Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem: 6 Class English Ch 15

Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem: NCERT 6th CBSE Honeysuckle English Chapter 15

For a little child, his / her teacher is special, not an ordinary person. So he wonders where the teachers go after the school hours.

He wants to know if they live in houses and also wash their clothes. He wonders if they feel relaxed at home, wear pyjamas and watch TV. He is also eager to know if the teachers have their parents at home, and if they too were naughty at school, spelt the words wrongly, ate chocolates in the class, and were told to stand in the corner as punishment.

The child compares his own habits with those of the teachers in their childhood. They too must have lost their prayer book, wore dirty jeans and scribbled on the desktops.

The child plans to follow his teacher to find out what he/she does at home. He will then record that in a poem. The teacher will read that poem to other children as a fun.

1.

Where do all the teachers go
When it’s four o’clock?
Do they live in houses
And do they wash their socks?
Do they wear pujamas
And do they watch TV?
And do they pick their noses
The same as you and me?.

Questions: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. What is the significance of four o’ clock?

1. The teachers go to the market
2. The teachers give tuitions to their students
3. The school closes for the day and the teachers go to their homes
4. The school starts for second shift.

2. What is the child curious about?

1. He wants to know how the teachers live at home
2. He wants to know about the ways of the world
3. He wants to know what teachers used to do as students
4. He wants to know why teachers get angry.

3. For the child, his teacher is …

1. a special person
2. very cruel
3. very kind
4. very talented

4. What does the phrase ‘pick their noses’ mean?

1. Clean their noses with handkerchief
2. Clean their noses with water
3. Hurt their noses with sharp nails
4. Clean their noses with the little finger

5. What does the word ‘watch’ mean here?

1. To measure
2. To see
3. To supervise
4. To control

Аnswer:

1. (3)
2. (1)
3. (1)
4. (4)
5. (2)

2.

Do they live with other people
Have they mums and dads?
And were they ever children
And were they ever bad?
Did they ever, never spell right
Did they ever make mistakes?
Were they punished in the corner
If they pinched the chocolate flakes?

Questions: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. Who does they refer to here?

1. Children
2. Teachers
3. Teachers and children
4. Non-teaching staff of the school

2. The child wants to make sure whether his teacher also had…

1. The same pleasant experience as a school boy
2. The same unpleasant experience as a school boy
3. a house to live in
4. many classmates during his school days

3. The child in this poem seems to be…

1. sincere
2. talkative
3. naughty
4. simple

4. What does the expression “They pinched the chocolate-flakes” mean?

1. They ate chocolate
2. They touched chocolate
3. They stole chocolate
4. They purchased chocolate

5.Which of the following words means opposite to punished?

1. (a) Given
2. (b) Praised
3. (c) Hurt
4. (d) Rewarded

Аnswer:

1. (2)
2. (2)
3. (3)
4. (1)
5. (4)

3.

Did they ever lose their hymn books
Did they ever leave their greens?
Did they scribble on the desktops
Did they wear old dirty jeans?
I’ll follow one back home today
I’ll find out what they do
Then I’ll put it in a poem
That they can read to you.

Questions: Read the following questions and choose the most appropriate option from the ones given below:

1. What are hymn books?

1. (a) A collection of patriotic songs
2. (b) A collection of short stories
3. (c) A collection of folk songs
4. (d) A collection of devotional songs

2. What does the expression leave their greens’ mean?

1. (a) Spread about green vegetables
2. (b) Throw green vegetables on floor
3. (c) Buy green vegetables
4. (d) Eat green vegetables

3. Which one of the following mistakes the child does not make?

1. (a) He makes spelling mistakes
2. (b) He scratches on the desk top
3. (c) He beats his classmates
4. (d) He soils his clothes

4. What does the child finally decide?

1. (a) To follow his teacher
2. (b) To live with his teacher
3. (c) To study sincerely
4. (d) To leave all the bad habits

5. What does the word ‘scribble’ mean?

1. (a) Cry
2. (b) Scrawl
3. (c) Jump
4. (d) Make dirty.

Аnswer:

1. (4)
2. (1)
3. (3)
4. (1)
5. (2)

Questions: Answer these questions.

(i) Why does the poet want to know where the teachers go at four o’clock?

Аnswer: The poet thinks that his teachers are not ordinary persons. He looks upon them as super or special human beings. So he wants to know where they go and what they do after the school hours.

(ii) What are the things normal people do that the poet talks about?

Аnswer: Normal people return to their home, change their clothes, wash their faces and become fresh. They also rest for a while. Some of them go for shopping or help the children with their homework.

(iii) What does he imagine about

1. (a) where teachers live?
2. (b) what they do at home?
3. (c) the people with whom they live?
4. (d) their activities when they were children in school?

Аnswer:

1. (a) The boy imagines that teachers live in joint families.
2. (b) They wash their socks, change into pyjamas and then watch TV.
3. (c) They live with their parents.
4. (d) When they were at school going age, they too spelt the words incorrectly, chewed chocolates in the class and were punished.

(iv) Why does the poet wonder if teachers also do things that other people do?

Аnswer: The boy regards his teachers as special persons. They are his ideals, perfect in every respect. So he wonders if they also do things that other people do.

(v) How does the poet plan to find out? What will he do once he finds out?

Аnswer: The poet plans to get first hand information about his teacher. He plans to follow one of his teachers and find out what he / she does. Then he will record his findings in a poem for the benefit of other children.

Question: What do you think these phrases from the poem mean?

1. Punished in the corner.
2. Leave their greens.

Аnswer:

1. The teacher keeps an eye on all the students. In case he notices a boy eating chocolates in the classroom or making spelling mistakes, he asks the boy to stand in the corner as punishment.
2. Some of the children don’t eat their lunch in full. They leave cooked green vegetables here and there or throw them into the dustbin.

Question: What does the child think about his / her teacher?

Аnswer: For the child, the teacher is an extraordinary or mysterious person.

Question: What does he want to know about his teacher? Why?

Аnswer: The child is inquisitive or curious to know about the routine of his teacher.

Question: How does the child compare his own daily activities with that of his teacher?

Аnswer: The child goes back home in the afternoon, changes his uniform, picks his nose, watches T.V. and lives with his parents.

Question: What makes him envy his teacher?

Аnswer: The child is mischievous. He spells the words wrongly. He is punished if he ever steals a chocolate. He scribbles on the desk and soils his jeans. His teacher is free from such an unpleasant life.

Question: How does the child finally decide to observe his teacher’s activities at home?

Аnswer: The child plans to follow his teacher to his home and find out what he does. He will then write it in a poem for all children to read and understand.

Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem – Question: What does a little child think of his / her teacher? What does the child decide to explore?

Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem – Аnswer: For a child a teacher is some important or special person. He cannot think of his / her teacher as an ordinary being. He becomes curious to know how his teacher lives in his house or spends his time or wears casual dress. He wonders whether the teacher has his parents or he too was once a school going child. He also wants to know whether the teacher was also naughty who made mistakes and was punished. He decides to find out the truth by going to the teacher‘s home.

Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem – Question: What is the mystery about the child’s school teacher? How does it plan to discover the truth?

Where Do All the Teachers Go Poem – Аnswer: For a little kid his teacher is an ideal and mysterious person. He compares his own way of living with that of the teacher. He wants to know whether the teachers too live in houses, wash their socks and watch TV. Further if the teacher too used to make spelling mistakes, do mischief and was punished at school. The wondering child decides to go to the teacher’s home to discover how he lives. Then he plans to put all his information in a poem.