Chapter 5 A Different Kind of School Important Questions Class 6 Honeysuckle English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What was done on a ‘dumb day’ and why was it the most difficult according to some children?
Answer
On a dumb day, the children were expected to be honest and exercise their will-power to keep quiet. Because the mouth can not be bandaged. That is why some children felt dumb day was the most difficult day.
Question 2. How did this ‘game’ help the children?
Answer
The ‘game’ of becoming blind, lame, deaf or dumb for a day helped the children to understand the pain of misfortune and the need to help the sufferer.
Question 3. Who was Miss Beam?
Answer
Miss Beam was a kind and generous lady and the owner of the school. She was a middle-aged, full of authority, yet very understanding lady. Her hair was grey Her school taught students how to become responsible citizens and help those who were disabled to help themselves.
Question 4. How has the girl with bandaged eyes impressed him?
Answer
The author was impressed when she told him about the head girl just by asking the details of her hair, height etc. He was taken aback when she told him about the gardener. She told him about the activities of the gardener without seeing.
Question 5. What method was adopted to prepare the children for the blind day?
Answer
The children were prepared for the blind day as their eyes were bandaged and they were advised not to peep through them. The bandage was put on overnight, so they woke up blind and could see nothing.
Question 6. How did Miss Beam look like?
Answer
Miss Beam was a middle aged, authoritative woman. She was kind and understanding. Since she was middle aged, her hair had started turning grey. She had a motherly plump figure.
Question 7. What did the author point out about the children in the playground?
Answer
The author complained that not all children were healthy and active-looking. Some were blind or lame and crippled.
Question 8. Describe the appearance of Miss Beam.
Answer
Miss Beam was middle-aged, dominating, yet kindly. Her hair was turning grey and she was a little fat.
Question 9. What was the real aim of Miss Beam’s school?
Answer
The real aim of Miss Beam’s school was not to teach so many subjects to make them thoughtful. They were trained to be kind to others and become responsible citizens. The school aimed at teaching ‘thoughtfulness’.
Question 10. How did the little bandaged girl make the author much more thoughtful than he ever thought?
Answer
The bandaged girl asked the author to describe things to her. The author had to observe places and persons very carefully. He noticed the colour of the hair or skirt. He discovered after a while that he had become thoughtful.
Question 11. What was the real aim of Miss Beam’s school?
Answer
The real aim of Miss Beam’s school was to inculcate thoughtfulness and kindness in the children by themselves, experiencing the same pain and helplessness that a blind, deaf, dumb or lame child will feel.
Question 12. What was the purpose of these special days?
Answer
The purpose of special days was to teach thoughtfulness kindness to others, and being responsible citizens. To make the children appreciate and understand misfortune, they were made to share in misfortune too.
Question 13. Who are helpers in the story?
Answer
The helpers are those children who are given duty to help other children who are deaf, dumb or blind for the day.
Question 14. What did the narrator learn from the girl?
Answer
The writer learnt about the lame days. She told him about the toughest day of being blind.
Question 15. How did the girl explain the ‘bad days’? Why were they bad?
Answer
Amongst the bad days, the day when the arm was tied up was troublesome, because you need help for eating, to doing any other work. Being blind on the blind day was also a bad day because the head ached and there was fear of getting hurt all the time.
Question 16. Why is the author pained?
Answer
The author was pained to see a few children not quite healthy and active. They carried bandage on their eyes or crutches under their arms.
Question 17. What did the author see out of the window?
Answer
The author saw beautiful grounds and a lot of jolly children. The all children were not looking healthy and active. He saw girls with poor eyesight and other problems.
Question 18. What did Miss Beam teach the children at her school?
Answer
The children were taught simple spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying and writing.
Question 19. What did Miss Beam tell the author about the game being played among the friends?
Answer
Miss Beam explained to the author that no child was lame, blind or crippled. They were, in fact, being made to understand misfortune. Every child had one blind day. one lame day and one dumb day. They were helped by other children.
Question 20. “This is only her lame day.” What do you mean by this?
Answer
‘This means that the girl is lame only for that day and it was her turn to be lame. She will become thoughtful and kind about those who are actually lame, after this exercise.
Question 21. What was done to make children appreciate and understand misfortune?
Answer
To make the children understand and appreciate misfortune, they were made to keep one day each term as a blind day, deaf day, dumb day or injured day.
Question 22. Who is Millie?
Answer
Millie is the head girl of Miss Beam’s school.
Question 23. What did Miss Beam mean by ‘thoughtfulness’?
Answer
By ‘thoughtfulness’, Miss Beam meant kindness to others and a sense of duty.
Question 24. The dumb day is the most difficult day. Why?
Answer
The dumb day is the most difficult day for the children because, bandage cannot be put on the children’s mouth, but they have to show their firm will-power to be silent throughout the day without uttering a single word.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What was the difference between Miss Beam’s school and the other schools?
Answer
This was a unique idea of Ms. Beam to have a different school from other schools because her school taught moral values, thoughtfulness and kindness apart from general study, while all other schools focus on teaching subjects and their syllabus. Miss Beam thought that it was important for children to understand misfortune and sufferings of others. They should not only understand but also feel and share the misfortune of others in order to make themselves responsible citizens. The teaching methods of the school were quite different from other schools. Children also used to follow all the instructions given to them from time to time.
Question 2. How successful was Miss Beam in inculcating values in her students?
Answer
Miss Beam was known for her efforts in inculcating the values in her students. She focused on academics as well. Her students were taught spelling, reading, adding subtracting, multiplying and writing. They were also educated to be socially responsible citizen. They were given chances to help and coordinate well with each other. The author was impressed with their bond and sharing of responsibilities. He also liked the altitude, zeal and enthusiasm with which Miss Beam was educating her students. At the end, we can say that she had successfully inculcated empathy, companionship among her school students.
Question 3. What did Beam’s school aim to teach? Why?
Answer
Miss Beam’s school was a training ground to turn out good citizens. Bookish knowledge intends to know what is right and what is wrong. But Miss Beam’s school aimed at developing the habit to help the blind, the lame and the needy.
Question 4. What is your opinion about the teaching methods of Miss Beam’s school. Whether they were correct or not? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer
In my opinion the teaching methods of Miss Beam’s school were correct and appropriate to show their sympathy. Each term every child had one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day and one dumb day in the school. Through this method the students will undergo pain and suffering and they will understand misfortune of disabled persons on these days the children are unable to do anything themselves and needed help and other children are given the duty of helping them. All the children learn many things with this teaching method. This will make them responsible and better citizen for future.
Question 5. What attributes should be a part of school education system?
Answer
The lesson dealt with the lack of values in education system prevailing. The emphasis should be laid on all round development of a child-be it emotional, social or physical etc. The policy makers should keep in mind shaping the future of student while framing the syllabus of students. The minds of young learners reciprocate to conditions provided to them. They can realise and relate through the real – life like experiences. They should be given opportunities so as to make them better citizens.
Question 6. In what respect was Miss Beam’s school different from others?
Answer
Miss Beam ran a school. But it was very different from others. The children were taught how to spell words, do sums and write. The teacher taught to them interesting lessons. But the real aim of the school was to make children sensitive and good citizens, kind and responsible. They were given practical training to develop such a character.
Question 7. Which incident made the visitor to the school ten times more thoughtful than ever?
Answer
The narrator had heard a lot about the unique method of teaching in Beam’s school. At first he saw a blind girl being led out. Then he saw a lame boy. He thought that the students were not at all healthy and active. But soon he came to know that that they were just acting to be blind, lame, crippled etc. Meanwhile, he was asked to lead a blind girl around. The blind girl asked him many questions. And he had to apply his brain to describe people and things. He realised that he had become ten times more thoughtful than ever.
Extract Based Questions
Extract 1
When I arrived there was no one in sight but a girl of about twelve. Her eyes were covered with a bandage and she was being led carefully between the flower-beds by a little boy, who was about four years younger. She stopped, and it looked like she asked him who had come. He seemed to be describing me to her. Then they passed on.
Questions
(i) Where did the writer arrive?
(ii) What was the girl doing?
(iii) What was the age of the girl?
(iv) Why has the girl stopped?
(v) Change the adverb ‘Carefully’ into an adjective.
Answer
(i) The writer arrived at Miss Beam’s school.
(ii) The girl was led by a boy as her eyes were covered with a bandage
(iii) The girl was about twelve years.
(iv) The girl was stopped to enquired about the visitor.
(v) Careful.
Extract 2
“This is a very important part of our system. To make our children appreciate and understand misfortune, we make them share in misfortune too. Each term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one def day, one injured day and one dumb day. During the blind day their eyes are bandaged absolutely and they are on their honour not to peep. The bandage is put on overnight so they wake blind. This means that they need help with everything. Other children are given the duty of helping them and leading them about. They all learn so much this way- both the blind and the helpers.
Questions
(i) What was the very important part of the school?
(ii) What was done on “blind day’?
(iii) What was the duty of the helpers?
(iv) Why was ‘lame day’ organised for each term?
(v) Give the meaning of‘are on their honour’.
Answer
(i) The very important part of the school system was to make children responsible and understand misfortune.
(ii) During the blind day their eyes were bandaged.
(iii) The helpers were given duty of helping and leading the blind student of the day.
(iv) Lame day was organised to make children appreciate and understand misfortune.
(v) ‘have promised’.
Extract 3
“Oh, yes”, she said. “Let’s go for a little walk. Only you must tell me about things. I shall be so glad when today is over. The other bad days can’t be half as bad as this. Having a leg tied up and hopping about on a crutch is almost fun, I guess. Having an arm tied up is a bit more troublesome because you can’t eat without help, and things like that. I don’t think I’ll mind being deaf for a day at least not much. But being blind is so frightening. My head aches all the time just from worrying that I’ll get hurt. Where are we now?”
Questions
(i) What was the writer taken for?
(ii) Which is the ‘funny lame day’ for the girl?
(iii) Which was the toughest activity for.the ’girl?
(iv) What Worried her the most on being blind?
(v) Give the noun form of‘troublesome’.
Answer
(i) The writer was taken for a little walk.
(ii) The funniest lame day was when her one leg was tied and she had to hop on a crutch.
(iii) The toughest activity for her was being blind folded.
(iv) The fear of getting hurt was the reason of her worry.
(v) troublesomeness.
Extract 4
“In the playground,” I said. “We’re walking towards the house. Miss Beam is walking up and down the garden with a tall girl.”
“What is the girl wearing?” my little friend asked. “A blue cotton skirt and a pink blouse.” “I think it’s Millie?” she said. “What colour is her hair?”
“Very light,” I said. “Yes, that’s Millie. She’s the Head Girl.”
“There’s an old man tying up roses,” I said. “Yes, that’s Peter. He’s the gardener. He’s hundreds of years old!”
Questions
(i) Where were the visitor and the girl?
(ii) Who was the tall girl?
(iii) What was Miss Beam doing?
(iv) Who was ‘Peter’? what was he doing?
(v) Write the antonym of ‘toward’.
Answer
(i) They were in the playground.
(ii) The tall girl was the head girl.
(iii) Miss Beam was walking up and down the garden with the tall girl.
(iv) Peter was a gardener and he was tying up roses.
(v) Away from.