# The Talkative Barber and Class Discussion

## Overview

This chapter includes a poem and a story that together highlight the contrast between talkative and quiet personalities. The poem "Class Discussion" by Gervase Phinn focuses on a quiet student named Jane, while the story "The Talkative Barber" from the Arabian Nights collection humorously portrays a barber who cannot stop talking, even when instructed by a Sultan. The chapter encourages students to reflect on communication, personality traits, bravery, and appropriate social behaviour.

## Key Topics Covered

### 1. Poem: Class Discussion

- **Theme**: The poem reflects on a class discussion where Jane remains silent. Her classmates share opinions, but Jane, quiet by nature, chooses to observe rather than speak.
- **Main Message**: Everyone has different ways of participating; being quiet doesn’t mean something is wrong.
- **Characters**: Jane and the narrator.
- **Tone**: Thoughtful and reflective.
- **Learning Outcome**: Respecting different communication styles and recognizing quietness as a valid trait.

#### Activities:
- Questions on who was quiet and why.
- Reflection: How students behave during discussions.
- Describing classmates with contrasting personalities using adjectives like quiet, naughty, friendly, etc.

### 2. Understanding Discussion

- **Definition**: A discussion is when people talk together to decide something.
- **Characteristics**:
- Everyone shares ideas.
- People explain reasons for their views.
- Questions and answers are part of it.
- The best ideas are chosen collectively.

#### Activity:
- Planning a visit to the park by discussing time, duties, items to bring, and food.


### 3. Story: The Talkative Barber

- **Theme**: A humorous tale from Arabian Nights about a barber who talks so much that it delays a simple task of shaving.
- **Characters**: The Sultan (Shahriar), the Talkative Barber, the Barber’s six brothers.
- **Summary**:
- The Sultan calls a barber to shave his head but is annoyed by the barber’s endless talking.
- The barber insists he is quiet and claims his six brothers are the real chatterboxes.
- Despite the Sultan’s impatience, the barber continues telling stories and making demands.
- The Sultan tries to get rid of him by offering food and gold, but the barber continues to delay.
- Eventually, the Sultan gives in to the barber’s need for fruits and a feast just to get shaved.

- **Humour Elements**:
- The irony of a “quiet” barber who talks incessantly.
- The Sultan’s increasing frustration.
- The absurd demands made during what should be a routine shave.

#### Activities:
- True/False, comprehension questions.
- Write your own notice (like Sheela’s Drama Committee).
- Word building using prefixes (un-, im-, dis-).
- Sentence joining using connectors (if, or, while, etc.).

### 4. Bravery and Personality Traits

- **Bravery Awards**:
- Children showing exceptional bravery are honoured on Republic Day.
- Awards include cash prizes, education, and certificates.
- Stories of children saving lives, like Yumnan Jayadeo Singh and Harsh Srivastava, are highlighted.

#### Activity:
- Find and narrate a real-life bravery story.
- Fill a grid assigning qualities like brave, quiet, generous, studious, etc., to characters based on clues.

---

## New Terms and Definitions

| Term | Simple Definition |
|-------------|--------------------|
| Discussion | Talking together about something to decide or share ideas |
| Aired | Made public or spoken openly |
| Barely | Almost not or only just |
| Stare | Look at something for a long time without moving your eyes |
| Plain | Clear or easy to understand |
| Chatterer | A person who talks too much |
| Defect | A fault or problem |
| Opinion | What you think about something |
| Exhausted | Very tired or fed up |
| Dessert | Sweet food eaten after the main meal |
| Examine | Look at carefully |
| At length | For a long time without stopping |

---

## Practice Questions

### Easy (3)

1. **Who was the quiet one in the class discussion?**
*Answer*: Jane.
*Explanation*: The poem mentions that Jane barely said a word.

2. **How many brothers did the barber have?**
*Answer*: Six.
*Explanation*: The barber said he had six brothers, all chatterers.

3. **Why was the Sultan in a hurry?**
*Answer*: He had to attend a feast.
*Explanation*: He was hosting friends at noon.

### Medium (2)

4. **Why did the barber want more food?**
*Answer*: He had invited friends and forgot to prepare.
*Explanation*: Upon hearing about the Sultan’s feast, he remembered his own.

5. **What does the poem teach about personality differences?**
*Answer*: It shows that being quiet is okay and everyone participates differently.
*Explanation*: Jane’s silence reflects a different but valid way of engaging.

### Difficult (3)

6. **How did the barber justify his endless talking?**
*Answer*: He said his brothers were talkative, not him.
*Explanation*: He claimed he was actually quiet despite behaving otherwise.

7. **Describe the barber’s influence on the Sultan’s plans.**
*Answer*: The barber delayed the Sultan by talking and making demands.
*Explanation*: The Sultan had to wait for his head to be shaved while fulfilling the barber’s requests.

8. **What message does the story give about patience and communication?**
*Answer*: It shows that too much talking can be unhelpful, and patience has limits.
*Explanation*: The Sultan loses patience because of the barber’s endless chatter.

### Very Difficult (2)

9. **Compare Jane from the poem and the Barber from the story.**
*Answer*: Jane is quiet and reflective; the barber is overly talkative.
*Explanation*: They represent two extremes in communication styles.

10. **Do you think the Sultan was really generous or just desperate? Explain.**
*Answer*: He was desperate.
*Explanation*: He gave the barber everything just to get rid of him, not out of kindness.

---