Chapter 3: An elementary school classroom in a slum

English
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Chapter 3: An elementary school classroom in a slum

Class: XII

Exercise number – 1

Question 1

Have you ever visited or seen an elementary school in a slum? What does it look like?

Answer 1

Yes, I actually have visited a primary school in an exceedingly slum. The school was in an exceedingly pitiful state. Its dingy and neglected classrooms were empty of even basic amenities like fan and lights. Each single window was broken and bore marks of rust. However the scholars within the schoolroom dealt with the outside noise or the winters was anybody’s guess. The ceilings too were packed with cobwebs. The furniture was broken and almost unusable. The walls of the classrooms were as shabby, unnourished and impartial because the students sitting in their enclosures. Even the teachers looked as if it would have lost their concern each for the students and their education. Moreover, I was dismayed to understand that the usage of bathrooms was restricted to the school staff.

Question 2

Think it out

1. Tick the item which best answers the following.
   
   

(a) The tall girl with her head weighed down means the girl ______________________.
(i) is ill and exhausted
(ii) has her head bent with shame
(iii) has untidy hair

(b) The paper-seeming boy with rat’s eyes means the boy is ______________________.
(i) sly and secretive
(ii) thin, hungry and weak
(iii) unpleasant looking

(c) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means the boy ______________________.
(i) has an inherited disability
(ii) was short and bony

(d) His eyes live in a dream. A squirrel’s game, in the tree room other than this. This means the boy is ______________________.
(i) full of hope in the future
(ii) mentally ill
(iii) distracted from the lesson

(e) The children’s faces are compared to ‘rootless weeds’. This means they ______________________.
(i) are insecure
(ii) are ill-fed
(iii) are wasters

Answer 2

(a) The tall girl with her head weighed down means the girl is ill and exhausted
(b) The paper-seeming boy with rat’s eyes means the boy is thin, hungry and weak
(c) The stunted, unlucky heir of twisted bones means the boy has an inherited disability
(d) His eyes live in a dream. A squirrel’s game, in the tree room other than this.

  This means the boy is distracted from the lesson
(e) The children’s faces are compared to ‘rootless weeds’. This means they are wasters

Question 3

What do you think is the colour of ‘sour cream’? Why do you think the poet has used this expression to describe the classroom walls?

Answer 3

The poet has used the expression ‘Sour cream indicates the colour cream or dirty white’ to explain the poor boring and unequipped atmosphere of the classroom. The walls were painted in the past by donations and since then no attention has been given to them. We tend to see the neglect these children face. It adds to the uninteresting ambiance.

Question 4

The walls of the classroom are decorated with the pictures of ‘Shakespeare’, ‘buildings with domes’, ‘world maps’ and beautiful valleys. How do these contrast with the world of these children?

Answer 4

All these entirely distinction with the world of the kids among the slum. They get half education, the value of education for the children is least and to possess these footage that are symbols of top of the range education is ironic here. The buildings with domes are samples of a civilised world, the world unknown to them. The world map is digressive to them as a results of the slums, their world cannot be settled by them. Finally, the engaging depression with rivers and capes is insignificant to them. They solely have the impure sky to appear at from the broken window panes. These kids are deprived of natural beauty.

Question 5

What does the poet want for the children of the slums? How can their lives be made to change?

Answer 5

Poet needs the children of the slums to venture into the outside world, on the far side the boundaries of their slums, and knowledge a far better gift and future life.
The grade school within the slum doesn't serve any purpose with its poor infrastructure and disinterested students. The poet feels that the governor, inspector, and guests should take initiative to achieve a true modification in their scenario. To make sure a far better manner of living for them, they have to be given proper education and freedom from their present confines. They need chance, encouragement, and optimism to be able to live life with purpose and zest.