he novel begins with a short introduction. Inside a classroom, "the speaker" repeats the exclamation "Now, what I want is, Facts." He presents the argument that the formation of a child's mind must be rooted in the study of fact. The schoolroom is as hard and plain as the teacher's teaching style. All of the children are focused on him. Besides "the speaker" there is also "the schoolmaster and the third grown person" who stand before the pupils.
Dickens establishes himself within a contemporary debate on the nature of learning, knowledge and education. The description of the classroom is definitely satire, a critique of utilitarianism, and similar philosophies