The Fun They Had: SUMMARY

Author: Isaac Asimov

Genre: Science Fiction
Published: 1951
Setting: The story is set in the future, in the year 2157, where children no longer go to traditional schools and are
taught at home by robotic (mechanical) teachers.

Main Characters

 Margie: An 11-year-old girl who finds school boring and doesn’t like her mechanical teacher.

 Tommy: A 13-year-old boy and Margie’s friend. He is curious and intelligent.

PLOT OF THE STORY:

One day, Tommy finds an old, real book in the attic of his house. This surprises both Tommy and Margie because they
are used to reading everything on screens. The book is old and the pages are yellow and crinkly. As they read the
book, they learn that the book describes a traditional school from centuries ago, where students used to gather in a
building, sat in a classroom, studied together, and were taught by human teachers instead of mechanical teachers.

Margie is especially shocked to read that the children were being taught by human teachers and they all used to
learn the same things together and that they helped one another, laughed, and played during school. She wonders
how this was even possible.

At the same time, Margie is having problems with her own mechanical teacher, who teaches her next to her
bedroom. She had been getting poor marks in geography, so her mother called the county inspector, a man who
comes to fix mechanical teachers. He checks the machine and says it was giving her geography lessons that were too
advanced. He adjusts it, but Margie is still unhappy with the way she is taught.

As Tommy explains more about old schools, Margie becomes more and more interested. She can’t stop thinking
about how fun it must have been to go to a real school with real people and a real teacher. She imagines children
laughing, learning together, sharing stories, and playing outside.

As the story concludes, Margie sits down for her lesson, but her mind drifts to the world described in the book. She
keeps thinking about the old days schools and the children of that time going to a real school, making friends, and
learning together and wonders:

“How much fun the children must have had in those days.”

Themes in the Story:

1. The Impact of Technology on Education

2. The Joy of Traditional Learning

3. Nostalgia and Curiosity

4. The Joy of Learning Together

I. Answer these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences each.

1. How old are Margie and Tommy?
Ans. Margie is eleven and Tommy is thirteen years old.

2. What did Margie write in her diary?

Ans. Margie wrote a diary entry dated 17th May, 2157, titled "Today Tommy found a real book."

3. Had Margie ever seen a book before?

Ans. No, Margie had never seen a book before.
4. What things about the book did Margie find strange?
Ans. Margie found many things about the book strange. The pages were yellow and wrinkled. The words were not
moving and when one read it for the second time, everything was the same as before.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

Ans. A telebook is a virtual book that can be read on a screen. One doesn't have to turn pages because the words
themselves move across the screen.

6. Where was Margie's school? Did she have any classmates?

Ans. Margie's school was next to her bedroom.
No, she didn't have any classmates.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans. Margie learnt geography and mathematics while Tommy learnt history and mathematics.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?
Ans. Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers in the form of a computer. The teacher had a big black screen on
which all the lessons were displayed and the questions were asked. The teacher also had a slot where students had
to put their homework and test papers.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Ans. The mechanical teacher had been testing Margie in geography continuously and Margie had not been doing well
in the tests. This worried Margie’s mother, so she called the County Inspector to check what was wrong with Margie’s
mechanical teacher.

3. What did he do?

Ans. The County Inspector fixed the mechanical teacher and adjusted the geography sector to the level of a ten-year-
old child (Margie’s level).

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?
Ans. Margie was doing badly in geography because the geography sector of her mechanical teacher was set a little
too quick. So, Margie was unable to understand it properly. The County Inspector helped Margie by slowing down the
geography sector of her mechanical teacher, so that she could understand it properly.

6. Did Margie have regular days and hours for school? If so, why?
Ans. Yes, Margie had regular days and hours for school. Margie had to attend her school at the same time every day
except for Saturday and Sunday. Her mother ensured this because she believed that Margie can learn her lessons in a
better way if she learns them at regular hours.

7. How does Tommy describe the old kind of school?

Ans. Tommy describes the old kind of school that existed hundreds of years ago where the teacher was a ‘man’
instead of a mechanical teacher. All the students went to a special building where they all learned the same thing
according to their respective ages.

8. How does Tommy describe the old kind of teachers?

Ans. Tommy describes the old kind of teachers as human beings who taught in a special building where all the kids
went together. The teachers told the kids about several things, gave them homework, and asked them questions.

IV. Answer each of these questions in two or three paragraphs (100-150 words).

1. What are the main features of the mechanical teachers and the schoolrooms that Margie and Tommy have in
the story?

Ans. Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers which had the following features:

 A mechanical teacher was a machine which had a big screen. It was large and black.

 The lessons were shown on the screen and questions were asked. It also gave tests to the students.
  It never fell ill, never forgot to ask questions, and never forgot to conduct tests.

 Every mechanical teacher was adjusted according to the level of the student.

 The schoolrooms of Margie and Tommy were located in their houses. Margie’s schoolroom was next to her
bedroom.

 The mechanical teacher was kept in the schoolroom. It started flashing everyday at a certain time except on
Saturday and Sunday.

2. Why did Margie hate school? Why did she think the old kind of school must have been fun?

Ans. Margie hated her school because it had a mechanical teacher. The large and black, big screen of the mechanical
teacher looked ugly to Margie. She had to sit alone in front of it every day to learn. It kept on giving tests to Margie in
geography even when she was performing poorly in them. It never gave Margie any feedback or tips to perform well
in the tests.

Margie thought that the old schools must have been fun because in the old schools, all the kids from the whole
neighbourhood went to the schools laughing and shouting. They sat together in the schoolroom and went home
together at the end of the day. They learned the same things, so they could help one another in their homework.
Moreover, in the old schools, the teachers were humans.

3. Do you agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story? Give reasons for your
answer.

Ans. I totally agree with Margie that schools today are more fun than the school in the story. In the story, Margie had
a school in her house. Her school teacher was mechanical and she had no classmates. It was a boring and dull school.

Margie could not play with her friends in the school playground and she could not come home together in
comparison to what happens in schools today. Moreover, the mechanical teacher gave tests continuously even if one
wasn’t performing well in it.

The schools today are located in a special building in the neighbourhood. The kids go to the school laughing and
shouting. They play together, make friends and go home together. They are taught by a human teacher who makes
teaching interesting and joyful to the students. He is able to understand the feelings and emotions of students and
helps in developing their overall personality.