will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught
the same thing together. The mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for
a million books. The mechanical teacher will be adjusted according to the age and
capacity of the student. But it will be an exaggeration to say that everything
about the old schools will disappear. Even the future schools can’t be completely
devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old schools and
teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
10. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much
interest in Margie and Tommy?
Answer: The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times.
Every school had its own buildings. Students from different parts of the town
went there for studies. All the students in a class were taught the same things.
They received the same kinds of homework. Hence, students could help one
another. The teachers were real human beings. The books were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around
about them. She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In
comparison to her mechanical teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed
Margie. She was fascinated by the way children went to their schools. They
studied together. They were taught the same things. It was easier for them to
help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children had in old
schools.
11. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your
opinion on the basis of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our
studies. Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and
without books are beyond imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be
good because no one would be there to explain and to teach as well. No student
would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very
important for education. Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they
also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the
student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students don’t
study enough. As in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it
tedious as she does not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do
every work together. Modern technologies can be taken as an aid to improve the
standard of studies but the schools without books and teachers will never be
preferred.
12. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human
teacher better than a mechanical teacher?
Answer: Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only
provide bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live a meaningful
and successful life. They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to
remove the darkness and ignorance from their student’s life. This can be done by
a human teacher only. A mechanical teacher can provide ample knowledge on
various subjects but he/she can not boost up their students to do something
distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various sectors geared
up according to the level of the child. There is no companion, no playground and
no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus the human
teachers are better than the mechanical teachers in many ways. They know
individually intellect of their students which helps them to guide them individually
according to the mental level of students.
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Home » Class 9 » Extra Questions » English » Chapter 1 The Fun They Had
The Fun They Had Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English
The Fun They Had class 9 English beehive chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers are
available here. All these questions are divided into short type questions answers, long type
question answers and extract based questions. These Class 9 extra questions are prepared by
our expert teachers. Learning these questions will help you to score excellent marks in the
board exams.
Extra Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 1 The Fun They Had
Table of Contents
Very Short Answer Questions
Short Answer Type Questions
Long Answer Type Questions
Very Short Answer Questions
1. On what date did Margie make an entry in her diary about the real book?
Answer: She did so on 17 May 2157.
2. What did Tommy find?
Answer: He found a real book.
3. How old was Margie?
Answer: She was eleven years old.
4. How old was Tommy?
Answer: He was thirteen years old.
5. What was the real book, that Tommy found, about?
Answer: It was about ‘School’.
6. What did Margie hate?
Answer: She hated school.
7. What had the mechanical teacher been giving to Margie?
Answer: The mechanical teacher had been giving test after test to Margie in geography.
8. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Answer: She sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been doing worse and worse
in her geography tests.
9. Why did Margie hate slot most?
Answer: Margie hated slot most because she had to put homework and test papers in it.
10. What was wrong with the geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher?
Answer: The geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared a little too quick.
11. What do you mean by a regular teacher?
Answer: It means the mechanical teacher that appears on the television screen at the fixed
time.
12. What is the name of Margie’s mother?
Answer: Her name is Mrs Jones.
13. On which two days there came no mechanical teacher on the TN. Screen?
Answer: On Saturday and Sunday.
14. What subject did Tommy learn?
Answer: He learnt history.
15. Name the writer of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: Isaac Asimov.
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Who are Tommy and Margie? How old are they?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are students from the year 2157. They are neighbours and spend
time together like children of their age usually do. Tommy is a thirteen-year-old boy and
Margie is an eleven-year-old girl.
2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer: On 17 May 2157 Margie recorded in her diary the discovery of a real book by
Tommy. It was a very old paper book with yellow and crinkly pages.
3. Where did Tommy find the book and in what condition?
Or
Describe the book that Tommy had found in the attic.
Answer: Tommy found a real book in the attic of his house. The pages had turned yellow and
crinkly because it was at least two hundred years old. Moreover, it was all covered with dust
as it had been lying in the attic for ages.
4. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer: No, Margie had never seen a book before till she saw the one that Tommy had found
in the attic of his house. She had only heard about books from her grandfather who himself
had not seen any. He too had heard about a printed book from his own grandfather.
5. Did Margie like the printed book? Why/Why not?
Answer: Margie was so excited to know that Tommy had found a ‘real’ book which was
unlike the on-screen books the two were used to reading, that she recorded the discovery in
her diary. As she turned the yellow and crinkly pages of the book with Tommy, she found it
awfully funny to read it. While Tommy found it a waste, Margie was fascinated by it and
liked it.
6. What things about the book did Margie find strange?
Answer: Margie lived in an era of mechanical education with telebooks stored in a machine.
So she found it strange that the words in the printed book remained fixed unlike the moving
ones on her television screen.
7. “What a waste!” What is Tommy referring to as a ‘waste’? Is it really a waste?
Answer: Tommy thinks that the paper books with words printed and fixed on them are a
waste. Once a book is read, it becomes useless and must be thrown away because it has the
same content. Actually, printed books are not a waste. They can be read by many people over
and over again and should be preserved for future generations.
8. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer: A telebook is a compact book in an electronic form. It is stored in a computer and
can be read by scrolling its pages up, down or sideways on a screen.
9. How does Tommy find the telebooks of his own time to be better?
Answer: Tommy felt that his telebooks were better than the printed books of the ancient times
because they could be stored on television and read again and again. They occupied very little
space as compared to the printed books and need not be discarded once they had been read.
10. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer: Margie’s school was inside the comfort of her house. It was just next to her
bedroom. It was a customized school, set up exclusively for her according to her level and
needs. No, she did not have any classmates.
11. Why had Margie started hating her school?
Answer: Margie never liked school. But recently her hatred had increased because of her poor
performance in geography tests. Her mechanical teacher gave her one test after another and
her performance went on becoming worse and worse.
12. Which part of her school did Margie hate the most?
Or
What did Margie hate the most about her school?
Answer: The part that Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and
test papers. She always had to write them in a punch code that she was made to learn at the
tender age of six. Besides, the mechanical teacher calculated her marks in no time which left
no scope for Margie to relax after submitting the assigned tasks.
13. What subjects did Tommy and Margie learn?
Answer: Tommy and Margie learned a lot of subjects like History, Geography, and
Mathematics.
14. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were not real persons but
televisions which had different subject sectors. These teachers were customized to the level
of a student. In case of malfunction, they were disbanded and repaired.
15. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
Or
Why did Margie’s mother shook her head one day and send for the County Inspector?
Answer: Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been performing
poorly in Geography. The repeated fall in her daughter’s performance disappointed her. So,
she decided to call a specialist, the County Inspector, who could locate the problem and
correct it.
16. What views did Margie’s mother have about teachers and learning?
Answer: Margie’s mother was very particular about her child’s education and made sure that
Margie attended her tele-school regularly and studied properly and punctually. She believed
that a tele-teacher had to be adjusted to the mind of each student and that each student had to
be taught differently. Whenever she noticed a snag in Margie’s tele-teacher, she sent for the
County Inspector to get the snag removed so that Margie did not miss Out of her school and
learning.
17. What was the County Inspector trained to do?
Answer: The County Inspector worked as a technical expert. He was trained to identify and
rectify errors in the functioning of the system installed in the mechanical teachers.
18. What idea do you form of the County Inspector as a person?
Answer: The County Inspector was certainly a kind-hearted man. Instead of finding fault with
Margie, he gave her an apple and told her mother that if Margie was not performing well, it
was not her fault, but the fault of the mechanical teacher. He aligned the speed of the
geography sector keeping in mind the level of the girl. Before leaving, he patted Margie on
the head and expressed satisfaction at her performance.
19. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to
help her?
Answer: Margie was doing badly because the speed of the geography sector had been fixed
too fast for her level. The County Inspector slowed down the speed to suit the level of an
average ten-year-old. As Margie was of eleven years, she was comfortable with the new level
set by the County Inspector.
20. “Margie was disappointed,” says the author. Why was she disappointed?
Or
How did the County Inspector disappoint Margie?
Answer: Margie was disappointed because she hated school and hoped that her mechanical
teacher would be taken away for repairs as Tommy’s teacher was once taken away for a
month. But when the County Inspector promptly repaired and reset it at her home itself, she
was unhappy.
21. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Once, Tommy’s mechanical teacher had developed a fault and its history sector had
blanked out absolutely. The teacher had to be taken away for repairs and it had taken a month
to put it in order.
22. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. She studied from Monday to
Friday at the same time every day. Although her school was a large black television screen
installed in her own house, she had to attend it regularly. Her mother thought that young girls
learnt things better if they studied them at regular hours.
23. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
Answer: Tommy describes the old school as a special building where all the children went to
study together. The students of the same age-group learnt the same things which were taught
by human teachers.
24. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: Tommy tells Margie that the teachers in olden times were not mechanical but real
men. They taught various things to boys and girls, gave them homework and also asked them
questions. The teachers went to a special building called the school where they taught the
children in the classrooms.
25. How did Margie react when Tommy told her that twentieth-century schools had
human teachers?
Or
Why did Margie remark, “How could a man be a teacher”?
Answer: Margie made this remark when she heard Tommy mention that children were taught
by human teachers in the times gone by. She could not believe the truth of Tommy’s comment
because she had not seen any human teacher; she was used to studying with the help of her
mechanical tele-teacher only. Moreover, she believed that a human teacher could not match
the mechanical teacher in intelligence and knowledge.
26. Who interrupts Margie and Tommy’s conversation? Why?
Answer: Margie and Tommy were lost in unraveling the exciting mystery of the ‘real’ book
that the latter had found in his attic, when Margie’s mother interrupted them saying “Margie!
School!” and she even suggested to Tommy that it was time for him to attend school, too.
27. When Margie went to her school, what did the teacher on the screen teach?
Answer: When Margie went to her school, which was a room next to her bedroom, the
mechanical teacher taught an arithmetic lesson on the addition of proper fractions. It taught
her how to add the fractions ½ and ¼.
28. Why couldn’t Margie concentrate on the Arithmetic lesson?
Answer: Margie could not concentrate on the arithmetic lesson because her mind was pre-
occupied with the thoughts about the school that Tommy had just described her. She was
awestruck to learn that children studied together and were taught by real persons in these old
schools. She thought how much fun those students must have had while studying together.
29. Why did Margie think that children must have loved to go to school when her
grandfather’s grandfather was a little boy?
Or
Why did Margie feel that children in old times had fun while studying in school?
Or
Why does Margie feel that learning was fun in the schools of the past?
Answer: Margie attends a tele-school, which is just a machine in the room next to her
bedroom and she studies alone unlike students of the schools in the bygone times. She feels
that learning was more fun in those days because hundreds of children had the opportunity of
congregating and studying together with the help of human teachers and printed books.
Schools were huge buildings where a lot of activities could be carried out by students in
groups. Compared to that, her present school is much too mechanical, boring, monotonous
and demanding, and she hates it.
30. What was Tommy’s opinion about the ‘real book’?
Answer: Tommy found the ‘real book’ a waste as once read you, just throw it away. It did not
seem interesting and useful. The words were fixed on it and not any other thing can be
printed on it.
31. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?
Answer: He says that the old teachers did not live in the house. They had a special building
and all the kids went there. They gave homework to students. They were not mechanical
teachers, but human beings.
32. Who was the Country Inspector? What was his work?
Answer: The country Inspector was the man who repaired the mechanical teacher. He
adjusted the level of the teacher as per the child’s requirements and intelligence.
33. Why was Margie doing worse in geography? What did the County Inspector do to
help her?
Answer: Margie had been doing worse in geography because the mechanical teacher was
very fast in displaying the questionnaire. The County Inspector adjusted its speed up to an
average ten-year level. Thus, the mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled appropriately.
The County Inspector assured that the overall pattern of Margie’s progress was quite
satisfactory.
34. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Answer: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother said little
girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
35. Why did Tommy pronounce the word ‘centuries ago’ carefully?
Answer: Tommy pronounced the word carefully because he wanted to lay stress on the fact
that the school was very old and it was quite different from theirs.
36. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
Answer: Once Tommy’s teacher was taken away for about a month because the history sector
had blanked out completely.
37. What is the ‘slot’? Why does Margie hate it?
Answer: ‘Slot’ was a space in the mechanical teacher where each student is to put his
homework and test assignments for marking. Margie hates it the most because she has to
work hard to punch code for answering homework.
38. Evaluate ‘The Fun They Had’ as a futuristic story.
Answer: The Fun They Had’ is a futuristic story. It tells us about the revolutionary changes
that will come in the field of education in the 22nd century. Technology will replace the
concept of old schools and printed books. Margie and Tommy are the students of the year
2157. They are taught in their bedrooms serving as virtual classrooms. A mechanical teacher
will replace a human teacher. Computers and e-books will replace old printed books.
39. How will the e-books be different from the old books that existed centuries ago?
Answer: The very concept of ‘the books’ will change in the 22nd century. The e-books will
replace old books. The books will not be printed on papers. The words will move on a
TV/computer screen. The television screen may have more than a million books on it.
40. What did Margie’s mother think about the teacher’ and ‘the school’?
Answer: Margie’s mother thought that every child had a different intelligence and capacity to
understand things. The mechanical teacher should be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and
girl it taught. Each kid had to be taught differently. She thought that little girls and boys
would learn better if they learned at regular hours at the ‘school’.
41. Describe the characteristics of the old school? How did it influence Margie?
Answer: The old school had several characteristics — the children went to a big building.
The man worked as a teacher and taught the boys and girls. The teacher gave them
homework. He also asked them questions. They sat together and studied the same subject. In
the old school, children studied and played together. It was quite opposite to the school that
has been talked about in the chapter. Margie was very much influenced by the old school. In
her class, she was busy thinking about the fun the children had at that time.
42. Will future schools be completely devoid of humans and human values? Give a
reasoned answer.
Answer: Certainly, a revolutionary change will come in the field of education in the future.
The mechanical teachers and tele-books will dominate the scene. Every student will be taught
by the mechanical teacher according to his or her ability. However, the institution of schools
will remain in one form or the other. Human teachers will not disappear altogether. Education
will never be completely devoid of humans and human values.
43. Why did Tommy and Margie think the old book a wastage of resources?
Answer: Because they found the words in the old book not moving. The pages had turned
yellow and crinkly. Moreover, the old book could not last long.
44. What difference did Margie’s mother find in the old school?
Answer: Margie’s mother was of the opinion that children should be taught according to their
individual needs. But in the old school, the children of the same age group studied the same
things.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an age of total
automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization. Children do not go to a
school building and they are not taught by a human teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling
teacher, a computer like a machine that has millions of books. It can be customized according
to the age and learning needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen
that displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house, he shares
the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are awestruck, for they had
hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no screen but only fixed text on pages that
had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept growing. They
were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge buildings where hundreds of
children studied together with the same syllabus, the same subjects and carried out the same
activities and tasks. They were taught by real human teachers with the help of real books.
Margie believes that students those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that
Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157. Schools and
teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the twentieth century. Margie and
Tommy’s school is not in a separate special building but in a room in their respective houses
where the television or the mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study
alone with the help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed according to the age
level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their homework. If the
mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to repair it. Sometimes the fault
may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it, as was the case when Tommy’s hisHow
did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an
age of total automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization.
Children do not go to a school building and they are not taught by a human
teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling teacher, a computer like a machine that
has millions of books. It can be customized according to the age and learning
needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen that
displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house,
he shares the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are
awestruck, for they had hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no
screen but only fixed text on pages that had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept
growing. They were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge
buildings where hundreds of children studied together with the same syllabus,
the same subjects and carried out the same activities and tasks. They were taught
by real human teachers with the help of real books. Margie believes that students
those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the
schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157.
Schools and teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the
twentieth century. Margie and Tommy’s school is not in a separate special
building but in a room in their respective houses where the television or the
mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the
help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed
according to the age level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their
homework. If the mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to
repair it. Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it,
as was the case when Tommy’s history teacher developed a snag. Thus, the
mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and Margie are fully
computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
3. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was
too regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week
except Saturdays and Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and
seek help from. Her mechanical teacher sometimes developed a snag and
assigned the tests that were quite difficult for her. Constant failure to perform
well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times when she wanted a
break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance. The
County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her
teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because unlike her
school, the ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the
whole neighbourhood came laughing and playing. Students of the same level
would be in the same room and were taught by human teachers. The students
would sit together in the schoolroom, go home together, learn the same things,
help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence, schools in olden
days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up together.
4. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place
where learning is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun.
Students get a chance to come out of their homes and travel to reach school. On
their way, they laugh, play and have so much fun. The schoolyard too is a great
open place where students get a chance to interact informally with each other.
They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each other. Their
learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They
have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled
way. Their teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches
them the same topic. In this way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them
develop the values of tolerance and cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that
schools today are more fun than her school is totally justified.
5. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about
Tommy’s real book that he found in his attic.
Answer: Tuesday,
17th May 2157
10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed
paper book. In fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was
cleaning the cupboard of his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which
have become yellow and crinkly with time. It is a strange experience to read the
words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my telebooks that keep moving as I
scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school
from olden times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a
school was not a room in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the
purpose of teaching and learning! The students of the same level studied the
same things sitting together in the same classroom. It is really wonderful to think
that the teachers were men and not machines. I really believe that it must have
been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking,
playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the
students helped each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time
and study in one of those schools.
6. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her
house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her homework or
assignments. The part Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put
homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun
because the students used to sit together in the classroom. They enjoyed,
laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at the end of the
day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with
homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a
company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and
dejected.
7. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer: The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed
in the building with the guru. Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed
into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In
these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of
paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s school replaced by e-text and
computers. The future generation would envy when they come to know about the
old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They
studied together, played together. They could have better innovative minds as
they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education
in which ‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his
personality. Future generation would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
8. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school
discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no
emotions and sentiments. It does not have the ability to understand the
psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted
modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They are
given training in leadership, sports, politics and science. They learn how to adapt
themselves to the new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit
and learn together forgetting their caste, colour and creed. These activities don’t
give vent to the feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.
9. Will the existing schools and teachers become totally irrelevant in future
‘school’? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the
coming centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and
mechanical. The ‘school’ will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught
the same thing together. The mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for
a million books. The mechanical teacher will be adjusted according to the age and
capacity of the student. But it will be an exaggeration to say that everything
about the old schools will disappear. Even the future schools can’t be completely
devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old schools and
teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
10. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much
interest in Margie and Tommy?
Answer: The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times.
Every school had its own buildings. Students from different parts of the town
went there for studies. All the students in a class were taught the same things.
They received the same kinds of homework. Hence, students could help one
another. The teachers were real human beings. The books were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around
about them. She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In
comparison to her mechanical teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed
Margie. She was fascinated by the way children went to their schools. They
studied together. They were taught the same things. It was easier for them to
help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children had in old
schools.
11. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your
opinion on the basis of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our
studies. Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and
without books are beyond imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be
good because no one would be there to explain and to teach as well. No student
would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very
important for education. Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they
also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the
student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students don’t
study enough. As in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it
tedious as she does not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do
every work together. Modern technologies can be taken as an aid to improve the
standard of studies but the schools without books and teachers will never be
preferred.
12. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human
teacher better than a mechanical teacher?
Answer: Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only
provide bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live a meaningful
and successful life. They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to
remove the darkness and ignorance from their student’s life. This can be done by
a human teacher only. A mechanical teacher can provide ample knowledge on
various subjects but he/she can not boost up their students to do something
distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various sectors geared
up according to the level of the child. There is no companion, no playground and
no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus the human
teachers are better than the mechanical teachers in many ways. They know
individually intellect of their students which helps them to guide them individually
according to the mental level of students.
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How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy
awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an
age of total automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization.
Children do not go to a school building and they are not taught by a human
teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling teacher, a computer like a machine that
has millions of books. It can be customized according to the age and learning
needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen that
displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house,
he shares the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are
awestruck, for they had hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no
screen but only fixed text on pages that had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept
growing. They were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge
buildings where hundreds of children studied together with the same syllabus,
the same subjects and carried out the same activities and tasks. They were taught
by real human teachers with the help of real books. Margie believes that students
those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the
schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157.
Schools and teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the
twentieth century. Margie and Tommy’s school is not in a separate special
building but in a room in their respective houses where the television or the
mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the
help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed
according to the age level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their
homework. If the mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to
repair it. Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it,
as was the case when Tommy’s history teacher developed a snag. Thus, the
mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and Margie are fully
computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
3. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was
too regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week
except Saturdays and Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and
seek help from. Her mechanical teacher sometimes developed a snag and
assigned the tests that were quite difficult for her. Constant failure to perform
well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times when she wanted a
break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance. The
County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her
teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because unlike her
school, the ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the
whole neighbourhood came laughing and playing. Students of the same level
would be in the same room and were taught by human teachers. The students
would sit together in the schoolroom, go home together, learn the same things,
help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence, schools in olden
days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up together.
4. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place
where learning is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun.
Students get a chance to come out of their homes and travel to reach school. On
their way, they laugh, play and have so much fun. The schoolyard too is a great
open place where students get a chance to interact informally with each other.
They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each other. Their
learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They
have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled
way. Their teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches
them the same topic. In this way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them
develop the values of tolerance and cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that
schools today are more fun than her school is totally justified.
5. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about
Tommy’s real book that he found in his attic.
Answer: Tuesday,
17th May 2157
10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed
paper book. In fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was
cleaning the cupboard of his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which
have become yellow and crinkly with time. It is a strange experience to read the
words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my telebooks that keep moving as I
scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school
from olden times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a
school was not a room in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the
purpose of teaching and learning! The students of the same level studied the
same things sitting together in the same classroom. It is really wonderful to think
that the teachers were men and not machines. I really believe that it must have
been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking,
playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the
students helped each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time
and study in one of those schools.
6. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her
house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her homework or
assignments. The part Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put
homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun
because the students used to sit together in the classroom. They enjoyed,
laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at the end of the
day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with
homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a
company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and
dejected.
7. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer: The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed
in the building with the guru. Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed
into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In
these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of
paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s school replaced by e-text and
computers. The future generation would envy when they come to know about the
old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They
studied together, played together. They could have better innovative minds as
they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education
in which ‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his
personality. Future generation would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
8. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school
discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no
emotions and sentiments. It does not have the ability to understand the
psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted
modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They are
given training in leadership, sports, politics and science. They learn how to adapt
themselves to the new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit
and learn together forgetting their caste, colour and creed. These activities don’t
give vent to the feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.
9. Will the existing schools and teachers become totally irrelevant in future
‘school’? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the
coming centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and
mechanical. The ‘school’ will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught
the same thing together. The mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for
a million books. The mechanical teacher will be adjusted according to the age and
capacity of the student. But it will be an exaggeration to say that everything
about the old schools will disappear. Even the future schools can’t be completely
devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old schools and
teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
10. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much
interest in Margie and Tommy?
Answer: The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times.
Every school had its own buildings. Students from different parts of the town
went there for studies. All the students in a class were taught the same things.
They received the same kinds of homework. Hence, students could help one
another. The teachers were real human beings. The books were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around
about them. She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In
comparison to her mechanical teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed
Margie. She was fascinated by the way children went to their schools. They
studied together. They were taught the same things. It was easier for them to
help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children had in old
schools.
11. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your
opinion on the basis of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our
studies. Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and
without books are beyond imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be
good because no one would be there to explain and to teach as well. No student
would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very
important for education. Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they
also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the
student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students don’t
study enough. As in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it
tedious as she does not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do
every work together. Modern technologies can be taken as an aid to improve the
standard of studies but the schools without books and teachers will never be
preferred.
12. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human
teacher better than a mechanical teacher?
Answer: Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only
provide bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live a meaningful
and successful life. They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to
remove the darkness and ignorance from their student’s life. This can be done by
a human teacher only. A mechanical teacher can provide ample knowledge on
various subjects but he/she can not boost up their students to do something
distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various sectors geared
up according to the level of the child. There is no companion, no playground and
no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus the human
teachers are better than the mechanical teachers in many ways. They know
individually intellect of their students which helps them to guide them individually
according to the mental level of students.
All Study Materials for You
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Contact Us
Copyright © 2024 Study Path
How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy
awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an
age of total automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization.
Children do not go to a school building and they are not taught by a human
teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling teacher, a computer like a machine that
has millions of books. It can be customized according to the age and learning
needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen that
displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house,
he shares the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are
awestruck, for they had hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no
screen but only fixed text on pages that had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept
growing. They were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge
buildings where hundreds of children studied together with the same syllabus,
the same subjects and carried out the same activities and tasks. They were taught
by real human teachers with the help of real books. Margie believes that students
those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
2. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the
schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157.
Schools and teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the
twentieth century. Margie and Tommy’s school is not in a separate special
building but in a room in their respective houses where the television or the
mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the
help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed
according to the age level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their
homework. If the mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to
repair it. Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it,
as was the case when Tommy’s history teacher developed a snag. Thus, the
mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and Margie are fully
computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
3. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was
too regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week
except Saturdays and Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and
seek help from. Her mechanical teacher sometimes developed a snag and
assigned the tests that were quite difficult for her. Constant failure to perform
well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times when she wanted a
break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance. The
County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her
teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because unlike her
school, the ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the
whole neighbourhood came laughing and playing. Students of the same level
would be in the same room and were taught by human teachers. The students
would sit together in the schoolroom, go home together, learn the same things,
help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence, schools in olden
days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up together.
4. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place
where learning is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun.
Students get a chance to come out of their homes and travel to reach school. On
their way, they laugh, play and have so much fun. The schoolyard too is a great
open place where students get a chance to interact informally with each other.
They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each other. Their
learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They
have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled
way. Their teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches
them the same topic. In this way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them
develop the values of tolerance and cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that
schools today are more fun than her school is totally justified.
5. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about
Tommy’s real book that he found in his attic.
Answer: Tuesday,
17th May 2157
10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed
paper book. In fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was
cleaning the cupboard of his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which
have become yellow and crinkly with time. It is a strange experience to read the
words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my telebooks that keep moving as I
scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school
from olden times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a
school was not a room in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the
purpose of teaching and learning! The students of the same level studied the
same things sitting together in the same classroom. It is really wonderful to think
that the teachers were men and not machines. I really believe that it must have
been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking,
playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the
students helped each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time
and study in one of those schools.
6. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school
must have been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her
house. She was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her homework or
assignments. The part Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put
homework and test papers. She thought that the old schools must have been fun
because the students used to sit together in the classroom. They enjoyed,
laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at the end of the
day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with
homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a
company to enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and
dejected.
7. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer: The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed
in the building with the guru. Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed
into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In
these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of
paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s school replaced by e-text and
computers. The future generation would envy when they come to know about the
old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They
studied together, played together. They could have better innovative minds as
they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education
in which ‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his
personality. Future generation would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
8. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the
school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school
discussed in the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no
emotions and sentiments. It does not have the ability to understand the
psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a pupil according to its adjusted
modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development of a child. They are
given training in leadership, sports, politics and science. They learn how to adapt
themselves to the new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit
and learn together forgetting their caste, colour and creed. These activities don’t
give vent to the feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.
9. Will the existing schools and teachers become totally irrelevant in future
‘school’? Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the
coming centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and
mechanical. The ‘school’ will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught
the same thing together. The mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for
a million books. The mechanical teacher will be adjusted according to the age and
capacity of the student. But it will be an exaggeration to say that everything
about the old schools will disappear. Even the future schools can’t be completely
devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old schools and
teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
10. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much
interest in Margie and Tommy?
Answer: The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times.
Every school had its own buildings. Students from different parts of the town
went there for studies. All the students in a class were taught the same things.
They received the same kinds of homework. Hence, students could help one
another. The teachers were real human beings. The books were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around
about them. She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In
comparison to her mechanical teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed
Margie. She was fascinated by the way children went to their schools. They
studied together. They were taught the same things. It was easier for them to
help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children had in old
schools.
11. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your
opinion on the basis of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our
studies. Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and
without books are beyond imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be
good because no one would be there to explain and to teach as well. No student
would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very
important for education. Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they
also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the
student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students don’t
study enough. As in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it
tedious as she does not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do
every work together. Modern technologies can be taken as an aid to improve the
standard of studies but the schools without books and teachers will never be
preferred.
12. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human
teacher better than a mechanical teacher?
Answer: Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only
provide bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live a meaningful
and successful life. They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to
remove the darkness and ignorance from their student’s life. This can be done by
a human teacher only. A mechanical teacher can provide ample knowledge on
various subjects but he/she can not boost up their students to do something
distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various sectors geared
up according to the level of the child. There is no companion, no playground and
no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus the human
teachers are better than the mechanical teachers in many ways. They know
individually intellect of their students which helps them to guide them individually
according to the mental level of students.
All Study Materials for You
NCERT Solutions
NCERT Notes
CBSE Sample Papers
Topper Answer Sheets
Previous Year Papers
RS Aggarwal Solutions
RD Sharma Solutions
ML Aggarwal Solutions
Selina Solutions
Privacy Policy
Terms And Conditions
Disclaimer
Contact Us
Copyright © 2024 Study Path
How did a chance discovery of a paper book leave Margie and Tommy awestruck?
Answer: Margie and Tommy are neighbourhood friends in the year 2157. It is an age of total
automation, mechanization, digitalization and computerization. Children do not go to a
school building and they are not taught by a human teacher. Instead, their teacher is a telling
teacher, a computer like a machine that has millions of books. It can be customized according
to the age and learning needs and abilities of individual students. Reading is done on a screen
that displays movable text.
So, one day when Tommy finds an old, dusty paper book in the attic of his house, he shares
the exciting news with his friend Margie and together they are awestruck, for they had
hitherto never seen or heard about a book that had no screen but only fixed text on pages that
had to be flipped with fingers.
As the duo kept reading the book further and further, their excitement kept growing. They
were awestruck to discover that ancient schools were huge buildings where hundreds of
children studied together with the same syllabus, the same subjects and carried out the same
activities and tasks. They were taught by real human teachers with the help of real books.
Margie believes that students those days must have had a lot of fun studying together.
3. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that
Margie and Tommy have in the story?
Answer: Tommy and Margie are young schools going children in the year 2157. Schools and
teachers have an entirely different form from the ones in the twentieth century. Margie and
Tommy’s school is not in a separate special building but in a room in their respective houses
where the television or the mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study
alone with the help of the mechanical teacher. The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and
assesses their progress. The speed of the different subject sectors is fixed according to the age
level of each student.
There is a special slot in the tele-teacher where students have to insert their homework. If the
mechanical teacher develops any fault, there are engineers to repair it. Sometimes the fault
may be a major one and it takes longer to repair it, as was the case when Tommy’s history
teacher developed a snag. Thus, the mechanical teachers and schoolrooms of Tommy and
Margie are fully computerized and are completely different from the present-day schools.
4. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have
been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because it did not have any fun. Her schedule was too
regimented and she had to study at a fixed time on all days of the week except Saturdays and
Sundays. She did not have any classmates to study with and seek help from. Her mechanical
teacher sometimes developed a snag and assigned the tests that were quite difficult for her.
Constant failure to perform well in such tests was disappointing for her. There were times
when she wanted a break, but the technical advancement of 2157 did not give her a chance.
The County Inspector took just a little while to set right the Geography sector of her teacher.
She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun because unlike her school, the
ancient schools were in special buildings where the students from the whole neighbourhood
came laughing and playing. Students of the same level would be in the same room and were
taught by human teachers. The students would sit together in the schoolroom, go home
together, learn the same things, help one another with the homework and talk about it. Hence,
schools in olden days did not restrain their students but gave them a chance to grow up
together.
5. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the
story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Margie’s school, as described in the story, seems to be a boring place where learning
is a mere task. In comparison, schools today are more fun. Students get a chance to come out
of their homes and travel to reach school. On their way, they laugh, play and have so much
fun. The schoolyard too is a great open place where students get a chance to interact
informally with each other. They get an opportunity to share their experiences and help each
other. Their learning schedule is also flexible and gives them enough time to have fun. They
have so many extra-curricular activities which teach a lot of skills in a fun-filled way. Their
teacher is a real person who makes them sit together and teaches them the same topic. In this
way, they learn to adjust and adapt which helps them develop the values of tolerance and
cooperation. Hence, Margie’s view that schools today are more fun than her school is totally
justified.
6. Suppose you are Margie. Write a diary entry dated 17th May 2157 about Tommy’s real
book that he found in his attic.
Answer: Tuesday,
17th May 2157
10.00 p.m.
Dear Diary
It has been a wonderful day for me as I have seen a real, hard-bound printed paper book. In
fact, Tommy found the book in the attic of his house when he was cleaning the cupboard of
his grandfather. It consists of about 200 pages which have become yellow and crinkly with
time. It is a strange experience to read the words fixed on its papers unlike the ones in my
telebooks that keep moving as I scroll.
When I turn the page, I find the same words again. The book is about a school from olden
times, about two centuries ago. Can you believe that in those times a school was not a room
in one’s own house but a special building dedicated to the purpose of teaching and learning!
The students of the same level studied the same things sitting together in the same classroom.
It is really wonderful to think that the teachers were men and not machines. I really believe
that it must have been great fun for children to go to such schools together, laughing, joking,
playing, and teasing each other. How wonderful it must have been that the students helped
each other with lessons as well! I wish I could travel back in time and study in one of those
schools.
7. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have
been fun?
Answer: Margie hated school because she had a mechanical teacher. It was at her house. She
was supposed to sit in that room alone to complete her homework or assignments. The part
Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She
thought that the old schools must have been fun because the students used to sit together in
the classroom. They enjoyed, laughed and shouted in the schoolyard, going home together at
the end of the day. They learned the same things so that they could help one another with
homework and talk about it. All the teachers were people. Children needed a company to
enhance their skills. If they are isolated, they get depressed and dejected.
8. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer: The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed in the
building with the guru. Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed into schools. Hence
the teacher and the student have a formal relationship. In these schools, teachers are human
beings and books are real ones made of paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s
school replaced by e-text and computers. The future generation would envy when they come
to know about the old system of education in which all the kids went to school together. They
studied together, played together. They could have better innovative minds as they got a
chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education in which ‘man’ as a
teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his personality. Future generation
would utter what fun the schools were long ago.
9. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the
story? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: There is no doubt that today’s schools have more fun than the school discussed in
the story. This school has nothing but a mechanical teacher with no emotions and sentiments.
It does not have the ability to understand the psychology of a child. Moreover, it guides a
pupil according to its adjusted modes. But today’s schools work for the overall development
of a child. They are given training in leadership, sports, politics and science. They learn how
to adapt themselves to the new surroundings and cope with strangers. The students sit and
learn together forgetting their caste, colour and creed. These activities don’t give vent to the
feelings of depression, alienation and segregation.
10. Will the existing schools and teachers become totally irrelevant in future ‘school’?
Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Naturally, schools that existed centuries ago will not be the same in the coming
centuries. The system of education will be highly computerized and mechanical. The ‘school’
will have no separate building. Nor will they be taught the same thing together. The
mechanical teacher will be a big TV screen, good for a million books. The mechanical
teacher will be adjusted according to the age and capacity of the student. But it will be an
exaggeration to say that everything about the old schools will disappear. Even the future
schools can’t be completely devoid of the human angle. Perhaps the institution of the old
schools and teachers will remain. Human involvement can’t disappear altogether.
11. Describe the characteristics of old schools. How did they arouse so much interest in
Margie and Tommy?
Answer: The good old students reflected the charm and romance of their times. Every school
had its own buildings. Students from different parts of the town went there for studies. All the
students in a class were taught the same things. They received the same kinds of homework.
Hence, students could help one another. The teachers were real human beings. The books
were printed on paper.
There was an air of romance about the old schools. Margie’s interest was around about them.
She got the relevant information about them from Tommy. In comparison to her mechanical
teacher and her ‘school’, the old schools charmed Margie. She was fascinated by the way
children went to their schools. They studied together. They were taught the same things. It
was easier for them to help one another. Margie was rather envious of the fun the children
had in old schools.
12. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your opinion on the basis
of the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.
Answer: No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our studies.
Nowadays education is changing but schools without teachers and without books are beyond
imagination. Without teachers, teaching would not be good because no one would be there to
explain and to teach as well. No student would like the environment, it would be like an
office. Teachers are very important for education. Teachers not only teach us different
subjects but they also teach us to live in discipline and to live together. Teachers resolve the
student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students don’t study enough. As
in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it tedious as she does not have the
opportunity to be with other students and to do every work together. Modern technologies can
be taken as an aid to improve the standard of studies but the schools without books and
teachers will never be preferred.
13. What is the role of a teacher in the life of a student? How is a human teacher better
than a mechanical teacher?
Answer: Teachers play a very important role in the life of a student. They not only provide
bookish knowledge but also inspire their students to live a meaningful and successful life.
They burn themselves like a candle throughout their lives to remove the darkness and
ignorance from their student’s life. This can be done by a human teacher only. A mechanical
teacher can provide ample knowledge on various subjects but he/she can not boost up their
students to do something distinguished. There is a single mechanical teacher having various
sectors geared up according to the level of the child. There is no companion, no playground
and no fun at all. The teaching is mechanical and monotonous. Thus the human teachers are
better than the mechanical teachers in many ways. They know individually intellect of their
students which helps them to guide them individually according to the mental level of
students.
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