Question

         In more recent times Gandhiji, perhaps, is one who assiduously brushed aside adulation to remain a free ‘nobody’. At the Congress session when he, the star of the session, stunned everybody by cleaning up the latrines, his act was calculated to purge Congress workers of their false sense of status, and so to return the movement to its down-to-earth roots. The point of guarding against becoming a self-defeating somebody applies to the upbringing of children as well. Doting parents often stunt the natural growth of their children through excessive adulation. Common place acts and utterances of the child are praised and quoted beyond reason. Talent that otherwise might have flowered uner proper training, is lauded to the extent of killing it.
     John Stuart Mill’s education and training began very early. At an age when many kids can barely lisp a few words, he had learnt enough Green and Latin to read to classies in the original. Before he was five he had read more than what many scholars normally reac in thei career. Did this make the child John feed heady ? No! Because, he tells us, his father (who was also his tutor) always made him believe that there was nothing extraordinary about his achievement that he was doing only what anybody is capable of doing Mill was made to believe that other boys of his age had, in fact, grossly underestimated their capabilities and were wasting their early years striving for too little.
     The sequence of somebody-nobody holds true, in a way, in respect of institutions and nations as well. C Northcote Parkinson, enunciating one of his famous laws, has tried to read this pattern in the case of great empires worldwide. He connects the raising of imposing palaces to the begining of the empire’s decline.

Read the first activity, read and extract and then do all the activities:
A1. True / False  (2)

Correct the following statements if they are false :
(i) Gandhiji stunned everybody by cleaning up the roads at the congress session.
(ii) Talent is lauded to the extent of killing it.
(iii) Other boys of John Stuart Mill’s age had, in fact, grossly underestimated their capabilities.
(iv) Parkinson without enunciating one of his famous laws, has tried to read the pattern of the sequence of somebody nobody, in the case of great empires worldwide.

A2. Complete the statements — (2)
John Stuart Mill’s father helped his son (how) :
(i) _________________
(ii) ________________

 A3. Elaborate : (2)
“The raising of imposing palaces is the begining of the empire’s decline” Elaborate meaning of this statement.

A4. Vocabulary : (2)
Find out four similar meaning words for ‘admiration’ from the extract.

A5. Personal response : (2)
Express your views on development of children to lead them towards success.

A6. Grammer — (2)
Rewrite the following sentences in the ways instructed :
(i) He had learnt enough Green and Latin to read the classics in the original.
(Rewrite using ‘as well as’.)
(ii) Doting parents often stunt the natural growth of their children through excessive adulation.
(Rewrite the sentence changing it into passive voice.)

Answer 1

A1.
(i) False
(ii) True
(iii) True
(iv) False

A2.
(i) He always made Mill believe that there was nothing extraordinary about his achievement.
(ii) Also, Mill was made believe that other boys of his age had, infact, grossly underestimated their capa bilities and were wasting their early years striving for too little.

A3. The statement, '' The raising of imposing palaces is the begining of the empire's decline'' means that when you become a somebody you invite adulation; this then begins to bog you down. The moment you think that you are successful or superior you stop working towards your future achievements or progress and you begin to stagnate or worsen the situation. This is how your downslide begin. Hence, to sustain your development in absolute terms & to become a true somebody it is important to remain a temporal nobod.

A4. Star, praised, extraordinary and great.

A5. Most good students aren't born good learness. Any student who possesses the basic aptitude and receive the right motivation can become a good learner & can work towards his goal. Parents, teachers & friends play an important role in the development of a child to lead or motivate them towards success. Some of the
ways are:
• Guide children through learning process but also allow them to have control of their learning process.
• Provide them several options for learning or reading.
• Encourage children to express their views/opinions about what's going on in their educational & personal life both.
• Identify their subjects or areas of interests & encourage them to explore in that field more.
• Introduce and encourage different types of learning styles and methods.
• Give them your live examples and share your personal experience with them so that they can learn from it.
• Do not judge a child on his academic performance as every child is unique in his own ways.
• Help the child to stay planned, and organized so that he accepts the achievement & failure both positively.
• Focus on the child's strength & ask him to work on his weakness & take it as a challenge to overcome.
• Recognize & celebrate the child's achievement even the smallest one so that he gets motivated & work towards his success with a positive approach.

A6.
(i) He had learnt Greek as well as Latin to read the classics in the original.
(ii) The natural growth of their children is often stunted by doting parents through excessive adulation.