The Fun They Had

Extra question
Very Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1. What is the name of Margie’s mother?

Answer

Her name is Mrs Jones.

Question 2. How old was Margie?

Answer

She was eleven years old.

Question 3. What did the teacher teach Margie when she went to her school?

Answer

When Margie went to school the mechanical teacher taught an arithmetic lesson on the addition of
proper fractions. It taught her how to add the fractions 1/2 and 1/4.

Question 4. What did Margie write in her diary?

Answer

On 17 May 2157 Margie recorded in her diary the discovery of a real book by Tommy. It was a very old
paper book with yellow and crinkly pages.

Question 5. What was wrong with the geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher?

Answer

The geography sector of Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared a little too quick.

Question 6. What subjects did Tommy and Margie learn?

Answer

Tommy and Margie learned a lot of subjects like History, Geography, and Mathematics.

Question 7. What was the County Inspector trained to do?

Answer

The County Inspector worked as a technical expert. He was trained to identify and rectify errors in the
functioning of the system installed in the mechanical teachers.

Question 8. What do you mean by a regular teacher?

Answer

It means the mechanical teacher that appears on the television screen at the fixed time.

Question 9. Why did Margie hate slot most?

Answer

Margie hated slot most because she had to put homework and test papers in it.
Question 10. Who was the Country Inspector? What was his work?

Answer

The country Inspector was the man who repaired the mechanical teacher. He adjusted the level of the
teacher as per the child’s requirements and intelligence.

Question 11. What did Tommy find?

Answer

He found a real book.

Question 12. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?

Answer

Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school because her mother said little girls learned better if
they learned at regular hours.

Question 13. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Answer

She sent for the County Inspector because Margie had been doing worse and worse in her geography
tests.

Question 14. Why did Tom5my pronounce the word ‘centuries ago’ carefully?

Answer

Tommy pronounced the word carefully because he wanted to lay stress on the fact that the school was
very old and it was quite different from theirs.

Question 15. What had the mechanical teacher been giving to Margie?

Answer

The mechanical teacher had been giving test after test to Margie in geography.

Question 16. What had once happened to Tommy’s teacher?

Answer

Once Tommy’s teacher was taken away for about a month because the history sector had blanked out
completely.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Describe the book that Tommy had found in the attic.

Answer

Tommy found a real book in the attic of his house. The pages had turned yellow and crinkly because it
was at least two hundred years old. Moreover, it was all covered with dust as it had been lying in the
attic for ages.

Question 2. Where had Tommy found the book? How was it different from the books Margie and Tommy
were used to?

Answer
Tommy found a real book in the attic of his house. The book was at least two hundred years old so
pages had turned yellow and crinkly. It was a different from the books Margie and Tommy were used to
because they had telebooks to read from while the book Tommy found was printed on paper.

Question 3. Did Margie like the printed book? Why/Why not?

Answer

Margie was so excited to know that Tommy had found a ‘real’ book which was unlike the on-screen
books the two were used to reading, that she recorded the discovery in her diary. As she turned the
yellow and crinkly pages of the book with Tommy, she found it awfully funny to read it. While Tommy
found it a waste, Margie was fascinated by it and liked it.

Question 4. Had Margie ever seen a real book before? Did she know about such books?

Answer

No, Margie had never seen a book before till she saw the one Tommy found in the attic of his house.
She had only heard about books from her grandfather who himself had not seen any. He too had heard
about a printed book from his own grandfather.

Question 5. How does Tommy find the telebooks of his own time to be better?

Answer

Tommy felt that his telebooks were better than the printed books of the ancient times because they
could be stored on television and read again and again. They occupied very little space as compared to
the printed books and need not be discarded once they had been read.

Question 6. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have? How were they different from teachers
in the book?

Answer

Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers, which were large and black and ugly, with a big screen
on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. There was a slot where they had to
put homework and test papers and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time. Margie and
Tommy’s teachers were different from the teachers in the book as the teachers in the book were men
and not mechanical teachers.

Question 7. What idea do you form of the County Inspector as a person?

Answer

The County Inspector was certainly a kind-hearted man. Instead of finding fault with Margie, he gave
her an apple and told her mother that if Margie was not performing well, it was not her fault, but the
fault of the mechanical teacher. He aligned the speed of the geography sector keeping in mind the
level of the girl. Before leaving, he patted Margie on the head and expressed satisfaction at her
performance.

Question 8. Why had Margie started hating her school?

Answer

Margie never liked school. But lately she had come to hate it more than ever because of her poor
performance in geography. The mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in the subject
and she had been doing worse and worse.

Question 9. How did the County Inspector disappoint Margie?

Answer
Margie was disappointed because she hated school and hoped that her mechanical teacher would be
taken away for repairs as Tommy’s teacher was once taken away for a month. But when the County
Inspector promptly repaired and reset it at her home itself, she was unhappy.

Question 10. Margie’s mother was very particular about her studies. Justify with evidence from the
story.

Answer

Margie’s mother was very particular about her studies and made sure that Margie attended her tele-
school regularly and at fixed times as she felt little girls learned better if they learned at regular hours.
She took a keen interest in Margie’s performance and when she felt she was not doing too well in a
particular subject, she called the County Inspector to have a look at the mechanical teacher.

Question 11. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?

Answer

Tommy tells Margie that the teachers in olden times were not mechanical but real men. They taught
various things to boys and girls, gave them homework and also asked them questions. The teachers
went to a special building called the school where they taught the children in the classrooms.

Question 12. How will the e-books be different from the old books that existed centuries ago?

Answer

The very concept of ‘the books’ will change in the 22nd century. The e-books will replace old books.
The books will not be printed on papers. The words will move on a TV/computer screen. The television
screen may have more than a million books on it.

Question 13. Why was Margie not doing well in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help
her?

Answer

Margie was not doing well in geography. In fact, her performance was getting worse day by day. Her
mother sent for the County Inspector to look into the problem. He told Mrs Jones that the geography
sector in Margie’s mechanical teacher was geared up a little too quickly for her and that he had slowed
it up to the level of an average ten-year-old.

Question 14. Who interrupts Margie and Tommy’s conversation? Why?

Answer

Margie and Tommy were lost in unraveling the exciting mystery of the ‘real’ book that the latter had
found in his attic, when Margie’s mother interrupted them saying “Margie! School!” and she even
suggested to Tommy that it was time for him to attend school, too.

Question 15. What is the ‘slot’? Why does Margie hate it?

Answer

‘Slot’ was a space in the mechanical teacher where each student is to put his homework and test
assignments for marking. Margie hates it the most because she has to work hard to punch code for
answering homework.

Question 16. Why did Margie get disappointed after the geography sector of her teacher was set right?

Answer

Margie’s mechanical teacher had been giving her test after test in geography and her mother had
asked the County Inspector to look into it. Margie had hoped that her mechanical teacher would be
taken away for some time as Tommy’s had been when it had malfunctioned. But she was disappointed
when the County Inspector set the mechanical teacher right there and then.

Question 17. What was Tommy’s opinion about the ‘real book’?

Answer

Tommy found the ‘real book’ a waste as once read you, just throw it away. It did not seem interesting
and useful. The words were fixed on it and not any other thing can be printed on it.

Question 18. What was Margie’s reaction when Tommy told her that twentieth-century schools had
human teachers?

Answer

When Margie heard Tommy mention that children were taught by human teachers in the times gone
by, she could not believe the truth of Tommy’s statement. She believed that a human teacher could not
match the mechanical teacher in intelligence and knowledge. This was because she had been taught by
a mechanical teacher and had never seen any human teacher.

Question 19. Why was Margie doing worse in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Answer

Margie had been doing worse in geography because the mechanical teacher was very fast in displaying
the questionnaire. The County Inspector adjusted its speed up to an average ten-year level. Thus, the
mechanical teacher’s speed was controlled appropriately. The County Inspector assured that the
overall pattern of Margie’s progress was quite satisfactory.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. “What a waste!” What is Tommy referring to as a ‘waste’? Is it really a waste? Why/Why
not?

Answer

Tommy thought the paper book he found in his attic with words that were printed and did not move
was a waste. Once a book had been read, it became useless and must be thrown away because it had
the same content.

Yes: Printed books are a waste as telebooks are more accessible. They can be stored in a television and
read again and again. They occupy very little space as compared to the printed books and need not be
discarded once they have been read. In addition, paper books consume resources like trees from which
paper is made and water that is consumed in the process of making paper.

No: Printed books are not a waste as they can be read by many people over and over again and can be
preserved for future generations. Moreover, the data in a telebook can be lost or stolen, but in a printed
book, the data printed on a page remains for ever.

Question 3. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have? How were they different from teachers
in the book?

Answer

Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers, which were large and black and ugly, with a big screen
on which all the lessons were shown and the questions were asked. There was a slot where they had to
put homework and test papers and the mechanical teacher calculated the marks in no time. Margie and
Tommy’s teachers were different from the teachers in the book as the teachers in the book were men
and not mechanical teachers.

Question 4. The old schools are considered fun by the modern generation. Explain.
Answer

The ancient schools consisted of Gurukuls in which the students stayed in the building with the guru.
Then with the change of time Gurukuls changed into schools. Hence the teacher and the student have
a formal relationship. In these schools, teachers are human beings and books are real ones made of
paper. Now with times, the modern generation’s school replaced by e-text and computers. The future
generation would envy when they come to know about the old system of education in which all the kids
went to school together. They studied together, played together. They could have better innovative
minds as they got a chance to discuss things with each other. The old system of education in which
‘man’ as a teacher could influence his students by the charisma of his personality. Future generation
would utter what fun the schools were long ago.

Question 5. Do you think Asimov is warning us about the dangers of too much computerisation?

Answer

In his short story “The Fun They Had” Isaac Asimov depicts the school system in 2157 which is based
on technical advancement. Thirteen-year-old Tommy and eleven-year-old girl Margie both study with a
computer teacher at home. While the individual teaching can train the personal talents and it is a
perfect way to give every child knowledge and information baed on the child’s capacity, but there are
some disadvantages, too.

Pupils do not learn like a computer. Learning has to be fun, otherwise the probability of forgetting is
higher. Another disadvantage is that there are no social relationships like at school today. Learning with
friends at school can be a motivation. Students improve their communication skills and their behaviour
in a group. A mechanical teacher cannot give moral values to the children.

I think Asimov is trying to warn us that the school system which is being followed in 2157 is a good way
of giving children knowledge and information for jobs, but it is not good at giving ability for
interpersonal relationships. In my opinion the disadvantages are more serious than the advantages and
I feel this is a warning given by Isaac Asimov that this kind of schooling may not, in fact, be an ideal
option for students.

Question 6. Describe the old school as described in the book? How did it influence Margie?

Answer

The book which Tommy found was about school. However, it was not the kind of school Margie and
Tommy were used to, but the old kind of schools that were there hundreds and hundreds of years ago.
School was a special building and all the kids went there. Children went to these schools to study and
were taught by a ‘regular’ teacher, a man who told the boys and girls things and gave them homework
and asked them questions.

At school, all children of the same age studied together and carried out the same activities and tasks.
Margie thought about the old kind of school. She was thinking about all the kids from the whole
neighbourhood 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. Margie thought about the old school system and how
much fun the children must have had, learning and spending time together.

Question 7. Why did Margie think that children in olden days had fun while studying in school?

Answer

Margie attended a tele-school, which was just a machine in the room next to her bedroom and she
studied alone unlike the students of the schools in the bygone times. She found her present school
much too mechanical, boring, monotonous and demanding, and she hated it. She felt that learning was
more fun in those days because hundreds of children had the opportunity of congregating and studying
together with the help of human teachers and printed books. Schools were large buildings where
students learned the same things, so they could help one another with the homework and talk about it.
Question 8. Can you imagine a school without teachers and books? Give your opinion on the basis of
the lesson ‘The Fun They Had’.

Answer

No one can deny the role of modern technologies in our lives and in our studies. Nowadays education is
changing but schools without teachers and without books are beyond imagination. Without teachers,
teaching would not be good because no one would be there to explain and to teach as well. No student
would like the environment, it would be like an office. Teachers are very important for education.
Teachers not only teach us different subjects but they also teach us to live in discipline and to live
together. Teachers resolve the student’s problem and doubt and if they aren’t in schools the students
don’t study enough. As in the lesson Margie does not like her school, she finds it tedious as she does
not have the opportunity to be with other students and to do every work together. Modern technologies
can be taken as an aid to improve the standard of studies but the schools without books and teachers
will never be preferred.

Question 9. Write a short note on the school system in “The Fun They Had”.

Answer

Margie and Tommy are young school going children in the year 2157. Schools and teachers in the
twenty- second century are entirely different from the ones in present day. Margie and Tommy’s school
is not in a separate special building but a room in their respective houses where the television or the
mechanical teacher is placed. Each student has to sit and study alone with the help of mechanical
teacher, a large and black and ugly machine, with a big screen on which all the lessons are shown and
the questions are asked.

The ‘teacher’ assigns tests to the students and assesses their progress. The speed of the different
subject sectors is fixed according to the age level of each student. There is a special slot in the tele-
teacher where students have to insert their homework or tests. If the mechanical teacher develops any
fault, there are engineers to repair it.

Sometimes the fault may be a major one and it takes long to repair it, as was the case when Tommy’s
history teacher developed a snag and it took a month to repair it. Thus, the mechanical teachers and
schoolrooms of Margie and Tommy are fully computerised and are completely different from the
present day schools.