3. Introduction to the poem "Where Do All the Teachers Go?"

The poem "Where Do All the Teachers Go?" by Peter Dixon, is narrated from a child's perspective. The poem poses a lot of questions to the readers, which is a reflection of the author's mind. A poem which is a series of questions, which builds up on the theme is called a "question poem". The title itself is a question, which is posed by a child who wonders about his teacher's life. Every child lives in a world of curiosity. There are a lot of unanswered questions in his mind. Similarly, the child in this poem is curious to know about his teacher's routine life. He considers teachers as someone extraordinary and wonders if they lead the life of any other normal person.

 

Peter Dixon being a teacher and lecturer himself, aptly describes the usual questions that every child must have had at some point in his lifetime. In his own words, "People around you are always the best characters. Teachers always seem like people who are having secret adventures, don’t they? Every child wants to know what goes on behind the mystery of the staffroom door. If only they knew it was just hard work and lots of coffee!"

 

Listen to this pictorial rendition of the poem "Where Do All the Teachers Go?":

 

Meanings of difficult words: