Beehive The Fun They Had - CBSE Revision Notes

CBSE Class 09 English Language and Literature
Revision Notes
Beehive Chapter-1
The Fun They Had
  • Tommy finds a real old book from an attic that has been printed or paper.
  • According to Margie's grandfather's grandfather, all books were printed on paper.
  • They found that old book crinkled with yellow pages and it seemed funny to them to find all the letters at same place as when read the first time.
  • Tommy thinks it was a waste to have a book printed on paper.Once read, the book is left ignored or just thrown away.
  • Tommy thinks TV screens are better as they have a million books and it is better for more stuff and would never be thrown.
  • Margie is surprised to know that the book was about a school and feels it is worthless and fails to understand that why would someone write about a school
  • Margie hates school .Now even more because she has not been performing well in her geography test.
  • Margie has problems about learning geography from her mechanical teacher, so her mother calls the Country Inspector to rebuild her lessons.
  • The Country Inspector was a round little man with a red face who carried his big box of tools with dials and wires.
  • Now Margie could see her lessons on the big screen . The questions were asked on the screen only.The only part Margie didn't like was when she had to submit her homework and test papers. She hates doing her homework.
  • The Country Inspector says that Margie's progress is satisfactory and patted her head.He tells her mother that it was not her fault to score less but the subject Geography was a little above her level.He tells her that he has adjusted it to a ten years old level now.
  • But she was disappointed because she was hoping that the mechanical teacher would be taken away,at least for some time.
  • Margie asks Tommy why anybody would write about a school .Tommy proudly tells her that the school was not their kind of mechanical school .He says it was a school ‘centuries ago'.
  • Margie is surprised to know that back in the older days a ‘man' would be the teacher.He would tell the children different things , ask questions and give them homework too.
  • Tommy also tells Margie that teachers did not live in the house and the kids went to a ‘special building' to learn and all the children of same age group were given the same knowledge and taught the same things.
  • But Margie is a little confused as Mrs. Jones says that each teacher has to adjust to fit the mind of each boy and girl and that each child has to be taught differently.
  • Margie finally gets interested and wants to know more about 'those schools'.
  • Mrs. Jones tells them that it is time to go to school.
  • The ‘schoolroom' is just next to Margie's bedroom.
  • The mechanical teacher asks for Margie's homework.
  • Margie thinks about the time when teachers were people.She thinks about how much fun it would be for all the children in the neighborhood to go to same place together everyday and learn same things and help each other in homework also.