Learning curve

1 Which great poet taught at Amherst college in Massachusetts, teaching the ‘sound of sense’ where he encouraged his students to work on the different intonations of spoken language in their writings? He also recited his poetry at John F Kennedy’s inauguration as US President.

2 Anand Kumar and his wards are the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary and have been feted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. What did he start in 2002, with students selected on the basis of a test conducted by the Ramanujan School of Mathematics?

3 In the past three Olympics, David Brailsford’s wards have won 30 medals, including 18 goals for their country, and he is regarded as one of the most influential coaches in modern sporting history. In which sport has Brailsford coached the British national team?

4 Which Santiniketan graduate and award-winning writer was the most famous teacher of Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, and known for works such as Rudali, Hajar Churashir Maa and Aranyer Adhikar ?

5 Which well-known personality was a visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School while working on his first book, and went on to teach constitutional law there as well between 1992 and 2004?

6 In the Mahabharata, Karna wanted to learn the art of war from Parashurama. He persuaded Parashurama to teach him by pretending to be a Brahmin. How did Parashurama figure out that he was a Kshatriya?

7 Which Indian President served in various educational institutions after completing his MA in economics? He started as a professor of English at the Langat Singh College in Muzaffarpur in Bihar and went on to become the principal.

8 Christa McAuliffe was an American teacher chosen from over 11,000 applicants for a specific programme in the ’80s . For what unfortunate reason do we remember her?

9 Harry Potter! Which teacher in Hogwart’s has the Animagus form of a British Shorthair Silver Tabby cat and gave Harry his first Quidditch broom?

10 Cus D’Amato was one of the legendary boxing coaches ever; he coached boxers for over four decades starting with 1952 Olympic medalist and World Champion Floyd Patterson. But for which pupil, whom Amato kept in his home, is he most remembered?

Answers

1 Robert Frost, who later also taught at the University of Michigan

2 Super 30, a coaching centre based in Patna to train economically-backward students for IIT. As of 2018, 422 of the 480 students have made it to the IITs

3 Cycling

4 Mahasweta Devi

5 Barack Obama

6 One afternoon, Parashurama was sleeping with his head on Karna’s lap when an insect bored into Karna’s leg causing a great deal of pain. Karna stayed still, not wanting to disturb his guru’s nap. When Parashurama woke up, he saw the blood and realised only a Kshatriya could have endured that much pain without flinching

7 Rajendra Prasad, who completed his legal studies in Calcutta

8 She was the first American teacher in space who died when the Space Shuttle Challenger crashed shortly after take off in 1986

9 Minerva McGonagall, deputy headmistress and transfiguration professor

10 Mike Tyson

 

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   Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster;

  @joybhattacharj

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