Lesson 4: The Farming Teacher

A. Talk about the picture and answer the questions:

1. What do you see in the picture?
2. Do you think that the children are enjoying what they are doing? Tell why.
3. Do you think it is important to learn how to farm? Explain.

B. Read the text by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi and answer the following questions

"This is your teacher today. He's going to show you all sorts of things."

With that the headmaster introduced a new teacher. Totto-chan took a good look at him. In the first place, he wasn't dressed like a teacher at all. He wore a short striped cotton work jacket over his undershirt, and instead of a necktie, he had a towel hanging around his neck. As for his trousers, they were of indigo-dyed cotton with narrow legs, and were full of patches. Instead of shoes, he wore workmen's thick two-toed, rubber-soled socks, while on his head was a rather dilapidated straw hat.

The children were all assembled by the pond at Kuhonbutsu Temple. As she stared at the teacher, Totto-chan thought she had seen him before. "Where!" she wondered. His kindly face was sunburnt and full of wrinkles. Even the slender pipe dangling from a black cord around his waist that served as a belt looked familiar. She suddenly remembered!

"Aren't you the farmer who works in the field by the stream!" she asked him, delighted.

"That's right," said the "teacher," with a toothy smile, wrinkling up his face. "You pass my place ev'ry time you go fer yer walks to Kuhonbutsu! That's my field. That one over there full o' mustard blossoms."

"Wow! So you're going to be our teacher today," cried the children excitedly.

"Naw!" said the man, waving his hand in front of his face. "I ain't no teacher! I'm just a farmer. Your headmaster just asked me to do it, that's all."

"Oh yes, he is. He's your farming teacher," said the headmaster, standing beside him. "He very kindly agreed to teach you how to plant a field. It's like having a baker teach you how to make bread. Now then," he said to the farmer, "tell the children what to do, and let's get started."

At an ordinary elementary school, anyone who taught the children anything would probably have teaching qualifications, but Mr. Kobayashi didn't worry about things like that. He thought it important for children to learn by actually seeing things done.

"Let's begin then," said the farming teacher.

The place where they were assembled was besides the Kuhonbutsu pond and it was a particularly quiet section—a pleasant place, where the pond was shaded by trees. The headmaster had already had part of a railroad car put there for storing the children's farming implements, such as spades and hoes. The half-car had a peaceful look, neatly placed as it was right in the middle of the plot they were going to cultivate.

The farming teacher told the children to spades and hoes from the car and started them on weeding. He told them all about weeds: how hardy they were; how some grew faster than crops and hid the sun from them; how weeds were good hiding places for bad insects; and how weeds could be a nuisance by taking all the nourishment from the soil. He taught them one thing after another. And while he talked, his hands never stopped pulling out weeds. The children did the same. Then the teacher showed them how to hoe; how to make furrows; how to spread fertilizer; and everything else you had to do to grow things in a field, explaining as he demonstrated.

A little snake put its head out and very nearly bit the hand of Ta-chan, one of the older boys, but the farming teacher reassured him, "The snakes here ain't poisonous, and they won't hurt you if you don't hurt them."

Besides teaching the children how to plant a field, the farming teacher told them interesting things about insects, birds, and butterflies, about the weather, and about all sorts of other things. His strong gnarled hands seemed to attest that everything he told the children, he had found out himself through experience.

The children were dripping with perspiration when they had finally finished planting the field with the teacher's help. Except for a few furrows that were a bit uneven, it was an impeccable field, whichever way you looked at it.

From that day onward, the children held that farmer in high esteem, and whenever they saw him, even at a distance, they would cry, "There's our farming teacher!" Whenever he had any fertilizer left he would bring it over and spread it on the children's field, and their crops grew well. Every day someone would visit the field and report to the head-master and the other children on how it was doing. The children learned to know the wonder and the joy of seeing the seeds they had planted themselves sprout. And whenever two or three of them were gathered together, talk would turn to the progress of their field.

Terrible things were beginning to happen in various parts of the world. But as the children discussed their tiny field - they were still enfolded in the very heart of peace.

Note: Dilapidated - In a state of disrepair or ruin due to age or neglect. Furrows - Long, narrow trenches made in the ground for planting seeds. Implements - Tools or equipment used for a specific purpose. Nuisance - Something or someone causing inconvenience or annoyance. Perspiration - The process of sweating. Esteem - Respect and admiration, often for someone or something. Attest - Provide evidence or proof of something. Gnarled - Rough and twisted, often due to age or hard work (usually describing hands or trees). Impeccable - Flawless or without any mistakes.

B. True or false? If false, write the correct statement.

1. The headmaster introduced the new teacher as someone who would teach the children to farm.
2. The new teacher was wearing formal attire, including a necktie and dress shoes.
3. The teacher was recognized by Totto-chan as a farmer she had seen before.
4. The children were assembled in a classroom to begin their lesson.
5. The farming teacher reassured Totto-chan that the snakes around the area were not poisonous.
6. The teacher used both hands and words to explain how to plant the field.
7. The children planted the field with the farming teacher's help, but it was messy and uneven.
8. Despite the terrible things happening in the world, the children felt a sense of peace while working on their field.

C. Answer the questions below:

1. Who introduced the new teacher to the children?
2. What did the new teacher wear instead of shoes?
3. What were the children going to learn from the farming teacher?
4. How did the farming teacher reassure Totto-chan about the snake?
5. What did the children feel when they saw the seeds they planted start to

D. Have you worked in a crop field before? Share your experience with your friends in the class.