Where Do All the Teachers Go?

AP SCERT/ NCERT Grade 6 English Honeysuckle 
Poem – Where Do All The Teachers Go?

Working with the poem

1. Answer these questions.

(i) Why does the poet want to know where the teachers go at four o’clock?

The poet thinks teachers are special and wonders where they go and what they do after school at four o'clock.

(ii) What are the things normal people do that the poet talks about?

The poet says normal people live in houses, change clothes, do laundry, watch TV, stay with parents, make mistakes, lose books, get in trouble, doodle on desks, and wear old clothes.

(iii) What does he imagine about

(a) where teachers live?

He imagines that his teachers live in houses along with their families.

(b) what they do at home?

They wash their socks, wear pyjamas at home, pick on their noses and even watch TV.

(c) the people with whom they live?

They live with their parents and other family members.

(d) their activities when they were children in school?

When teachers were kids, they too were naughty, made mistakes, misspelled words, got in trouble for eating chocolates, lost things, doodled on desks, and wore dirty jeans.

(iv) Why does the poet wonder if teachers also do things that other people do?

The poet wonders if teachers, who seem special, live like regular people. He assumes they're always strict and perfect, unlike ordinary folks who make mistakes and have typical lives.

(v) How does the poet plan to find out? What will he do once he finds out?

The poet wants to learn about his teachers' lives. He'll follow them home to see what they do. Then, he'll write a poem, and the teachers can share it with students.

2. What do you think these phrases from the poem mean?

(i) punished in the corner

(ii) leave their greens

(i) punished in the corner: This phrase means getting caught for a misdeed in class and being made to stand in the corner of the classroom as a punishment.

(ii) leave their greens: Some children leave cooked green vegetables uneaten or throw them into the dustbin. The phrase “leave their greens” in the poem means that teachers eat green vegetables and do not throw them away.