Education (A Story of My Childhood)

Working with words

Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’.

Use a dictionary and find the meanings of the following words related to people’s life stories.

1. Hagiography: a biography of a saint or other religious figure, often including legend and miracle stories.
2. Psychobiography: a type of biography that focuses on the psychological aspects of the subject's life.
3. Pathography: a biography that focuses on the negative aspects of a person's life and character, often highlighting their flaws and failures.
4. Chronicle: a historical account of events arranged in chronological order.
5. Obituary: a notice, often in a newspaper, that gives information about a person who has died, including their name, age, and details of their life and death. Character sketch: a brief description or analysis of a person's character, often focusing on their personality, behavior, and motivations.
6. Profile: a detailed description or analysis of a person, organization, or event, often including information about their background, achievements, and characteristics.
7. Memoir: an autobiographical account of a person's life, often focusing on specific events or experiences.

Comprehension

Put the following events in the life of Abdul Kalam in a chronological order.

c. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram.
f. One day Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure about his performance.
a. They celebrated happiness with poli.
g. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Bramhin friend.
e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture.
d. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class.
b. Abdul Kalam was determined that he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.

Answer the following questions.

a. What were the causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness?

The causes of Abdul Kalam's happiness were that he scored full marks in mathematics and science in an exam, and he did well in English and Tamil too. His teacher also visited his house to share his pride and happiness with his family.

b. Which two places did Abdul Kalam visit before going to school?

Before going to school, Abdul Kalam visited an Arabic tuition class where he learnt to read the Koran and his Mathematics teacher's house where he took a special class for students who showed promise in the subject.

c. What did he like about mathematics?

Abdul Kalam liked learning about numbers and their rules and patterns. He had learnt addition, subtraction, multiplication and other basic functions very quickly and was eager to know more about complex problems.

d. Why was the new teacher unhappy?

The new teacher was unhappy because he forbid Abdul Kalam to sit together with his Bramhin friend, as he believed Muslim and Hindu boys should not sit together.

e. Why did Abdul Kalam have to split with his intimate friend?

Abdul Kalam had to split with his intimate friend because the new teacher forbid Muslim and Hindu boys to sit together.

f. What was the topic of Sivasubramania Iyer’s class?

The topic of Sivasubramania Iyer’s class was how the birds could fly in the sky.

g. How was the teacher’s reaction when the students told him that they did not understand his lecture?

Teacher didn’t become upset when the students told him that they didn’t understand his lecture.

h. Why did Sivasubramania Iyer take his students to the seashore?

Sivasubramania Iyer took his students to the seashore because he wanted to demonstrate the mechanism of bird flight to the students.

Critical thinking

APJ Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. Do you find any association of his childhood days in shaping his career? Explain with specific instances from the text.

APJ Abdul Kalam became a renowned aerospace scientist in his later life. Do you find any association of his childhood days in shaping his career? Explain with specific instances from the text.

Yes, there are several instances in the text that suggest that Abdul Kalam's childhood experiences played a role in shaping his career as an aerospace scientist.

Firstly, it is mentioned that he had a keen interest in mathematics from a young age and enjoyed learning about numbers and their rules and patterns. This interest in mathematics may have laid the foundation for his later studies in aerospace science, which heavily relies on mathematical calculations and principles.

Secondly, it is mentioned that he attended a special class for students who showed promise in mathematics. This opportunity to learn advanced mathematical concepts at a young age may have helped to further fuel his interest in the subject and set him on a path towards a career in science.

Thirdly, it is also mentioned that Sivasubramania Iyer, his teacher, took the students to the seashore for a practical class, which may have inspired Abdul Kalam's interest in flight and aeronautics.

Lastly, it is also mentioned that Abdul Kalam had a strong bond with his friend Ramanadha Sastry and they used to chat and play games together. This friendship may have helped him to develop his social and emotional skills that would be important in his future career as a scientist.

All of these instances from the text suggest that Abdul Kalam's childhood experiences played a significant role in shaping his career as an aerospace scientist.

Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life. What picture of society does he want to depict by mentioning the incident? Discuss.

In the passage, Kalam mentions an instance of discrimination against him in his school life, where a new teacher forbade him to sit together with his Brahmin friend Ramanadha Sastry because he believed Muslim and Hindu boys should not sit together. By mentioning this incident, Kalam wants to depict the picture of a society that is plagued by religious discrimination.

The incident highlights the fact that even at a young age, Kalam was subjected to discrimination based on his religion. This can be seen as a reflection of the larger societal issue of religious discrimination and prejudice that existed in India at the time. He wants to depict the negative impact of discrimination on the individuals and their relationships. He wants to show how it can hurt people emotionally and can cause a rift in the society.

Furthermore, the incident also shows that discrimination can be present even in educational institutions, which are supposed to be places of learning and growth. This can have a detrimental effect on the development of young people, and can prevent them from reaching their full potential.

In mentioning this incident, Kalam is drawing attention to the negative effects of discrimination and prejudice, and the importance of creating a society where everyone is treated with respect and equality, regardless of their religion.

Writing

Write a short autobiography featuring your childhood life using the following guidelines.

• Date and place of birth
• Family background
• Daily life
• School life
• Special event of childhood days, etc.

My name is Bimala and I was born on January 1st, 2006 in Kathmandu, Nepal. I come from a large family, with two older siblings and two younger ones. My parents are farmers and we lived in a small village outside of Kathmandu.

Growing up, my daily life revolved around helping my parents with farm work and going to school. We would wake up early in the morning to tend to the crops and animals before heading off to school. After school, we would come home and continue working on the farm until dinner.

My school life was an important part of my childhood. I was always eager to learn new things and had a great relationship with my teachers. I was particularly interested in math and science and would often stay after school to get extra help from my teachers.

One special event of my childhood days that I will always remember was when my family took a trip to the Chitwan National Park. It was the first time I had ever seen a wild elephant up close and it was an experience I will never forget. The whole trip was amazing, we saw many different animals and we went on a jungle safari. It was a truly unforgettable experience.

Overall, my childhood was filled with hard work and lots of learning, but it was also filled with love and support from my family. I am grateful for the experiences and lessons I gained during those years and they have shaped me into the person I am today.

Grammar

Connectives

Connectives are words or phrases that are used to connect ideas, sentences, or paragraphs in a piece of writing. They can indicate a variety of relationships between the ideas, including cause and effect, contrast, and similarity. Some examples of connectives include "and," "but," "because," "so," "although," "however," "in addition," "furthermore," etc.

Connectives are used to help the flow and coherence of a piece of writing. They can be used to connect ideas within a sentence or between sentences. For example, in the sentence "I went to the store, and I bought some groceries," the connective "and" is used to connect the two ideas. Similarly, in the sentence "I was tired, but I decided to go for a walk," the connective "but" is used to show contrast between the two ideas.

Connectives can also be used to show a cause and effect relationship. For example, "The alarm clock didn't go off, so I was late for work." The connective "so" is used to show that the first idea (the alarm clock not going off) caused the second idea (being late for work).

Using connectives effectively in writing can make the writing more organized, clear and easy to follow. It helps in making the relationship between ideas clear and logical. It is always good to use a variety of connectives in writing to show different types of relationships between ideas and make the writing more interesting.

Join the following pairs of sentences twice, using although/though/even though and despite/in spite.

a. He is a millionaire. He lives in a simple house.
i. Although he is a millionaire, he lives in a simple house. ii. He lives in a simple house despite being a millionaire.

b. The weather was extremely bad. The pilot landed the plane safely.
i. Despite the weather being extremely bad, the pilot landed the plane safely.
ii. Even though the weather was extremely bad, the pilot landed the plane safely.

c. We study in the same college. We hardly see each other.
i. Although we study in the same college, we hardly see each other.
ii. We hardly see each other in spite of studying in the same college.

d. It rained heavily. We enjoyed our holiday.
i. Despite it raining heavily, we enjoyed our holiday.
ii. We enjoyed our holiday even though it rained heavily.

e. I had an umbrella. I got wet in the rain.
i. Although I had an umbrella, I got wet in the rain.
ii. I got wet in the rain in spite of having an umbrella.

f. I was really tired. I could not sleep a moment.
i. Despite being really tired, I could not sleep a moment.
ii. I could not sleep a moment even though I was really tired.

g. She has very good accent in English. She failed the interview of a newsreader.
i. Although she has very good accent in English, she failed the interview of a newsreader.
ii. She failed the interview of a newsreader in spite of having very good

h. Lhasa has extremely cold weather in winter. Millions of tourists go there in January.
i. Despite Lhasa having extremely cold weather in winter, millions of tourists go there in January.
ii. Millions of tourists go to Lhasa in January even though it has extremely cold weather in winter.

i. He was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match. He was victorious in the third round.
i. Despite being badly injured in the first round of the boxing match, he was victorious in the third round.
ii. He was victorious in the third round even though he was badly injured in the first round of the boxing match.

Complete each sentence in an appropriate way.

a. He passed the exam although he hadn't studied much.
b. She climbed the mountain in spite of her fear.
c. He did not give any alms to the beggars even though he had a lot of money.
d. In spite of his poor eyesight, he became a successful doctor e. She is very shy though she is very sociable.
f. He failed to pass the driving test in spite of his ten attempts.
g. He refused to eat anything despite being hungry.
h. He could not score goods grades in the SEE exams in spite of being a brilliant student.
i. She accepted the job although the salary was low.
j. Even though we had planned everything carefully, the party was a failure.