Chapter Summary & Overview

Set in the year 2157, the story describes a futuristic educational system where schooling takes place individually at home via computerized mechanical teachers, virtual classrooms, and telebooks. Tommy (13) discovers a printed paper book in his attic describing the schools of the past. Margie (11), who struggles with geography tests on her mechanical teacher, is fascinated to learn that in the past, human teachers taught children of the same age together in special school buildings. The story reflects on themes of education, technological isolation, and the joy of shared learning.

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: On the page dated 17 May 2157, Margie wrote: “Today Tommy found a real book!”

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?
   Answer: No, Margie had never seen a real printed book before; she had only heard about them from her grandfather.

4. What things about the book did she find strange?
   Answer: Margie found several things strange about the book:

• The pages were yellow and crinkly.

• The words stood still on the page instead of moving across a screen.

• When they turned back to a page they had already read, it still had the exact same words on it.

1. What do you think a telebook is?
   Answer: A telebook is an electronic or digital book displayed on a television or computer screen with moving text, storing thousands of books digitally without physical paper.

2. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?
   Answer: Margie’s schoolroom was right next to her bedroom in her own house. No, she did not have any classmates; she studied alone with her mechanical teacher.

3. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?
   Answer: Margie and Tommy learned Geography, History, and Arithmetic (Mathematics).

II. Answer the following with reference to the story:

1. “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 / telebook.

• (iii) What is it being compared to by the speaker?
  Answer: Tommy compares the television screen to the old printed paper book found in his attic, which had to be discarded once read.

1. “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 who studied in schools centuries ago.

• (ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?
  Answer: ‘Regular’ here refers to the usual mechanical (robotic/computerized) teacher that Margie and Tommy had.

• (iii) What is it contrasted with?
  Answer: The mechanical teacher is contrasted with a human teacher from the past.

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 (computerized) teachers with large screens that displayed lessons and questions. They had special slots where students submitted homework and test papers written in punch codes.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?
   Answer: Margie’s mother called the County Inspector because Margie was performing poorly in repeated geography tests given by her mechanical teacher.

3. What did he do?
   Answer: The County Inspector dismantled the mechanical teacher, adjusted the geography sector to an average ten-year-old level, and reassembled the machine.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
   Answer: Margie was doing badly because the geography module was programmed at too fast a pace. The County Inspector slowed it down to suit an average ten-year-old’s learning pace.

5. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?
   Answer: Tommy’s mechanical teacher was once removed for nearly a month because its history sector had blanked out completely.

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
   Answer: Yes, Margie attended school at the same time every day except Saturday and Sunday, because her mother believed young children learn better with fixed, regular hours.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?
   Answer: Tommy describes the old school as a special dedicated building where children from the neighborhood went together to learn common lessons appropriate for their age.

8. How does he describe the old kind of teachers?
   Answer: He describes the old teachers as human beings who explained concepts, gave homework, and asked questions to students in a shared classroom.

IV. Answer each of these questions in a longer paragraph (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 have computerized mechanical teachers located right inside their houses, adjacent to their bedrooms. Lessons and study material are presented digitally through telebooks on large screens. Students write their homework and tests in a specialized punch code learned at age six. When papers are inserted into the machine’s slot, the mechanical teacher calculates grades immediately. The machine is personalized to match each child’s individual pace. However, there is no peer interaction, no human warmth, and no classmates, making schooling a strictly isolated and monotonous activity.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?
   Answer: Margie hated her school because of its rigid, robotic nature and the lack of social interaction. Her mechanical teacher repeatedly administered difficult geography tests, and submitting homework through the punch-code slot was tedious. She believed the old kind of school must have been fun because children from the entire neighborhood gathered together, laughed, and played in the schoolyard. They sat together in classrooms, went home together, and learned the same lessons, which allowed them to help one another with homework. Above all, having human teachers who could understand and empathize with students made learning warm and enjoyable.

3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your answer.
   Answer: Yes, modern schools are significantly more engaging and beneficial than isolated, machine-based schooling. Physical schools provide opportunities for social development, friendship, collaboration, and teamwork through games and group activities. Human teachers offer emotional guidance, empathy, and tailored encouragement that machines cannot provide. Learning together in a classroom prevents the loneliness and screen fatigue inherent in solitary computerized education, making learning a healthy and joyful collective experience.

Thinking about Language

I. Adverbs

Sentences from the text:

• awfully: “…it was awfully funny to read words that stood still…”

• sorrowfully: “…shaken her head sorrowfully and sent for the County Inspector.”

• completely: “…the history sector had blanked out completely.”

• loftily: “He added loftily, pronouncing the word carefully…”

• carefully: “…pronouncing the word carefully, ‘Centuries ago.’”

• differently: “‘…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.”

Adverb Formations:

• angry -> angrily

• happy -> happily

• merry -> merrily

• sleepy -> sleepily

• easy -> easily

• noisy -> noisily

• tidy -> tidily

• gloomy -> gloomily

II. Conditionals (If / Unless)

1. If you do not study regularly, you will not perform well in exams.

2. Unless you work hard, you cannot achieve success.

3. If it rains tomorrow, the school sports day will be postponed.

4. Unless you leave now, you will miss the morning bus.