THE FUN THEY HAD

Thinking About Text

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

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

Ans: Tommy is thirteen years old, and Margie is eleven years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Ans: Marie wrote in her diary that Tommy found a real book today.

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Ans: No, Margie used to study from a telebook and had never seen a real book

before.

4. What things about the book did she find strange?

Ans: Margie had never seen a real book before. She found it strange seeing words

printed on a book and the pages remained the same as the first time they were

read, different from the screens she read from.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

Ans: Pages of a book in a digital form are called a telebook.

6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

Ans: Margie studied in her home, next to her bedroom. No, she didn't have any
company while studying.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans: Tommy and Margie studied history, geography, and arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

Ans: Tommy said these words.

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

Ans: It refers to the television screen.

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Ans: Tommy is comparing his digital class with the book he found.

2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

Ans: They refer to the kids who studied in the old times and used to go to school

to study.

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

Ans: For Margie and Tommy, regular meant their digital classroom where

mechanical teachers taught them.

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Ans: The human teachers of the old-time are compared with the mechanical

teachers Margie and Tommy had.

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

Ans: Margie and Tommy were assigned mechanical teachers and their classroom

had a large black screen on which lessons were displayed and questions were

asked. The mechanical teachers were black and ugly and appeared every day at

the same time, except for Saturday and Sunday. They also had slots for students

to insert their homework into so that they could be assessed.

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

Ans: Margie didn't perform well in her previous geography tests. She started

getting worse in them over time and eventually her mother had to send for the

County Inspector to get the mechanical

teacher checked.

3. What did he do?

Ans: When the County Inspector visited, he gave Margie an apple and started

examining the mechanical teacher. Margie hated her mechanical teacher and

hoped that the Inspector would either take it away or won't know how to fix it.

But he did and he slowed down the teacher for an average ten-year-old.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County

Inspector do to help her?

Ans: Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared up, a little too quick in the

geography section. This resulted in her scoring bad, which wasn't acceptable to

her mother. When the County Inspector visited her slowed down the mechanical
teacher to an average ten-year level. He also informed Mrs Jones that her

daughter’s progress was satisfactory.

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

Ans: Tommy’s teacher once blanked out completely.

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

Ans: Margie had a regular schedule for school. Her mother believed that young

kids learn better when they learn at regular intervals and hence, she had a

schedule. She had an off on Saturday and Sunday. Except that her mechanical

teacher appeared regularly, at the same time.

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

Ans: Tommy described the old school as a special, old building where kids

gathered and studied together. There were hundreds of students that visited that

building every day and learned and played together.

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

Ans: Tommy told Margie that in earlier times kids used to visit a special building

to study and were taught by men. They were taught in groups and were given

homework and tests that were checked by these men.

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?

Ans: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers to assist them with their

studies. They were taught digitally in rooms next to their bedrooms. The room

had a black display screen to display telebooks and the mechanical had slots to

provide them with tests and homework which was inserted back into the slot after
it was finished. They studied history, arithmetic, and geography. Her classes were

held at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday. Her mom believed

that young kids learned better when they had their lessons at regular intervals.

This routine was very boring and monotonous for the kids. When they found the

textbook, they were fascinated to know the way kids in earlier times studied.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school

must have been fun?

Ans: Maggie was taught by a mechanical teacher every day. She didn't like the

idea of school because it was boring and monotonous. Recently in her tests, she

was going bad in geography and her mother wasn't satisfied with the results. She

wanted the County Inspector to take the mechanical teacher away since it was a

nuisance for her at this point. She hated inserting homework and test papers into

the mechanical teacher. She felt that the old school was more fun and all the kids

from the same neighbourhood studying together would be so fun. She imagined

that all the kids would sit together and laugh. Since the teachers would be humans,

it would be fun and interactive.

3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school

in the story? Give reasons for your answer.

Ans: Yes, I agree with Margie that the schools today are more fun, compared

with the ones from the future. The present schooling system provides a more

interactive atmosphere to the student and helps in the overall development of the

child. Answering questions and having fun in the class helps the children to break

away from the monotonous routine at home. It also helps kids be more empathic

and develop emotional intelligence. Kids go to school, interact with each other,

and make friends making their life more whole and complete. It makes studies
more fun and easier and is a healthier way of learning. The sports period in

schools helps kids to maintain physical health and teaches them teamwork and

leadership skills. Overall going to school makes growing up and the learning

process way more fun and interactive compared to studying at home.