The Fun They Had

      

Isaac Asimov

Gratitude and Wanting. The central arc of “The Fun They Had” focuses on Margie learning about the schools and education of the past, leading to her wishing for a school in which she could learn and have fun with other children.

Summary

Margie’s learning, she hated its slot in which she had to put  her homework. She had to write them in a punch code. She had been learning since she was six years old. Geography sector set right The Inspector smiled and patted Margie’s head. He told Margie’s mother that it was not Margie’s fault. The geography sector was geared a little too quick. He had slowed that ‘to an average ten-year level. Margie’s progress had been quite satisfactory. Then he went away. Margie’s wish about her television teacher Margie hoped that they would take her mechanical teacher away. They had done so to Tommy’s for nearly a month. The history sector of Tommy had blanked out. Margie said to Tommy why anyone would write about school. Tommy tells her about old schools Tommy told her that it was not their kind of school. That was a kind of old schools which they had their hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Margie’s knowledge about old schools Margie was hurt. She told that she did not know about these schools. She read the book over Tommy’s shoulder. She then said that they had had a teacher anyway. Tommy replied that it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man. Students in those schools The teacher told the boys and girls things and gave homework. He also asked them questions. Margie told Tommy that man couldn’t be smart enough. But Tommy said he was so. Old schools explained Margie was not prepared to dispute that. She said that she wouldn’t want a strange man to live in her house and teach her. Tommy told Margie that the teachers did not live in the house as the mechanical teachers lived. They had a special building. All the kids went there. And they learned the same thing. Also they were of the same age group. Adjustment of television teacher but Margie said that as per her mother a teacher had to be adjusted to fit the mind of each boy and girl it taught. So each kid had to be taught differently. Margie’s school time Margie’s mother Mrs. Jones called that it was time for her ‘school’. Margie asked Tommy if she could read the book some more with him after school. Tommy walked away. He had put the dusty old book under his arm. Margie thinks of old schools Margie put her work in the slot with a sigh. She was thinking about the old schools. They had them when her grandfather’s grandfather was a kid. All the kids from the neighborhood came laughing and shouting in the schoolyard. They sat together at the end of the day. They learnt the same things so that they could help one another in their homework. And the teachers were human beings. Thinking continues The mechanical teacher was flashing on the screen the fractions of a question. Margie was thinking about how the kids must have loved the school in the old days. She was thinking about the fun they had.

Word Meaning

crinkly -Many marks on paper with many folds or lines सिलवटें पढ़ी हुई | Awfully-impressively अत्यधिक | instead  off-  in place of बावजूद | Gee-impression of surprise  थोड़ा सा आश्चर्य | Plenty- sufficiently काफी | Attic- room with in the roof used as a store room दुछ्ती | Scornful- hateful घृणा से भरी हुई | Slot-long narrow opening         गहरी दरार | Fault- mistake गलत | Geared-adjusted कार्य करने के लिए ठीक किया | Slowed up-  made floor धीमा कर दिया | Disappointed- hopeless निराश किया | Altogether- completely     पूर्ण रूप से | blanked out- appeared blank रिक्त प्रतीत होता है | Loftily- in a superior way रोबीले ढंग से | Century-many hundred years शताब्दियाँ | Enough-as much as necessary ठीक मात्र में काफी | Screamed- loud चीख मारी | Non-chalantly -  carelessly not showing much interest             लापरवाही से |

QUESTION/ANSWERS

 1. How old are Margie and Tommy?

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

 3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

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

 5. What do you think a tele book is?

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

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans:

1. Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

2. In her diary on the page headed 17 May, 2157 Margie wrote, “Today Tommy found a real book!”.

3. No, Margie had never seen a book before but she had heard about it from her grandfather.

4. The very idea of printed book with still words instead of moving the way they did on a screen was strange for her. She just found it odd that for centuries the words on a page always remained the same without any change. Besides, the idea that someone would write a book about schools was itself strange for Margie.

5. A book that can be displayed on a television screen is called telebook.

6. Margie’s school was just a room called schoolroom in her home itself, right next to her bedroom. No, she did not have any classmates and even in the name of teacher, a mechanical teacher flashed on the screen.

7. Margie and Tommy learned three subjects i.e. geography, history and arithmetic.

 

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.

1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.” (i) Who says these words? (ii) What does ‘it’ refer to? (iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Ans: (i) Tommy says these words to Margie. (ii) 'It' refers to the television screen, on which over a million books were available. (iii) The television screen is being compared to real printed books of earlier times by Tommy. He finds printed books a waste to be thrown away after reading whereas his telebooks are really useful and needn't to be thrown away.

 

2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.” (i) Who does ‘they’ refer to? (ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here? (iii) What is it contrasted with?

Ans: (i) 'They' refers to the students of earlier times i.e. Centuries before who went to old styled schools. (ii) Here, 'regular' means the mechanical teachers that Tommy and Margie had. (iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with the school teacher of earlier times, who happens to be a 'man'.

 

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

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

Ans: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were large and black and ugly and flashed on large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. These mechanical teachers had a slot in which the students had to put their homework. Students had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks immediately.

 

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

Ans: Margie had been given many tests in geography by the mechanical teacher, but there was no improvement in her performance. It only kept on worsening therefore Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector to find out the reason behind that.

 

3. What did he do?

Ans: The County Inspector was a round little man with a red face, he smiled at Margie and gave an apple to her and started working on the mechanical teacher. He took it apart and then checked it. Margie wished that the Inspector would not know how to put the mechanical teacher together again, but he managed to reassemble it. He slowed down the geography sector of the teacher because it was geared a little too quick 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 was doing badly in geography because the geography sector of the mechanical teacher had been geared a little too quick and she couldn't cope with that speed. The County Inspector rightly told her that she should not be blamed for her poor performance. The County Inspector slowed down the geography sector of the mechanical teacher to an average ten-year level. He also told Mrs. Jones that Margie's overall progress pattern was satisfactory.

 

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

Ans: Once, the history sector of Tommy’s teacher had blanked out completely.

 

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

Ans: Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school, because her mother believed that learning at regular hours helped little girls learn better. That was why mechanical teacher was also on at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday.

 

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

Ans: Tommy describes the old kind of school as a special building where all kids studied together. There hundreds of students were studying and playing together. They used to shout and laugh together in an open yard. They had a teacher who wasn't a regular teacher but was a 'man'.

 

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

Ans: Tommy said that the old kind of teachers were men i.e. human being, who didn't stay at anyone's house but taught the students inside a special building called school. The teachers taught the children in groups and gave them homework and asked them questions. They were smart enough to know all the facts.

 

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 flashing on large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. They had a slot in which students had to put their homework. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks immediately. Their schools were in their homes itself. They did not have any classmates. They learned geography, history and arithmetic. They had regular days and hours for school. Margie's school was right next to her bedroom. The mechanical teacher always turned on at the same time every day except Saturdays and Sundays because her mother said that little girls learned better when they learned at regular hours.

 

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

Ans: Margie hated school because it was not fun. A mechanical teacher used to teach her every day at a fixed time. The part that she hated the most was inserting the homework and in the slot on the mechanical teacher. She did not like the fact that she had to write her answers in a punch code. She also disliked that the mechanical teacher calculated the marks immediately. She found her school detached and uninteresting. She thought that the old kind of school must have been fun as she imagined all the kids from the entire neighborhood coming together, laughing and shouting in the schoolyard. She imagined that they would sit together in the classroom and go home together at the end of the day. They would learn the same things and could help one another with the homework and talk about it. Also, the teachers were human. All these aspects made her believe that the old kind of schools must have been fun.

 

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 that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the story, there is no interaction among students regarding studies. Studying and answering questions seems to be a boring idea. Doing homework without anybody's help and writing them in a punch code would also be a tedious job. Moreover, children develop a better understanding about each other and of their surroundings when they go to a school and interact with each other. It is a healthier way of learning. Having teachers explaining lessons is always more interesting than reading the entire lesson on a mechanical computer. Moreover, if any student faces any problem with the subject or in homework, he can discuss it with the teacher and other kids. It is impossible to discuss problems and situations with a mechanical teacher that is only programmed to teach in a particular manner. The excitement of waiting to know the marks scored in exams is greater when one is sitting in a classroom with other students. It does not have the same effect when the marks are calculated immediately after each test, that too in a lonely room. Finally, the friends that you make at school are most probably the best friends that you will ever make in your entire life. The various qualities that you learn in school like obedience, respect, kindness for others, sharing, taking part in school games, sports, and other activities are all a part of school education today. Therefore, schools today are more fun than the school in the story as these are more interactive. Today's schools promote a healthy environment for the students to study and learn.

Moral

The moral is that however smart a mechanical (or robotic) teacher is, but there is no other thing that could teach us as good as a human teacher.

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