The Fun they Had, Class 10 English, Beehive

Detailed explanation of “The Fun they Had”, including definitions of difficult

☛ NCERT Solutions – The Fun they Had

The story is a fictional account of how the schools and books will be in the
future. It compares the educational system of today with that of the future.

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It is based on a young girl, Margie’s diary entry dated 17th May, 2157. In future,
students will be taught alone at their homes in a room called the ‘Schoolroom’. The
human teachers of today’s era will be replaced by mechanical teachers in which
speed can be quickened and slowed down as per the need of a student.

The characters of the story learn about the education system of the past and want
to be a part of that. They do not like the mechanical teachers of their era which
lack human interaction and fun. They rejoice at the feeling of being taught by a
human teacher and wish to go to a school together with fellow students.

Contents [hide]

1 Summary
2 Extra Questions
3 Word Meaning
Summary
Margie, a 11 year little girl wrote a diary entry dated 17th May, 2157, titled
“Today Tommy found a real book!. It was a very old book. Once Margie’s grandfather
had told her about the time when all stories were printed on paper. Tommy found the
book in the attic of his house. Margie and Tommy turned the pages of the book,
which were yellow and crinkly (wrinkled). Margie found it funny to read the book as
the words in it were not moving like they moved on her telebook.

Tommy, a 13 year old boy, called the book a waste because after one time reading,
it could be thrown away. They compared the book with their television screen which
could have a million books on it and still had space for more. It was same for
Margie , though she had not seen many telebooks. She asked him where he had found
that book. He replied that he found in his attic. Tommy told Margie that the book
he found was about the school, but Margie showed no interest as Margie hated her
school and her mechanical teacher. Her mechanical teacher was large, black and ugly
and had a big screen. All the lessons were shown on the screen and the questions
were asked.

Margie hated the slot where she had to put her homework and test papers daily. She
had to write them in a punch code which she had learned when she was 6 years old.
The mechanical teacher gave Margie test continuously in geography. She had not been
doing well in the tests. Margie’s mother, Mrs. Jones, was worried about the poor
performance of Margie in the tests. So, she called the County Inspector to come and
find out if there was something wrong with the mechanical teacher.
The County Inspector was a round little man, with red face. He carried a box of
tools, dials and wires. He smiled at Margie and gave her an apple. He took the
television teacher away. Margie hoped that the County Inspector would not be able
to fix the mechanical teacher and would take it with him. She was hoping this as
Tommy’s teacher was taken away by the Inspector for one month when there was a
problem with history sector. But after one hour it was brought again before her
with its big screen.

The Inspector smiled and patted Margie’s head. The County Inspector took the
mechanical teacher out. He told Margie’s mother, that it was not the fault of
Margie. In fact, the geography section was little too quick for Margie to read and
understand. He had fixed the geography section by slowing down the speed according
to the level of a 10 year-old child. He also told that the overall performance of
Margie had been quite satisfactory.

Tommy had a discussion with Margie after reading the book which described the
schools of the past. Margie said that she would not want a strange man to live in
her house and teach her. Tommy told her that the teachers do not live in the house
as mechanical teachers lived. That was a kind of old school which they had
hundreds and hundreds years ago. The schools in the past were located in special
buildings away from the students houses. The students were taught by human
teachers. All the kids of the same age learnt the same thing. 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 .The teacher taught them
lessons, asked questions and gave them homework.

Margie wanted to know more about those funny schools but it was the time for both
Tommy and Margie to their school. So they decided to read the book later. Tommy
walked away. He had put the dusty book under his arm. Margie’s school room was
located next to her bedroom in her house. Her mechanical teacher was turned on when
her school time started. Her school was open everyday except on Saturday and Sunday
because her mother believed that little girls learned better if they learned at
regular hours. The mechanical teacher was going to teach her a lesson on arithmetic
about the addition of proper tractions but she was not interested in studying.

Margie put her home work in a slot as commanded by the mechanical teacher. She was
thinking about the old schools where all the kids came laughing and shouting in the
schoolyard and sat together in the schoolroom. They were taught by human teachers,
learnt the same things and helped each other in their homework. The mechanical
teacher was flashing a question of fractions on the screen but Margie was thinking
of the fun kids had the school in the past.