Class 12 English Unit 5: Education Reading: A Story of My Childhood by APJ Abdul Kalam Language Development Section

 

Unit 5: Education Reading: A Story of My Childhood by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GniyXhucMc8

Reflection of the Essay

It was my Mathematics teacher from class four who brought good news to my father. He looked quite excited as my father offered him a seat and then looked on expectantly. I was standing with other children, peeping from behind my elder brother. I came up shyly to him and said ‘Abdul has scored full marks in Mathematics in the exam!  He did well in Math, Science, English, and Tamil too! Teachers are proud of him.’ I was so pleased to hear this result because my teacher had brought this news to my home. That evening, my mother made special poli (a flat chapatti-shaped sweet) to celebrate. We ate enough. I enjoyed this dish which carries so many memories of childhood for me. As a child, my day started with my mother who awoke me in the morning. I had two places to go to before school. One was the Arabic tuition class to read the Koran and another was Mathematics teacher’s house. My teacher had started the class for students just like me and I enjoyed facing number problems. I ran back home once the class was over. I ate the meal prepared by my mother as children did not use to carry tiffin.

 

Our school was the Rameswaram Elementary School and where we walked along the cobbled roads together. We had to carry only a few books with us. The school building had rows of classrooms and a small playground. I sat with RamanadhaSastry, my best friend as we knew each other from the first day of our school. We loved to chat and somehow we never ran out of things to say to each other. One day we decided to make a leave boat.  I don’t know if the ants were any grateful for this unexpected joyride, but we were thrilled to see them clinging on to the thin-leaf boats and sailing away. As soon as the new teacher entered the class, he saw from our attire that Ramanadhan was a Brahmin and that I was a Muslim but the teacher was not happy that a Hindu and a Muslim boy were sitting together. Our teacher took us to the riverside and showed us how the birds fly in the sky. He gave us a theoretical lesson coupled with a live practical example available in nature. This was real teaching. I did not simply understand how a bird flies. I felt as though the bird’s flight entered into me and created a special feeling. From that evening, I was sure that my future study had to be concerning flight and flight systems.

My teacher’s teaching and the event that I witnessed decided my career path. One evening after the classes, I asked him, ‘Sir, please tell me, how can I progress further in learning all about flight?’ He patiently explained to me that I should complete my eighth standard here, and then go to high school. After that, I should go to engineering college where I would be able to learn about flight. If I completed each step, I would be able to do something connected with flight sciences. This advice and the lesson that evening by the seashore gave me a goal and a mission for my life.

Working with Words

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

Column A	Column B
Expectantly	in a way that shows you are hoping for something, especially something good or exciting
Beckon	to give a signal to somebody to move nearer or to follow you
Grapple	to try hard to find a solution to a problem
Texture	the way food or drink tastes or feels in your mouth
Cobbled	having a surface that is made of small round stones
Flimsy	thin and easily torn
Attire	clothes, especially fine or formal ones
Marvellous	extremely good; wonderful
Dynamics	the science of the forces involved in the movement

B.    An autobiography is a story of a person’s life, written by himself/herself. Use a dictionary and find the meanings of the following words related to people’s life stories.

hagiography	the writing of the lives of saints
psychobiography	a biographical study focusing on psychological factors, such as childhood traumas and unconscious motives
pathography	the study of the life of an individual or the history of a community concerning the influence of a particular disease or psychological disorder
chronicle	a factual written account of important or historical events in the order of their occurrence
obituary	a notice of a death, especially in a newspaper, typically including a brief biography of the deceased person
character sketch	a brief written description of a person’s qualities
profile	a short article describing a person or organization
memoir	a historical account or biography is written from personal knowledge

A.    An intonation refers to the way the voice rises and falls when speaking. They can be rising, falling, rising-falling, or falling-rising. Listen to your teacher reading the following sentences and find out their intonation patterns.

a.      I have some good news for you! – Rising 

b.     I was so pleased to hear this result. – Rising + falling

c.      My mother would have a hot meal ready. – Falling

d.     The whole class went to the seashore of Rameswaram. – Falling

e.      Who knew that a Muslim and a Hindu boy could not sit together? – Falling + Rising

f.       He also explained to us how they change direction while flying. – Falling + rising

g.     He asked the other students whether they understood or not. – Falling + Falling

h.     Where is the engine in this bird? – Falling

i.       How can I progress further in learning all about flight? – Falling

j.       Should I go to engineering college where I would be able to learn about flight? – Rising + Falling

Click for Video of Rising & Falling Tone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZHarqY-TH4 

Comprehension

A.   Put following events in the life of Abdul Kalam in a chronological order. (Answers only)

a.      c. Abdul Kalam attended an elementary school at Rameswaram.

b.     f. One day, Abdul Kalam’s teacher visited them to share his pride and pleasure about his       performance.

c.      a. They celebrated happiness with poli.

d.     g. A new teacher in the school forbade Abdul Kalam from sitting together with his Brahmin friend.

e.      e. Many students did not understand well of Sivasubramania Iyer’s lecture.

f.       d. He then took the students to the seashore for a practical class.

g.     b. Abdul Kalam was determined to he would make a future study about flight and flight systems.

B.    Answer the following questions. (Answers only)

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

The causes of Abdul Kalam’s happiness were his supportive father, loving mother, inspirational and motivational teachers at school, his keen interest in mathematics, and his hard work and dedication to his study.

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

Abdul Kalam visited his Arabic tutoring class and his mathematics teacher’s home before heading to school.

c.      What did he like about mathematics?

He liked to learn the rules and principles of mathematics and solve complex number problems for hours.

d.     Why was the new teacher unhappy?

The new teacher was unhappy because he saw that a Brahmin boy, Ramanadhan Sastry and a Muslim boy, Abdul Kalam sitting together in the same bench in the classroom.

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

Abdul Kalam had to be separated with his intimate friend because of the discriminatory behaviour of his new teacher in terms of religion in Rameswaram Elementary School.

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. 

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Click for Critical Thinking:  https://limbuchandrabahadur.blogspot.com/2025/06/class-12-english-unit-5-education_15.html