The School for Sympathy Summary and Explanation
PSEB Class 12 English Chapter 1 – The School for Sympathy Summary, Explanation along with Difficult Word Meanings from A Rainbow of English Book (Section C)
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PSEB Class 12 English (Section C) Chapter 1- The School for Sympathy
E.V. Lucas
The lesson “The School for Sympathy ” by E.V. Lucas is a story that teaches us the importance of kindness and understanding towards others. The lesson is about a special school run by Miss Beam, who believes that real education means more than just learning from books. In her school, children are taught to feel sympathy and empathy towards those who suffer or are less fortunate than them. These experiences of what it feels like to be blind, deaf, lame, or dumb for a day, help the students learn to care for others and become more sympathetic and compassionate human beings.
- The School for Sympathy Summary
- The School for Sympathy Summary in Hindi
- The School for Sympathy Theme
- The School for Sympathy Explanation
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The School for Sympathy Summary
The lesson “The School for Sympathy ” by E. V. Lucas talks about a kind teacher named Miss Beam and her unusual way of teaching students. The author visits her school after hearing a lot about it from others. When he arrives, he notices that some children in the school seem to be blind, lame, or disabled. Initially, this sight makes him feel sorry for them, but soon Miss Beam explains that none of the children are actually disabled. Miss Beam tells him that her school has a special method of teaching sympathy and compassion. Every child has to experience some kind of disability for a day. For example, one day a student’s eyes are covered so that they become blind, on another day one leg is tied up so that they become lame, and on another day they act as deaf or dumb. During this time, other children help them in everything, such as walking, eating, and moving around.
Miss Beam explains that this activity helps children understand how difficult life can be for people who face real disabilities. It also teaches the students to be more caring, responsible, and patient. Both the disabled and the helper learn the importance of kindness and cooperation. The author also talks to a young girl who is experiencing her “blind day.” She tells him how hard it is to move without seeing anything and how she keeps feeling she might bump into something. The author then guides her and realizes how much attention and thoughtfulness it takes to help someone in need. By the end of his visit, the author realizes that Miss Beam’s system works because it makes students more kind and sympathetic.
Summary of the Lesson The School for Sympathy in Hindi
ई. वी. लुकास का पाठ “द स्कूल फॉर सिम्पैथी” मिस बीम नाम की एक दयालु शिक्षिका और छात्रों को पढ़ाने के उनके अनोखे तरीके के बारे में बताता है। दूसरों से उनके बारे में बहुत कुछ सुनने के बाद, लेखक उनके स्कूल का दौरा करता है। वहाँ पहुँचने पर, वह देखता है कि स्कूल के कुछ बच्चे अंधे, लंगड़े या विकलांग लग रहे हैं। शुरुआत में, यह दृश्य देखकर उसे उन पर दया आती है, लेकिन जल्द ही मिस बीम उसे समझाती हैं कि उनमें से कोई भी बच्चा वास्तव में विकलांग नहीं है। मिस बीम उसे बताती हैं कि उनके स्कूल में सहानुभूति और करुणा सिखाने का एक विशेष तरीका है। हर बच्चे को एक दिन किसी न किसी तरह की विकलांगता का अनुभव करना पड़ता है। उदाहरण के लिए, एक दिन किसी छात्र की आँखें ढँक दी जाती हैं ताकि वह अंधा हो जाए, दूसरे दिन एक पैर बाँध दिया जाता है ताकि वह लंगड़ा हो जाए, और तीसरे दिन वह बहरे या गूंगे जैसा व्यवहार करे। इस दौरान, दूसरे बच्चे हर काम में उनकी मदद करते हैं, जैसे चलना, खाना-पीना और घूमना-फिरना।
मिस बीम बताती हैं कि यह गतिविधि बच्चों को यह समझने में मदद करती है कि वास्तविक विकलांगताओं का सामना करने वाले लोगों के लिए जीवन कितना कठिन हो सकता है। यह छात्रों को अधिक देखभाल करने वाला, ज़िम्मेदार और धैर्यवान बनना भी सिखाती है। विकलांग और सहायक, दोनों ही दयालुता और सहयोग के महत्व को समझते हैं। लेखक एक छोटी बच्ची से भी बात करते हैं जो अपने “अंधेरे दिन” से गुज़र रही है। वह उन्हें बताती है कि बिना कुछ देखे आगे बढ़ना कितना मुश्किल है और उसे बार-बार लगता है कि कहीं वह किसी चीज़ से टकरा न जाए। फिर लेखक उसका मार्गदर्शन करते हैं और उसे समझाते हैं कि किसी ज़रूरतमंद की मदद करने के लिए कितनी सावधानी और विचारशीलता की ज़रूरत होती है। अपनी यात्रा के अंत तक, लेखक को एहसास होता है कि मिस बीम की प्रणाली काम करती है क्योंकि यह छात्रों को अधिक दयालु और सहानुभूतिपूर्ण बनाती है।
Theme of the Lesson The School for Sympathy
The lesson “The School for Sympathy ” by E. V. Lucas revolves around the following themes:-
Sympathy and Empathy
The central theme of the lesson is sympathy and empathy for others’ suffering. Miss Beam’s school teaches students to understand and feel the pain of those who face disabilities or hardships. By experiencing blindness, lameness, or deafness for a day, the children learn to put themselves in others’ positions and develop a true sense of compassion.
Moral and Emotional Education
The lesson examines the importance of moral education over academic learning. Miss Beam’s aim is not just to fill students’ minds with knowledge but to shape their hearts with humanity, kindness, and responsibility.
Understanding through Experience
The unique system of Miss Beam’s school allows children to experience temporary disabilities, helping them realize the struggles of others. This practical approach makes them thoughtful, sensitive, and appreciative of the value of health and human connection.
The School for Sympathy Explanation
Passage: I had heard a great deal about Miss Beam’s school, but not till last week did the chance come to visit it.
There was no one in sight but a girl of about twelve, with her eyes covered with a bandage, who was being led carefully between the flower- beds by a little boy of some four years her junior. She stopped, and evidently asked who it was that had come in, and he seemed to be describing me to her. Then they passed on.
Miss Beam was all that I had expected – middle-aged, authoritative, kindly, and understanding. Her hair was beginning to turn grey, and her figure had a fullness likely to be comforting to a homesick child.
Word Meanings:
flower- beds (n): a piece of ground in a garden or park where flowers are grown
evidently (adv): clearly
authoritative (adj.): showing that you expect people to obey and respect you
homesick (adj.): sad because you are away from home and you miss it
Explanation of the passage: The author begins by saying that he had heard a lot about Miss Beam’s school, but he only got the chance to visit it the previous week. Upon entering the school, he saw a young girl, about twelve years old, whose eyes were covered with a bandage. She was being carefully guided by a small boy, about four years younger than her, as they walked between the flowers in the garden. The girl stopped and asked the boy who had come in, and the boy described the visitor to her and they both continued walking. The author then goes on to describe Miss Beam. She was a middle-aged woman, who looked kind, gentle, and understanding, but also firm as a teacher should be. Her hair was turning grey, and she was a motherly figure, which made her seem comforting and caring, especially for children who might be missing their home.
Passage: We talked idly for a little while, and then I asked her some questions as to her scholastic methods, which I had heard were simple.
‘….. No more than is needful to get application into them, and those only of the simplest – spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying, writing. The rest is done by reading to them and by illustrated discourse, during which they have to sit still and keep their hands quiet. Practically there are no other lessons at all’.
Word Meanings:
scholastic (adj.): related to schools, teaching and academics
application (n): the practical use of something
illustrated (v): to explain or make something clear by using examples, pictures or diagrams
discourse (n): speech, lecture
Explanation of the passage: The author and Miss Beam talked casually for some time. Then, he asked her about the teaching methods she used in her school because he had heard that they were quite simple. Miss Beam then explained that she did not focus too much on bookish studies and theories. She only taught the basic subjects that children really needed. She believed that these were enough to make them capable and disciplined. She added that most of the learning was done by reading stories to the students and through interesting talks using pictures. During these activities, the children were expected to sit quietly and listen carefully.
Passage: ‘….. I have heard so much’, I said, ‘about the originality of your system.’ Miss Beam smiled. ‘Ah, yes’, she said. “I am coming to that. The real aim of this school is not so much to instil thought as thought-fulness, humanity, citizenship. That is the idea I have always had, and happily there are parents good enough to trust me to try and put it into execution’. Look out of the window a minute, will you?”
I went to the window, which commanded a large garden and playground at the back.
Word Meanings:
originality (n): the quality of being new and interesting
instil (v): to gradually make somebody feel or think
thought-fulness (n): the state of thinking carefully about something
execution (n): the act of doing a piece of work
playground (n): an area of land where children can play
Explanation of the passage: The author tells Miss Beam that he had heard a lot about the unique system of her school. Miss Beam smiled and said that the main aim of her school was not just to make children intelligent, but to make them kind, thoughtful, and good citizens. She wanted her students to learn to care for others and understand their feelings. Miss Beam also mentioned that she was lucky to have parents who trusted her to teach their children in this special way. She then asks the author to look out of the window, which showed a large garden, where the students were learning through her unique system.
Passage: “What do you see?” Miss Beam asked. ‘I see some very beautiful grounds,’ He said, ‘and a lot of jolly children; but what perplexes me, and pains me too is to notice that they are not all as healthy and active as I should wish. As I came in I saw one poor little thing being led about owing to some trouble with her eyes, and now I can see two more in the same plight”; while there is a girl with a crutch just under the window watching the others at play. She seems to be a hopeless cripple.
Word Meanings:
perplexes (v): puzzles
plight (n): difficult condition
crutch (n): a type of stick that you put under your arm to help you walk when you have hurt your leg or foot
hopeless (adj.): giving no hope that something or somebody will be successful or get better
cripple (v): to cause someone to be unable to move or walk in the usual way because of an injury or illness
Explanation of the passage: Miss Beam asks the author what he could see outside the window. The author replies that he saw a beautiful garden and happy children playing there. However, he also felt confused and sad because he noticed that not all the children looked healthy. He said that when he entered the school, he saw a girl with her eyes covered, being carefully guided by a small boy. Now, from the window, he could see two more children who seemed to have eye problems. He also noticed a girl with a crutch, standing under the window and watching others play. She looked like a disabled child, which made him feel sorry for her.
Passage: Miss Beam laughed. ‘Oh, no’, she said, ‘she’s not lame, really; this is only her lame day. Nor are those others blind; it is only their blind day.’ I must have looked very much astonished, for she laughed again. “There you have an essential part of our system in a nutshell. In order to get a real appreciation and understanding of misfortune into these young minds we make them participants in misfortune too. In the course of the term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day, one maimed day, one dumb day. During the blind day their eyes are bandaged absolutely, and it is a point of honour not to peep. The bandage is put on overnight; they wake blind. This means that they need assistance in everything, and other children are told off to help them and lead them about. It is educative to both of them – the blind and the helpers.”
Word Meanings:
lame (adj.): not able to walk properly because of an injury to the leg or foot
blind (adj.): unable to see
astonished (adj.): very surprised
essential (adj.): completely necessary; that you must have or do
in a nutshell (idiom): as brief as possible
appreciation (n): understanding the value of something
misfortune (n): an event, accident, etc. that brings bad luck or disaster
deaf (adj.): unable to hear, either completely or partly
maimed (v): to injure a person so severely that a part of their body will no longer work as it should
dumb (adj.): unable to speak
bandaged (v): to tie a long, narrow piece of cloth around an injury or a part of someone’s body that has been hurt
peep (n): a quick look
assistance (n): help or support
educative (adj.): intended or serving to educate
helpers (n): a person who helps
Explanation of the passage: When the author looked surprised at seeing some children who seemed disabled, Miss Beam laughed and explained that none of them were really disabled. She said it was just part of her special teaching method, wherein each child had a “blind day,” “lame day,” “deaf day,” “maimed day,” or “dumb day” during the school term. On these days, students had to act as if they had a disability so they could understand how difficult life can be for people who suffer from such problems. For example, on a blind day, the child’s eyes were covered with a bandage, and they were not allowed to remove or peek under it. The bandage was tied the night before, so the student would wake up blind and have to go through an entire day that way. During that day, the “blind” students had to depend on their classmates for help in walking, eating, or doing other tasks. The students who helped also learned to be kind, patient, and responsible. Miss Beam said that this method was helpful for both groups, the one pretending to be disabled and the one helping.
Passage: ‘There is no privation about it,’ Miss Beam continued. ‘Everyone is very kind, and it is really something of a joke, although, of course, before the day is over the reality of the affliction must be apparent even to the least thoughtful. The blind day is, of course really the worst,’ she went on, ‘but some of the children tell me that the dumb day is the most dreaded. There, of course, the child must exercise will power only, for the mouth is not bandaged………But come down into the garden and see for yourself how the children like it.’
Word Meanings:
privation (n): loss, absence, being deprived
affliction (n): pain and suffering or something that causes it
apparent (adv): clearly understood
dreaded (adj.): causing fear or worry
Explanation of the passage: Miss Beam explained that the children did not really suffer during these special days. She said there was no real issue because everyone in the school was kind and helpful to one another. The students actually found the activity interesting and fun, though by the end of the day they began to truly understand how difficult life is for people with real disabilities. She said that the “blind day” was usually the hardest, because it was scary and confusing not to see anything. However, some children told her that the “dumb day”, when they were not allowed to speak, was even more difficult. On that day, their mouths were not bandaged, but they instead had to use strong willpower to stay silent all day. Miss Beam then invited the author to go into the garden so he could see how the children were managing.
Passage: Miss Beam led me to one of the bandaged girls, a little merry thing, whose eyes under the folds were, I felt sure, as black as ash-buds. ‘Here’s a gentleman come to talk to you,’ said Miss Beam, and left us.
‘Don’t you ever peep?” I asked, by way of an opening.
‘Oh, no,’ she exclaimed; ‘that would be cheating. But I’d no idea it was so awful to be blind. You can’t see a thing. One feels one is going to be hit by something every moment. Sitting down’s such a relief.”
‘Are your guides kind to you?’ I asked.
Word Meanings:
merry (adj.): happy or showing enjoyment
ash-buds (n): the soft grey or black powder that is left after a substance, especially tobacco, coal, or wood
awful (adj.): very bad or unpleasant
guides (n): a person whose job is showing a place or a particular route to visitors
Explanation of the passage: Miss Beam took the author to meet a happy little girl who had her eyes covered with a bandage for her “blind day.” The author tried to start a friendly talk and asked if she ever tried to see from under the bandage. The girl quickly said no, because that would be cheating. She explained that being blind was very difficult and scary, she constantly felt that something might hit her, and sitting down was the only time she felt safe. The author then asked the little girl if her guides were kind and nice to her.
Passage: ‘Pretty good. Not so careful as I shall be when it’s my turn. Those that have been blind already are the best. It’s perfectly ghastly not to see. I wish you’d try!’
‘Shall I lead you anywhere?’ I asked.
‘Oh yes,’ she said; ‘let’s go for a little walk. Only you must tell me about things. I shall be so glad when today’s over. The other bad days can’t be half as bad as this. Having a leg tied up and hopping about a crutch is almost fun. I guess having an arm tied is a little more troublesome, because you have to get your food cut up for you, and so on; but it doesn’t really matter. And as for being deaf for a day, I shan’t mind that at least, not much. But being blind is so frightening. My head aches all the time, just from dodging things that probably aren’t there. Where are we now?’
Word Meanings:
ghastly (adj.): horrible
troublesome (adj.): causing problems or difficulties
shan’t (v): shall not
frightening (adj.): making you feel afraid or shocked
dodging (v): moving quickly and suddenly to one side in order to avoid something
Explanation of the passage: When the author asked if her guides were kind, she said they were mostly good, but not as careful as she would be when her turn came to help a blind student. She said it was terrible not being able to see and even asked the author to try it himself to understand how it feels. Then she asked him to take her for a walk and describe everything around. She said that being blind was the worst experience among all the “bad days.” Having a leg or arm tied up could still be managed, and being deaf for a day did not seem too hard, but being blind was truly scary. She mentioned that her head ached from trying to avoid things she could not see, and she asked the visitor to tell her where they were at that moment.
Passage: ‘In the playground’, I said, ‘going towards the house. Miss Beam is walking up and down the terrace with a tall girl.’
‘What has the girl got on?’ my companion asked.
‘A blue skirt and pink blouse.’
‘I think it’s Millie,’ she said. ‘What colour hair?’
‘Very light’, I said.
‘Yes, that’s Millie. She’s the head girl. She’s awfully decent.’
Word Meanings:
terrace (n): a flat area of stone next to a restaurant or large house where people can have meals, sit in the sun, etc.
companion (n): a person you spend a lot of time with often because you are friends or because you are travelling together
awfully (adv): very or extremely
decent (adj.): being of an acceptable standard; satisfactory
Explanation of the passage: The author described the surroundings to the blindfolded girl as they walked together in the playground. He told her that they were moving toward the house and saw Miss Beam walking with a tall girl. The girl, eager to know more, asked what the other girl was wearing. When he said she had on a blue skirt and pink top, the blind girl guessed that it must be Millie, the head girl, who was very kind and friendly.
Passage: ‘There’s an old man tying up roses,’ I said.
‘Yes, that’s Peter. He’s the gardener. He’s hundreds of years old!’
‘And here comes a dark girl in red, on crutches.’
‘Yes she said; ‘that’s Beryl.’
And so we walked on, and in steering this little thing about I discovered that I was ten times more thoughtful already than I had any notion of, and also that the necessity of describing the surrounding to another makes them more interesting.
Word Meanings:
gardener (n): a person who works in a garden as a job or for pleasure
steering (n): the act of directing another to pursue a course of action
notion (): an idea, a belief
Explanation of the passage: The author then noticed an old man tying up roses and described him too. The blind girl immediately said it was Peter, the gardener, joking that he was “hundreds of years old.” Next, he saw a dark girl in red, walking on crutches, and she told him that was Beryl. As they continued walking, the author realized something very meaningful, guiding the blind girl made him much more kind and aware than before. He discovered that describing the world to someone else made him notice and appreciate things more deeply.
Passage: When Miss Beam came to release me I was sorry to go, and said so. ‘Ah!’ she replied; ‘then there is something in my system after all!’
I walked back to the town murmuring (inaccurately as ever) the lines:
Can I see another’s woe
And not share their sorrow too?
O no, never can it be,
Never, never, can it be.
Word Meanings:
murmuring (v): to say something in a low quiet voice
woe (n): sorrow, trouble
sorrow (n): a feeling of great sadness because something bad has happened
Explanation of the passage: After a while, Miss Beam came to take the author back after his experience with the blindfolded girl, he told her that he was sorry to leave. This showed how deeply the experience had touched his heart. Miss Beam smiled and said that this proved her teaching system had really worked, it had made him more thoughtful and compassionate in just a short time. As the author walked back to the town, he kept repeating some lines of poetry that showed compassion and empathy. These lines meant that when we see someone in pain, we should naturally feel their suffering and try to help. The author now truly understood the purpose of Miss Beam’s school, which was to teach kindness, sympathy, and understanding of others’ difficulties and not just book knowledge.
Conclusion
This post provides the students with a comprehensive understanding of Chapter 1 The School for Sympathy By E. V. Lucas from the PSEB Class 12 English A Rainbow of English Book. It provides the students with the introduction, theme, summary, lesson explanation with word meanings, ensuring that the students comprehend the chapter effectively.