Comprehension check:-

Q 1. What did Hafeez contractor have nightmares about ?

Ans. Hafeez Contractor experienced horrific nightmares about taking a maths exam in which he knew nothing.

Q 2. What did the Principal say to him, which influenced him deeply ?

Ans. “Look here, Son, I have been seeing you since day one,” his principal called Hafeez when he was in the eleventh standard. Despite being a good student, you never studied. Up until now, I have taken care of you. You must now take care of yourself because I am unable to. This had a big impact on him.

Q 3. “… that year I did not step out onto the field.” What was he busy doing that year?

Ans. That year, he was very busy studying. He only ate and studied after going to pray.

Q.4 (i) What “distraction” did Hafeez Contractor create one day ?

Ans. He once produced a distraction. He spent an entire hour playing “Chor – police” with other students.

(ii) Would you have liked to participate in the “distraction” had you been with him?

Ans. He once manufactured a distraction. He spent an hour with other students playing “Chor – police.”

Comprehension Check:-

Q 1. Hafeez Contractor wanted to join the police force. Why didn’t he?

Ans. Hefeez Contractor was not allowed to join the police force by his mother. She asked him to simply finish his graduation degree.

Q 2. In the architect’s office, Hafeez Contractor was advised to drop everything and join architecture. Why ?

Ans. He was asked to draw a few specific things in the architect’s office, which he did right away. Then he created a house. The head of that office, seeing his hidden talent in architecture, advised him to drop everything and join architecture.

Q 3. (i) What was Mrs Gupta’s advice to Hafeez contractor ?

Ans. Mrs Gupta told Hafeez contractor that he would grow up to be an architect.

(ii) What made her advise him so ?

Ans. She thought Hafeez’s sketches were excellent. So she advised him on this.

Q 4. How did he help fellow students who had lost a button ?

Ans. When a student lost a button, Hafeez would use a blade to cut a button from chalk for him.

Q 5. Which rules did he break as a school boy ?

Ans. He used to copy whenever there was a test. He attempted to obtain the paper that had been prepared for the examination.

Q 6 (i) What is Hafeez contractor’s definition of mathematics?

Ans. According to Hafeez contractor, mathematics is combining design construction, psychology, and sociology to create a sketch.

(ii) How would you want to define mathematics ? Do you like the subject ?

Ans. Mathematics, according to Hafeez contractor, combines design construction, psychology, and sociology to create a sketch.

Exercise:-

Answer the following questions:-

Q 1. Is it likely that someone who is original and intelligent does not do very well at school ? Should such a learner be called a failure? If not, why not ?

Ans. Yes, it is possible that an original and intelligent person will struggle in school. This is because schools measure bookish knowledge but not practical understanding. So a student who is not performing well in school should not be labelled a failure because he can demonstrate his abilities in other areas.

Q 2. Who, in your view, is an ‘unusual’ learner ?

Ans. An unusual learner is someone who learns in a unique way. He discovers things by doing them. He may be an academic failure because he neglects his studies. However, he is a big achiever in terms of gaining practical knowledge of how to do things.

Q 3. What can schools do to draw out the best in unusual learners ? Suggest whatever seems reasonable to you.

Ans. Schools should make an effort to learn about the preferences of unusual students. They should be given complete support and guidance in order to pursue their interests. Their taste should not be diminished, but rather cultivated in a healthier manner.