THE SCHOOL FOR SYMPATHY

SHORT ANSWERS
1. Why do you think that the writer wanted to visit Mis Bearn's school?
It is because he had heard a lot about Miss Beam's school
2. Is it different from other schools? How?
Yes, their teaching methods were quite different. They laught only those things that are
simple and useful to the pupils by giving them interesting tasks.
3. Is there a hint suggesting that it is a residential school? Identify and write the sentence.
Miss Beam says "The bandage is put on overnight. They woke up blind." This sentence
hints that the school is a residential one.
4. What according to Miss Beam is the real aim of the school?
The real aim is to teach thoughtfulness, humanity, kindness and citizenship.
5. What surprised and pained the visitor when he looked out of the window?
The visitor realized that the jolly children whom he saw before him were not at all healthy and
active. It surprised and pained him.
6. "..we make them share in misfortune too" What does Miss Beam mean by this?
In order to make the young minds appreciate and understand misfortune, every child has
to observe one blind day, one dumb day and one deaf day.
7. "It is educative to both of them" - Explain how it helps the blind and the helpers.
The helpers learn the values of mutual help and compassion and understand the problems
of the differently abled.
8. What makes the dumb the most frightening for children?
On the dumb day the child must use his/her will power because the mouth is bandaged.
9. "I shall be glad when today is over" Why does the girl feel so?
It is because the others bandaged can't be half as bad as the blind day. It will be terrible for
her not to see.
10. Why does the girl think that having all tied up is a little more troublesome?
With her own arm tied up she may not be able to do anything without the help of others.
She may need others even to cut up food for her.
11. Why did E.V. Lucas want to visit Miss Beam's school?
WThe author E.V. Lucas wanted to visit Miss Beam's school because he had heard of
Miss. Beam's unique teaching methods.
12. Apart from conventional spelling, adding etc, what other aspects are taught in Miss Beam's
school?
Besides conventional aspects, Miss Beam's school teaches children by means of reading to
them and giving them interesting tasks such as playing blind, deaf. dumb and lame. These are
to make them understand misfortune.
13. What is the real aim of Miss Beam's school?
The real aim of Miss Beam's school is to teach thoughtfulness, humanity. kindness and
citizenship.
14. What does the word 'day' signify in 'The School for Sympathy'?
According to Miss Beam who runs the school, each child has a blind day, deaf day, dumb
day and lame day. The word 'day' means that each child has to play blind, deaf, dumb and lame
on a day during a term.
15. Why does Miss Beam tell E.V. Lucas that the 'blind day' is the worst?
The blind day is the worst because those playing blind need assistance in everything.
They have to be constantly in fear of hitting against something that is not there. This is despite
assistance.
16. How does the 'blind day' girl react when Lucas asks her whether she ever peeps?
The girl playing blind is little shocked and tells him that she does not peep. She considers
it cheating.
17. What is Lucas's reaction after seeing the children having their 'day'?
The author, after seeing the school children playing blind, deaf, dumb and lame becomes
many more times thoughtful than usual.
18. What do you think is the author's emotion when he leaves the school?
The author, on leaving the school feels heavy at heart. He is disturbed. He feels that one
cannot see another's woe and share their sorrow.
19. Why is Miss Beam's called the school of sympathy?
Miss Beam's school is called the school of sympathy because it teaches its pupils the
physical misfortunes of people. That is, the pupils are given exposure by being involved to
experience the difficulties of the sufferers. This way, the school trains them to develop humanity.
Hence, it is called the school of sympathy
20. What trait should the 'dumb day player' possess to be realistic?
The dumb day player' should have will power to be dumb all day because the mouth is not
bandaged.
PARAGRAPHS
1. Give a brief account of Mr. Lucas's visit to Miss Bearn's school.
Once the author visited Miss Beam's school. It taught normal school subjects and also
made the students sympathetic, thoughtful and kind. The author saw many handicapped
children. Actually they were all healthy. They were playing at being crippled.Each child was
made to have one blind day, one lame day, one dumb day and one maimed day in a term. This
made the students understand the misfortunes of the handicapped. The blind day was very
troublesome. At the end of the visit, the author thought that Miss Beam's school did a very
useful service in making the students sympathetic and kind.
2. "In the course of the term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one
maimed day one dumb day." What were the children expected to do on these days?"
On the blind day, the eyes of children were bandaged. Such children needed help in
everything. On the lame day, a leg of the child was tied up and he was to hop about on a crutch.
On the deaf day, the ears of children were clogged. On the maimed day, an arm was tied up and
the children had to get their food cut for them. On the dumb day, they were to remain silent. As
their mouths were not bandaged, they had to depend upon their will power. They were made to
take part in these misfortunes in order to make them appreciate and understand the misfortune
of others. The basic idea was to make the children sympathetic towards such helpless children.
3. Write a note on Miss Beam's school.
Miss Beam's school is interesting enough and teaching methods are very simple. They
teach simple and useful things to the pupils like additions, subtractions, multiplications and
writing and through interesting tasks. Practically no other lessons are given. The real aim of
Miss Beam's school is to teach thoughtfulness, humanity, kindness and citizenship. The children
in this school have to observe a blind day, a lame day, a deaf day and a dumb day. It would help
the young minds to appreciate and understand misfortunes. The children learn to be helpful to
each other and be compassionate. They learn necessary values required for a peaceful
coexistence.
4. Sketch the character of Miss Beam.
Miss Beam was kind-hearted, middle-aged, authoritative and full of understanding. She
started a new school known as the School for Sympathy. Important school subjects were taught
in this school. But this school was different in one aspect. Here the students were given training
in good qualities. The real aim of the school was to give training in thoughtfulness, humanity and
good citizenship. Every child in her school had one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day and
one dumb day etc. The children thus had a taste of misfortune. As a result, they learnt to be
sympathetic towards handicapped people. Miss Beam was an asset to society. She wanted to
promote noble ideas in society.
5. How does Miss Beam impress the author?
The narrator happens to meet Miss Beam. He thought to himself that she possessed a look
that could comfort a homesick child. She was a plump middle-aged woman whose hair had
started to grey. She looked kind and commanding at the same time. Miss Beam greeted the
narrator and they began their conversation. The narrator asked her about the school and its
unique system. According to Miss Beam, the school follows a simple curriculum. Basic
mathematics such as addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication are taught. They are also
trained to read and write. The teaching methodology is simple because the students will learn
through interesting lectures and by reading. Miss Beam is a cheerful, aggressive, sensitive,
serious energetic, and confident in all her activities.
6. How does Miss Beam respond to E.V. Lucas's questions about her teaching methods?
EV. Lucas's curiosity about the Miss Beam's school induces him to pose certain questions
about the school's teaching methods. Miss Beam, in response, informs him that only those that
are practically useful to pupils - spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying writing etc are taught
there. These are followed by interesting tasks. Hearing Lucas complimenting the system as
original, Miss Beam proceeds further. She says the "the real aim of the school is not to teach
thought but thoughtfulness, humanity, kindness and citizenship". This is her ideal, Miss Beam
says and adds that parents lend a lot of encouragement for the system. Then she shows him
the scenes on the large garden and playground where pupils enact being blind, deaf, dumb and
lame together with their helper-pupils.
7. Describe the nature of 'day' in The School for Sympathy
Miss Beam tells the author E.V. Lucas that pupils in the school are made to share in
misfortune also. This is to make them understand and appreciate it. In the course of the term,
each child has one blind day, one lame day, one dead day and one dumb day. When it is blind
day, the pupils' eyes are bandaged and is done the previous night and such pupils have to wake
up blind. This makes them need assistance in every activity of theirs. Other children are told to
help them. The blind pupils fear that they would hit against something. This turns educative. At
the end of the day with its difficulties, makes pupils more thoughtful. The dumb day is more
frightful. This practice of dumbness requires will power because there is no bandage to their
mouth. Regarding the lame day, a leg is tied up and the enactor has to hop on a crutch. Having
an arm tied up is more troublesome. Lifting one's food is horrible. Being deaf is easier to enact,
comparatively speaking of all these, the blind day is the most terrible because one has to avoid
things that are not there. And it aches the head all the time.
8.How does the blind day enactor answer Lucas's companion and his references to other
enactors?
The girl who is experiencing her blind day hears the author's companion asking him about
the dress of the girl, Miss Beam is walking with. The author says that she has a blue skirt and a
pink blouse. Immediately, the blind enactor says it is Millie. As regards her hair, the author says
it is light. The blind day girl then affirms that it is Millie. Regarding the centenarian who cuts
grass, she says he is Peter. The author informs of the coming of a dark girl in red on crutches.
Then, the blind day girl identifies her as Beryl. All these identifications by the blind day girl make
the author more thoughtful.
ESSAYS
1. What is unique about the school?
Introduction:
What is unique and special about the school is that they have a set of five special days each
term. The days are as follows Blind day, Lame day, Deaf day, Dumb day and Injured day. The
activities followed on each of these days are something unique and have their benefits too at
the end of it all. It is about this system that we are going to discuss in this essay.
Blind Day:
During the blind day, the students will cover their eyes completely. On that particular day, they
would experience the life of a blind person. The eyes will be covered the previous night before
the student goes to bed. The purpose is that the child should understand the problems of a blind
person right from the beginning of the day. Hence, the girl who appeared at the beginning of the
lesson was not blind. She was only on her blind day. The boy who was helping her was on his
helping duty. Helpers are responsible for assisting the students in need.
Lame and Deaf Days:
During the lame day, the students will tie their legs up. They will have to walk using a crutch.
This day was implemented to teach the students the difficulties faced by the people who cannot
walk properly. During the deaf day, the students are made to spend their day without being able
to hear anything. Though this may seem easy, it can be quite challenging because you would
have to live through a day without knowing what people are saying.

Dumb Day:
During the dumb day, the students are expected to be mute. The challenge here is that
they will have to remain quiet by exercising their will-power. Unlike the blind day, their mouth will
not be covered. While it is possible to cover your eyes or ears during the blind day and deaf day,
it is not possible to do that your mouth. We need mouth to eat food, drink water, and also to
breathe to an extent.
Conclusion:
During the injured day, the students will tie their arms up through an arm sling. Again, this
day teaches the students the discomfort faced by the people who have lost their arms or those
who are injured. Through this unique method of education, the school teaches the students the
importance of empathy and kindness.
2. What were the impressions gained by the author regarding the school and its head?
Introduction:
The author told Miss Beam that he had heard a lot about the originality of her teaching
method. Miss Beam told him that the real aim of her school was to make the students
thoughtful. She wanted to make them helpful and sympathetic citizens. She added that parents
sent their children to her school gladly. She then asked the writer to look out of the window.
Working of the System:
The author looked out of the window. He saw a large garden and playground. Many children
were playing there. He told Miss Beam that he felt sorry for the physically handicapped. Miss
Beam laughed at it. She explained to him that they were not really handicapped. It was the blind
day for a few while for some it was the deaf day. There were still others for whom it was the
lame day. Then she explained the system. To make the students understand misfortune, they
were, made to have experience of misfortunes. In the course of the term every child had one
blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one maimed day and one dumb day. On the blind day,
their eyes were bandaged. They did everything with the help of other children. It was educative
to both the blind and the helpers.
Worst Day:
Miss Beam told the author that the blind day was very difficult for the children. But some of
the children feared the dumb day. On the dumb day, the child had to exercise willpower because
the mouth was not bandaged. Miss Beam introduced the author to a girl whose eyes were
bandaged. The author asked her if she ever peeped. She told him that it would be cheating. She
feared that she was going to be hit by something. The author asked her if her guides were good
to her. She replied that they were very good. She also informed the author that those who had
been blind already were the best guides.
Conclusion:
When the author told her about the tall girl's dress, she at once made out that she was Millie.
The author described the surroundings to her. He felt that as a guide to the blind, one had to be
thoughtful. He was full of praise for Miss Beam's system of education which made the student
sympathetic and kind. The iter himself had become ten times more thoughtful.
3. Give in your own words the theme of the lesson The School for Sympathy'.
Introduction:
Traditional or conventional education given in schools is not ideal. It gives information of
facts. It enables a person to earn his living. In addition to the normal subjects, the students of
Miss Beam's ideal school were also given lessons on humanity and citizenship. Here students
got a real understanding of misfortune. During training every child had one blind day, one deaf
day and one dumb day. During the blind day their eyes were bandaged. The bandage was also
put during the night. By being blind for a day the child realized what a misfortune it was to be
blind. In the same way children learnt the difficulties of the deaf and the dumb people.
Meeting a Girl with a Bandage:
The story begins with the narrator entering the school for the first time. He came across two
students walking through the flower-beds. One of them was a girl. She was about 12 years old.
Interestingly, the girl's eyes were covered using a bandage. Since she had trouble seeing, she
was guided by a boy of 8 years old. Sensing the narrator's presence, the girl enquired about him
to her helper. She was curious because she couldn't see anything. The boy gave her a
description of him. Then they walked on.
Another Girl's Experience:
The narrator also meets another young student who is on her blind day. They talk about the
different days and also share her experiences being blind. She says that she had realized the
pain and the discomfort faced by a blind person The blind day gives her a headache because
she is always in fear of getting hit by an object. She says that the inability to see anything
scares her. In the girl's opinion, blind day is the worst, followed by the injured day. However, she
considers the lame day funny and interesting because she could hop around on crutches.
Conclusion:
After their conversation, the narrator goes back to meet Miss Beam. He finds that he has
become more thoughtful than he had thought he could ever become. He says that he was
feeling sad to leave the place. The narrator's statement shows that he became quite impressed
with the unique system of the school. This makes Miss Beam happy because she exclaims by
saying that she is pleased to know that her system is effective and that it works.
4.How does Miss Beam's school teach thoughtfulness, humanity, kindness and citizenship to its
pupils?
1. Introduction
E.V. Lucas in his narrative The School for Sympathy draws our attention to the importance
of certain human qualities that should be developed in school children This will enable them to
develop themselves as good human beings and citizens. In order to convey these ideas, he
adopts the narrative method of story telling. Direct speech, indirect speech and third person
narrative are all in amalgam in this narrative which lend credence to his ideas through the
school authority Miss Beam. Lessons which are essential for day today living are taught, but
more importance is given to the development of skills in children. Tolerance, adjustment,
thoughtfulness about situations, ability of management of situations and undergoing
experiences are all the aspects that school children get out of Miss Beam's different teaching
methods
2. Thoughtfulness
Pupils in Miss Beam's school are assigned interesting tasks. They have to act as blind,
deaf, dumb and lame. Each pupil is assigned one such enaction. Each is assigned a helper.
There should be strict adherence to ethics. This means, no one should peep, react on hearing,
reply or move limbs normally. All should act and experience the difficulties that each differently
abled undergoes in everyday life. This, the school believes, will instill in them empathy and
sympathy. They will visualize situations comparatively and develop the tendency to consider all
humans alike. They will understand misfortune and share misfortune. Thinking of all these will
increase their thoughtfulness.
3. Humanity and Kindness
This is a trait which is rare in the modern world. If we sympathize with those who are
unfortunate there can be assuagement to the psyche that is tormented by misfortune. Besides,
the sympathizer gets psychological satisfaction. This is what is taught by companionship seen in
the case of the school children who act as physically deformed. This is further to show that the
deformed need not feel bankrupt in mind because there are people who can lend a helping
hand at their distress. Further, there is implied insistence through the helpers that a
sympathizing heart is all that is needed to mitigate or lessen the suffering of others.
4. Citizenship
A citizen of any nation is expected to have soft feelings for fellow beings. Miss Beam's
school is a mini picture of a nation, where blind, dumb, deaf and lame people abound Such
people do need help from others. People with deformities are not normally voluntarily helped in
the outside world. That is not to be the case. Hence,Miss Beam feels that pupils if trained in
various traits of thoughtfulness will put them in practice when they go out of school and mix in
public life. The school thus sets a model for other other institutions to follow. This way, qualities
for good citizenship- humanity, kindness, thoughtfulness and visualization can be sown in the
young minds for practice in real life.
5. Conclusion
E.V. Lucas's narrative is a lesson in soft skills, psychological in nature. The qualities given
expose in the narrative show that our life can be meaningful only when we help others. Nobody
knows how one's life would take its course. In our life of uncertainties, schools of Miss Beam's
kind need to grow in number and the methods of teaching should be oriented towards
betterment in the quality of life.