Very Short Questions
Question 1 : Write about the appearance of Miss Beam.
Answer : Miss Beam was a middle-aged lady, full of authority yet kindly. Her hair was turning grey and she was slightly fat.
Question 2 : What was the purpose/objective of Miss Beam’s school?
Answer : The real aim of the school was not to teach various subjects but to teach thoughtfulness and make the students kind and responsible citizens.
Question 3 : “This is only her lame day.” What does this mean?
Answer : It means the girl is lame only for that day and it was her turn to be lame. This exercise will make her thoughtful and kind about those who actually are lame.
Question 4 : Who are helpers in the story?
Answer : Many children are given duty to help other children who are deaf, dumb or blind for the day. Such children are called helpers.
Question 5 : Who is Millie?
Answer : Millie is the head girl of Miss Beam’s school with very light hair. She was wearing a blue cotton skirt and a pink house.
Question 6 : What type of learning methods were used in Miss Beam school?
Answer : The learning methods do not invite. Usual simple spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying and uniting. They have to learn how to be a responsible citizen.
Question 7 : How did children prepare themselves for the blind day?
Answer : During the blind day, children’s eyes were bandaged and they were advised not to peep. The bandage was put on overnight so they wake up blind.
Short Questions
Question 1 : What did the author see out of the window?
Answer : The author saw beautiful grounds and a lot of jolly children.
The children were not looking healthy and active. He saw girls with poor eyesight and other problems.
Question 2 : What used to happen on the blind day?
Answer : During the blind day, student’s eyes were bandaged completely and they were not allowed to peep. The bandage is put on overnight so they wake up blind.
Question 3 : Why dumb is the most difficult?
Answer : The dumb is the most difficult because bandage cannot be put on the children’s mouth and they have to exercise their will-power to be silent throughout the day.
Question 4 : Who was Miss Beam?
Answer : Miss Beam was the owner of the school. She was a middle-aged, full of authority , yet kindly and very understanding lady. Her hairs were grey and she had a plump figure. Her school taught students how to become responsible citizens.
Long Questions.
Question 1 : How was Miss Beam’s school different from other schools? What was the difference between Miss Beam’s school and the other schools?
Answer : Miss Beam’s school was different from other school because it teaches moral values, thoughtfulness and kindness apart from general study while all the other schools focus on teaching subjects.
According to the school, it was important for children to understand misfortune and suffering of others. The school makes them share the misfortune of others in order to make them responsible citizens. The teaching methods of the school were different from other schools and children used to follow all the instructions given to them.
Question 2 : Who was ten times more thoughtful then ever? Give reasons.
Answer : The writer, who visited Miss Beam’s school, discovered that he had become ten times more thoughtful after getting the first-hand experience of the school. He saw a girl whose eyes were covered with a bandage and she was led by a little boy. He was told that it was her blind day.
The writer understood that every child must undergo some kind of suffering to understand misfortune. Many children were given the duty of helping the other children who were blind, deaf, dumb and lame for the day. The writer learnt a lot from their experience.
Value Based Questions
Question 1 : Do you think the teaching methods of Miss Beam’s school were correct? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer : Yes, the teaching methods of Miss Beam’s were correct and appropriate. Each term every child had one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one injured day and one dumb day in the school. This method will make them undergo pain and suffering and this is how they will understand misfortune.
The children needed help with everything and other children are given the duty of helping them and leading them about. All the children learn many things with this teaching technique. This will make them responsible and better citizen.