Where Do All The Teachers Go?: Peter Dixon

Where Do All The
Teachers Go?
PETER DIXON
Where do all the teachers Go?
Who are Teachers?
Are teachers extraordinary people?
What are the qualities of a good teacher?
About the Poet:
Peter Dixon was a Senior Lecturer in Early Years Education for twenty years
before becoming a full time writer, painter and performer in 1995. He has
published several poetry collections for children including Grow Your Own
Poems (Thomas Nelson); Lost Property Box, Grand Prix and most recently
Penguin in Fridge (2001) (all Macmillan). He is a seasoned performer on the
schools network and has performed at both the Edinburgh and Cheltenham
Festivals. He lives in Winchester.
His Books…
Stanza-1
Where do all the teachers go
When it’s four o’ clocks?
Do they live in houses
And do they wash their socks?
Do they wear pyjamas
And do they watch TV?
And do they pick their noses
The same as you and me
Explanation
Context In these lines the poet describes the general life of the teachers i.e. how do
they live, how do they do others things.
Explanation According to the poet, his teachers were not ordinary people. The poet
asked many questions such as where his teachers go after 4 o’clock. He keeps asking
whether the teachers live in their houses and wash their socks like an ordinary person.
The poet wonders if the teachers wear pyjamas. The poet is not sure whether his
teachers watch TV like any ordinary person and clean their nose with the little finger as
other people do.
Stanza-2
Do they live with other people
Have they mums and dads?
And were they ever children
And were they ever bad?
Did they ever, never spell right
Did they ever made mistakes?
Were they punished in the corner
If they pinched the chocolate flakes?
Explanation
Context
The poet wanted to know more about his teacher and his childhood life.
Explanation
The poet wants to know more about his teachers’ life and whether they live with
their mother and father. The poet wishes to know if his teachers were once children and
behaved like them. He wonders if his teachers were punished for making mistakes like
writing wrong spellings and were ordered to stand in the corner as a punishment, if they
ate chocolates without permission.
Stanza-3
Did they ever lose their hymn books

Did they ever leave their greens?
Did they scribble on the desk tops
Did they wear old dirty jeans?
I’ll follow one back home today
I’ll find out what they do
Then I’ll put it in a poem
That they can read to you.
Explanation
Context In these lines the poet intends to follow one of his teachers to know the truth.
Explanation According to the poet, his teachers are perfect. He thinks that perhaps his
teachers have never lost their hymn books and never spread cooked green vegetables
like him. The poet wonders if his teachers have ever scribbled on the desks and wore
dirty jeans like other children. He was trying to find out all the answers. Finally, he
finds a way to get his answers. He intends to follow one of his teachers to his home and
find out the truth. The poet will write about it later, so that the teachers could read it
out to other children in a class.
Phrases from the poem
1. What do you think these phrases from the poem mean?
i) Punished in the corner
It means that a teacher keeps an eye on his students in the class and if
they do any mischief they are punished and made to stand in the corner.
ii) Leave their greens
Children do not like to eat green vegetables and throw them into the
dustbins or leave them in the plate.
Summary
Teachers are very special for their students. The poet does not think that his
teachers are ordinary people. The poet wonders where his teachers go after 4 o’clock.
He keeps asking too many questions such as whether the teachers live in their houses
band wash their socks like an ordinary person. The poet wonders, if the teachers wear
pyjamas or something else. The poet is not sure whether his teachers watch TV like any
ordinary person and clean their nose with the little finger.
The poet wants to know if his teachers live with other people such as their
mother and the father. The poet desires to know if these teachers were once children
and were bad as kids. He wonders if his teachers were punished for making mistakes
like writing wrong spellings and were ordered to stand in the corner as a punishment if
they ate chocolates without permission.
Summary:
According to the poet, his teachers are perfect. He thinks that perhaps his
teachers have never lost their hymn books and never spread cooked green vegetables’
like him. The poet wonders if his teachers have ever scribbled on the desks and wore
dirty clothes.
He fined a way to get his answer. He intends to follow one of his teachers to
find out the truth. The poet will write about it later, so that the teachers could read it
out to other children in a class.

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What questions does the poet have about his teachers' personal lives?

What does the poet intend to do to find out the truth about his teachers?

Where Do All The

Did they ever lose their hymn books

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