The New School
by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi
(Cambridge Connection English)
Comprehension
A. Write true or false.
1. Totto-chan went to a new school [T]
2. There were no classrooms in the new school. [T]
3. Totto-chan made a friend on the very first day of school. [T]
4. The boy sitting behind Totto-chan got up and walked towards the blackboard with his notebook. [T]
5. Yasuaki Yamamoto had polio. [T]
B. Answer the following questions.
1. Did Totto-chan like the new school? Give two reasons.
= Yes, Totto-chan liked the new school.
As soon as she noticed the railroad cars, she found something of her dream. She exclaimed in joy.
She was glad to found a friend on the first day in the new school.
2. How was the new school different from the schools she had known?
= The new school was different from the schools she had known in the following ways -
❐ The school had made use of six abandoned railroad cars in place of classrooms.
❐ There were no fixed sitting arrangements.
❐ There were no fixed lesson schedule.
3. What was the name of Totto-chan's new friend? Why couldn't he walk properly?
= The name of Totto-chan's new friend was Yasuaki Yamamoto.
He couldn't walk properly because he had polio.
4. "This method of teaching enabled the teachers to observe..." Which method of teaching is being referred to here?
= The method of teaching is being referred to here is- At the beginning of the first period, the teacher made a list of all the problems and questions in the subjects to be studied that day. Then she would say the students to do any of those they liked.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. "Mother, is that really a train! There, in the school grounds!"
a. Who said this and to whom?
= Totto-chan said this to her mother.
b. Why was a train there in the school grounds?
= A train was there in the school grounds because the school had made use of six abandoned railroad cars in place of classrooms.
c. How did the speaker feel on seeing a train in the school grounds?
= The speaker felt very excited on seeing a train in the school grounds. It was something that she could only dream of. She exclaimed in joy that it was a school in a train.
2. "Can't they do anything about it?" she asked, concerned. He didn't reply, and Totto-chan became embarrassed, wishing she hadn't asked."
a. To whom did Totto-chan ask this question?
= Totto-chan asked this question to Yasuaki Yamamoto.
b. What had happened to him?
= He had polio. That is why he could not walk in proper way. He had to walk dragging his leg and swaying his whole body.
c. Why do you think Totto-chan was embarrassed?
= I think Totto-chan was embarrassed not only because Yasuaki Yamamoto didn't reply her but also she thought that he was intentionally walking in such a way.
3. "It was all so unfamiliar that Totto-chan was a bit nervous and unsure what to do."
a. What was unfamiliar to Totto-chan?
= The way of learning or the lesson schedule of the school was unfamiliar to Totto-chan. There were no fixed period schedule. Each student could do different subjects according to their wish at the same time.
b. Why did Totto-chan feel like this?
= Totto-chan was accustomed to the conventional way of pre-scheduled periods of the old schools. She was confused about what to do for her study.
D. Think and answer.
1. Did you like the school described here? Give reasons for your answer.
= Yes, I liked the school described here.
The school gives the students the liberty to learn according to their own will. They have made a unique classroom system using the abandoned railroad cars. This definitely attract the student to come to the school. They do not have any fixed sitting arrangement system. They have all the possible ways to make learning unique for the pupil.
2. What are the differences between your school and Totto-chan's school?
= My school has classrooms. Totto-chan's school has unique abandoned railway cars as classrooms. My school has monotonous sitting arrangements. But they can sit anywhere they like at any time. In my school, there is a fixed period to study a fixed subject. In their school, the can study any of the subjects of the day in any period according to their own will.
3. If you had the freedom to choose, in which school would you have studied, your's or Totto-chan's? Why?
= If I had the freedom to choose, I would have chosen Totto-chan's school. It is a very interesting school. It has the things we might not even dreamed of. There will not be any boredom in study. Study and learning would be fun for everyone.
About the Author :
Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, the author of this book in Japanese, is the real-life Totto-chan, the girl who was expelled form two schools before she found the wonderful alternative school sett up by Sosaku Kobayashi, a great thinker and educator of Japan. Tetsuko later went on to become an internationally famous actress, a talk-show host, an author of a best selling children's book, A WWF for nature advisor and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. If you enjoyed this excerpt, read the whole book Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. It is an account of her real-life experiences at the Tomoe Elementary School (Tomoe Gakuen).