THE FUN THEY HAD

THE FUN THEY HAD EXPLANATION:

BEFORE YOU READ 

• The story we shall read is set in the future, when books and schools as we now know them will perhaps not exist. How will children study then? The diagram below may give you some ideas.

Explanation : The story of this lesson is set in the future. It compares the schools, textbooks of today's world with that of the future. In other words, the story of this lesson compares the educational system of today's world with that of the future.

Now let us look at the diagram below to have some idea regarding schools of the future.

Now let us read the story and try to understand what it is all about!

• Passage : MARGIE even wrote about it that night in her diary. On the page headed 17 May 2157, she wrote, "Today Tommy found a real book!"

                It was a very old book. Margie's grandfather once said that when he was a little boy his grandfather told him that there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.

            They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to ---- on a screen, you know. And when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had had when they read it the first time.

• Explanation of the Above Passage : That night i.e on 17 May 2157, Margie wrote in her diary that Today Tommy found a real book. It was a very old book which Tommy found. Margie's grandfather once told her that when he was a little boy, his grandfather told him about books. He had told her grandfather that there was a time when all the books and stories used to be printed on paper.

        Tommy and Margie turned the pages and found it very yellow and wrinkled. They found it very funny to know that the words did not move on the pages because they don't have books to read and they read through moving e-text where the words move on a screen .

• Passage :  "Gee," said Tommy, "what a waste. When you're through with the book , you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it's good for plenty more. I wouldn't throw it away."

        "Same with mine," said Margie. She                  was eleven and hadn't seen as many              tele books as Tommy had.

          He was thirteen.

          She said, "Where did yo find it?"

          "In my house." He pointed without                  looking, because he was busy                            reading. "In the attic."

        "What's it about?"

        "School."

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Tommy felt that to have a printed book is totally a waste because after completing a book one would throw it away because it is of no use. He says that his monitor screen has thousands and millions of books on it and he wouldn't throw it away. Margie replies by saying her monitor screen also has capacity to store millions of books. She is eleven years old and Tommy is thirteen years old. Margie asks Tommy where he found the book? Tommy tells her that he found the book in his attic without looking at her as he is busy reading the book. Margie again asks Tommy what was the book all about to which Tommy replies "School." 

• Passage : Margie was scornful. "School? What's there to write about school? I hate school."

        Margie always hated school, but now she hated it more than ever. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Margie hated the word 'school' and said that what was there to write an entire book about school?

        She always hated school. Her school was a virtual classroom. It was not a real     school like we have today. Margie hated school even more because the mechanical  teacher was giving her so many test after test in geography and she was performing very bad. Her mother felt that there must be something wrong with the mechanical teacher. So she decides to call the County Inspector to check it.

• Passage : He was a round little man with a red face and a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple, then took the teacher apart. Margie had hoped he wouldn't know how to put it together again, but he knew how all right, and, after an hour or so, there it was again, large and black and ugly, with a big screen on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. That wasn't so bad. The part Margie hated most was the slot where she had to put homework and test papers. She always had to write them out in a punch code they made her learn when she was six years old, and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time.

• Explanation of the Above Passage : The County Inspector came to check the mechanical teacher. He was a round little man with a red face. He also brought a whole box of tools with dials and wires. He smiled at Margie, gave her an apple and opened the mechanical teacher and started repairing it. Margie wished that the County Inspector would not be able to close it back and fix it because she did not like the mechanical teacher . She didn't like  appearance of the mechanical teacher as it was very huge, black and ugly. It had a big screen where all the lessons appeared and questions were asked. 

        What Margie hated the most was the slot where she had to submit her homework and test papers. She had to write her homework and test papers in a particular punch code which she learned when she was six years old. The mechanical teacher used to check the papers in an instant and calculated the marks within seconds.

• Passage : The Inspector had smiled after he was finished and patted Margie's head. He said to her mother, "It's not the little girl's fault, Mrs Jones. I think the geography sector was geared a little too quick. Those things happen sometimes. I've slowed it up to an average ten-year level. Actually, the overall pattern of her progress is quite satisfactory." And he patted Margie's head again.

          Margie was disappointed. She had been hoping they would take the teacher away altogether. They had once taken Tommy's teacher away for nearly a month  because the history sector had blanked out completely.  

        So she said to Tommy, "Why would anyone write about school?"

• Explanation of the Above Passage : The Inspector smiled at Margie and patted her head after finishing his work. He told her mother that it was not Margie's fault. She was not scoring good marks in geography because the machine was not working properly. It was adjusted to a higher level. He also told that sometimes machines malfunction and that was what actually had happened to Margie's mechanical teacher. He had now slowed it down and adjusted it to the speed or pace of a ten-year old learner.

          He further told her mother that Margie was doing a good job and was learning at a good pace and he again patted Margie's head.

        On the other hand Margie was sad as she was hoping that the County Inspector would take the teacher away. She did not wanted to learn or study from her  mechanical teacher.

 

        Margie thinks about the time when Tommy's mechanical teacher was taken away for repair for almost a month and how Tommy enjoyed the time without any   teacher.

        

        Tommy's teacher had been taken away because the history sector was completely  wiped out or erased. She asks Tommy why would anyone write about school because in her opinion , there is nothing so fascinating about schools. 

• Passage : Tommy looked at her with very superior eyes. "Because it's not our kind of school, stupid. This is the old kind of school that they had hundreds and hundreds of years ago." He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, "Centuries ago."

        Margie was hurt. "Well, I don't know what kind of school they had all that time           ago." She read the book over his shoulder for a while, then said, "Anyway, they had a teacher."

       "Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn't a regular teacher. It was a man."

        "A man? How could a man be a teacher?"

        "Well, he just told the boys and girls things and gave them homework and asked them questions."

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Tommy looks at Margie with superior eyes and then tells her that the school mentioned in the book was not the kind they had and calls her stupid. Many hundreds and hundreds years ago there used to be old kind of schools compared to what they have at present. Tommy uses the word "centuries ago" in order to stress on the time period when there used to be different kinds of schools.

        Margie gets hurt at Tommy's behavior and says that she has no idea regarding the        kind of schools they had centuries ago. She looks over Tommy's shoulder and tries        to read the book and says that anyway they also had a teacher. Tommy tells her           that surely they had a teacher  not a mechanical teacher but a human teacher who used to teach the students.

     

      Margie gets extremely surprised an shock to know that a man was a teacher     because she had always been taught by a machine. Tommy tells her that the man          who taught the students used to give them homework and asked them questions         just like their mechanical teacher.

• Passage : "A man isn't smart enough."

        "Sure he is. My father knows as much as my teacher."

        "He knows almost as much. I betcha."

          Margie wasn't prepared to dispute that. She said, "I wouldn't want a strange     man in my house to teach me."

            Tommy screamed with laughter. "You don't know much , Margie. The                     teachers didn't live in the house. They had a special building and all the kids went          there."

         " And all the kids learned the same thing?"

        " Sure, if they were the same age."

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Margie says that a man teacher is not as smart as mechanical teacher. Tommy disagrees with Margie and tells her that his father is as smart as his mechanical teacher. Tommy is even ready to bet on it that the human teacher knows as much as a mechanical teacher does. Margie didn't wanted to argue on that and says that she did not want a strange man to come to her house and teach her.

        Tommy found it very funny and laughed it out. He tells her that teachers didn't  went to the students house in order to teach. In fact they had a special building i.e.  school where all the students went to study. To her surprise, Margie asked that     whether all the students learned the same things? Tommy tells her that the         students of the same age used to study the same things.

• "But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently."

     "Just the same they didn't do it that way          then. If you don't like it, you don't have  to read the book. "

      "I didn't say I didn't like it, " Margie said quickly. She wanted to read about those funny schools. 

      They weren't even half finished when              Margie's mother called, "Margie! School!        "

      Margie looked up."Not yet, Mamma. "

      "Now! " said Mrs Jones. "And it's                        probably time for Tommy, too. "

         Margie said to Tommy, "Can I read the book some more with you after school? "

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Margie says that her mother told her that the mechanical teacher had to be adjusted to the level of each boy and girl who were studying from it. Hence each child had to be taught differently depending on their level. Tommy tells her that in the past they did not do it that way as there was no mechanical teacher. He gets annoyed at Margie and says that she did not have to read the book. But Margie was now interested to read the book so she quickly replies by saying, "I didn't say I didn't like it. "

     So here we can see that Margie is very           much interested and curious to know          what kind of schools were there in the          past as she felt that they were fun. 

    

    Margie and Tommy had just read half of      the book when Margie's mother called         Margie to attend her virtual school.   

   Margie looked at her mother and said           not yet. She did not want to go to school 

   though her school was next to her                   bedroom. Her mother said, "Now! " and      told Tommy that it was time for him as 

  well to go to school. Margie was very keen

   to read the book that she asked Tommy      whether she could read the book after         school. 

• Passage : " May be, " he said nonchalantly. He walked away whistling, the dusty old book tucked beneath his arm. Margie went into the schoolroom. It was right next to her bedroom, and the mechanical teacher was on and waiting for her. It was always on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother said little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours. 

     The screen was lit up, and it said:                       "Today's arithmetic lesson is on the                 addition of proper fractions. Please

     insert yesterday's homework in the                  proper slot. "

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Showing disinterest to what Margie said, Tommy replied Maybe she could read the book. He placed the dusty old book under his arm and walked away whistling. 

     

     Margie went to her schoolroom which             was right next to her bedroom. It was a virtual classroom where her mechanical       teacher was on and waiting for her. The         mechanical teacher was always on at the      same time every day except on Saturdays and Sundays which means Margie used to study all the days except on Saturdays  and Sundays. 

    

     Her mother had told her that she would        learn better if she would study every day at the same time. Margie sat in front of  the mechanical teacher which looked like a computer . The mechanical teacher was turned on and said that the lesson of the day was in arithmetic and the topic was  on the addition of proper fractions. It also asked Margie to submit her homework of the previous day in the proper slot. 

• Passage : Margie did so with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools they had when her grandfather's grandfather was a little boy. All the kids from the neighborhood came, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom, going home together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another with the homework and talk about it. 

          And the teachers were people... 

         The mechanical teacher was flashing               on the screen: "When we add fractions 1/2 and 1/4 ... "

   Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved it in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had. 

• Explanation of the Above Passage : Margie submitted her homework with a sigh. She thinks about the story that her grandfather told her. Her grandfather had told her that his grandfather used to go to school when he was a small kid. All the kids from the neighborhood used to go to school together, laughed and shouted in the schoolyard. They sat together, studied together and also went back to home together. They used to learn the same things and hence could help each other while doing homework. They could discuss as well as talk about their homework. And also the teachers were human beings and not machines. 

     At present, Margie has submitted her homework, her mechanical teacher has already started the lesson. So here we can see that there is no time for taking a pause or talk to friends or have any sorts of fun in her school. 

Margie keeps on thinking about the kids of the olden days who went to school with their friends and had fun learning the same thing together . 

THE FUN THEY HAD 

SOLVED EXERCISES 

Page No. 10

Thinking about the Text

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Answer : Margie is eleven years old and Tommy is thirteen years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?
Answer :  She wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”

3.Had Margie ever seen a book before?
Answer : No, Margie had never seen a book before.

4.What things about the book did she find strange?
Answer : Margie found it strange that the book had yellow and wrinkled pages. Words in the book were still and did not move the way they were supposed to on a screen.

5. What do you think a telebook is?
Answer : A book that can be displayed on a screen is called a telebook.

6.Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
Answer :Margie’s school was in her home itself, right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
Answer : Margie and Tommy learned geography, history and arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

"I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i)Who says these words?
Answer : Tommy says these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer : 'It' refers to the television screen.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?
Answer : The television screen is being compared with the printed books of olden times by the speaker.

2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”
(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?
Answer : 'They' refers to the students of  the olden times who used to go to schools and study through printed books centuries before the time the story is set in.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
Answer : Here, 'regular' refers to the mechanical teacher that Tommy and Margie had.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?
Answer : The mechanical teacher is contrasted with the human teacher of the earlier times.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers with large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked.

This mechanical teacher had a slot in which the students had to put their homework and test papers and write their answers using punch code.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Answer: Margie’s mechanical teacher was not functioning properly.It was giving test after test and Margie had been scoring very bad marks in geography.

Margie's mother thought there must be something wrong with the machine so she sent for the County Inspector.

3. What did he do?
Answer : The County Inspector slowed down the geography sector to an average ten-year level.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Answer: Margie was doing badly in geography because the geography sector of the mechanical teacher had been adjusted at a higher level. In order to help her, the County Inspector slowed down the geography sector to the level of an average ten-year old learner.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Answer: Once, Tommy’s teacher was taken away for nearly a month because its history sector had completely blanked out. 

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Answer:  Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school except on Saturdays and Sundays because her mother believed that learning at regular hours helped little girls learn better.

Her mechanical teacher always turned on at the same time every day except on Saturdays and Sundays.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

Answer: Tommy says that the old kind of school had a special building and all the kids went there. They had a human teacher. They all studied together and learned the same things.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?

Answer: Tommy describes the old kind of teachers as human beings who taught the students in a special building. They taught the children in groups and gave them homework and asked them questions.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100 –150 words).

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in the story?

Answer: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They had large black and ugly screens on which all the lessons appeared and questions were asked. These teachers were adjusted according to the age and level of the students.

They had a slot in which students had to submit their homework and test papers. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time.

Their schools were in their home itself. They did not have any classmates. They had regular days and hours for school. The mechanical teacher always turned on at the same time every day except Saturdays and Sundays. They studied geography, history and arithmetic.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?

Answer: Margie hated school because it was very monotonous to study all alone that too in front of a machine. She had a mechanical teacher who used to teach her every day at a fixed time in her own house.

Her most hated part was when she had to insert the homework and test papers in the slot on the mechanical teacher.

She had to write her answers in a punch code. She got pissed of with the mechanical teacher even more when she failed to score good marks in the geography tests.

She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun. She imagined all the kids from the entire neighbourhood coming together, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard.

She also imagined that they would sit together in the classroom and go home together. They would learn the same things and could help one another with the homework by discussing and talking about it.

Also, the teachers were human beings with whom the students can also interact and have discussions. All these things made her believe that the old kind of school must have been full of fun.

Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: Yes, I strongly agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the story, teaching - learning process is carried out inside a learner's house itself.

Studying and answering questions without having any classmates seems too boring. Writing homework in punch codes also seems a very tiring job to do.

A mechanical teacher has no emotional intelligence to understand the feelings and emotions of  the learner.  
It seems a very difficult task on the learners part to study and understand what ever is taught by the mechanical teacher without any kind of discussion or interaction.

On the other hand  in today’s schools, there are teachers who are the real human beings. They not only understand the mental and emotional aspects of the students but also work for their overall development .

Moreover, students get a better understanding about the taught lesson and they also learn in a better way by discussing with their fellow classmates.

Another major advantage of today’s schools is that if any student faces any kind of problem with the subject or difficulties in doing their homework then they can easily discuss it with their respective teacher as well as their friends .

But in case of a mechanical teacher, such things are beyond one's imagination. In today’s schools, students not only study but also learn various qualities like teamwork, discipline , obedience, kindness and other virtues.

They are encouraged to participate  in various games and sports, literary activities, cultural activities which are extremely necessary for their  overall development .

Thus, we see that all these factors prove that schools of today are more fun than the school mentioned in the story.

Thinking about Language
Page 11

1. Find the sentences in the lesson which have the adverbs given in the box below.

Awfully   sorrowfully   completely   loftily

Carefully   differently   quickly   nonchalantly

Answer:

Awfully: They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to − on a screen, you know.

Sorrowfully: The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

Completely: They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

Loftily: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”

Differently: “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”

Quickly: “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.

Nonchalantly: “May be,” he said nonchalantly.

2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.

(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions loftily , shrugging his shoulders.

(iii) We all behave  differently when we are tired or hungry.

(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.

(v) I completely forgot about it.

(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled nonchalantly and turned away.

(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.

(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

Page No. 12

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry 

Awfully   sorrowfully   completely   loftily

Carefully   differently   quickly   nonchalantly

Answer:

Awfully: They turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to − on a screen, you know.

Sorrowfully: The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and she had been doing worse and worse until her mother had shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.

Completely: They had once taken Tommy’s teacher away for nearly a month because the history sector had blanked out completely.

Loftily: He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully, “Centuries ago.”

Differently: “But my mother says a teacher has to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it teaches and that each kid has to be taught differently.”

Quickly: “I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” Margie said quickly.

Nonchalantly: “May be,” he said nonchalantly.

2. Now use these adverbs to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

(i) The report must be read carefully so that performance can be improved.

(ii) At the interview, Sameer answered our questions loftily , shrugging his shoulders.

(iii) We all behave  differently when we are tired or hungry.

(iv) The teacher shook her head sorrowfully when Ravi lied to her.

(v) I completely forgot about it.

(vi) When I complimented Revathi on her success, she just smiled nonchalantly and turned away.

(vii) The President of the Company is awfully busy and will not be able to meet you.

(viii) I finished my work quickly so that I could go out to play.

Page No. 12

3. Make adverbs from these adjectives.

(i) angry 

Answer : angrily

(ii) happy 

Answer :happily

(iii) merry 

Answer :merrily

(iv) sleepy 

Answer :sleepily

(v) easy

 Answer : easily

(vi) noisy

 Answer : noisily

(vii) tidy 

Answer : tidily

(viii) gloomy 

 Answer : gloomily

II. Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight,she will get angry.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will have nothing to eat.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will become unfit and lazy.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it. 

II. Complete the following conditional sentences. Use the correct form of the verb.

1. If I don’t go to Anu’s party tonight, she will get angry.

2. If you don’t telephone the hotel to order food, you will have nothing to eat.

3. Unless you promise to write back, I will not write to you.

4. If she doesn’t play any games, she will become unfit and lazy.

5. Unless that little bird flies away quickly, the cat will pounce on it.