Albert Einstein At School - Key Notes and Question Bank

Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) is considered one of the greatest physicists since Newton. Patrick Pringle wrote Einstein's biography titled, 'The Young Einstein', in 1965. It traced Albert's childhood and the development of his genius. 

    

As a student, Albert found himself a misfit in the then-education system. He detested rote learning and preferred understanding over mere memorisation. Due to his dyslexia, he was anyway unable to memorise facts. 

As you read, observe:

1) The portrait of young Einstein develops through the dialogues exchanged between him and those around him. The author deliberately takes a backseat letting the reader form his own opinion about the child who would someday win the Nobel Prize.

2) Albert had a well-defined and progressive view of education which disturbed the traditional mindsets of some of his teachers. While other students, as Elsa pointed out, simply repeated learnt facts rather than truly "knowing" and "understanding" them, Albert preferred to find the rationale behind those facts.

3) At the time of this extract, Albert was in Munich. He enjoyed Mathematics, Geology and Music but got into trouble for not being able to memorise the facts of History.

4) He could be seen as an impudent child unwilling to back down from an argument even with his teacher. However, he was simply one not afraid to voice his opinions and as the author points out, "unthinkingly honest". Yuri confirms this assessment of Albert's character by claiming that Einstein was the world's worst liar.

5) According to Albert, facts did not matter as much as ideas. He was able to perform beyond expectations in the more logically understood subject of Mathematics but could not muster any enthusiasm for the more pedantic History.

6) Even at that young age, Albert was exposed to and detested the atmosphere of domestic violence. Violence, he understood was a vicious cycle that consumed all those caught in its roll.

7) Albert's close friend and confidant, Yuri, used to live among students in yet another impoverished part of town. Albert shared his troubles with him and confided that he (Albert) may not ever obtain a diploma at his current school. Yuri helped Albert find a newly qualified doctor to issue the medical certificate. 

8) If Albert was impudent and unthinkingly honest with his History teacher, he was kept so by Dr. Ernst Weil as well. Dr. Weil understood and empathised with Albert issuing him the certificate requested selflessly. In fact, even as payment, Dr. Weil simply asked Albert to take their mutual and close friend, Yuri to dinner.

9) Mr. Koch, Albert's Mathematics teacher recognised Albert's calibre, appreciated it and gave a glowing reference to help Albert in the future.The author makes Mr. Koch a foil to the History teacher, Mr. Braun and shows that even within the traditional education system, not all teachers were blind to Albert's potential.

10) The fact that Albert never gets to use the medical certificate brings out the irony of life. His conversation with the Head Teacher implied Albert's disillusionment with the school and his shock at being expelled even though he had been planning to leave himself. However, Albert takes perhaps the first step towards maturity by not losing his dignity in a pointless argument with the Head Teacher. He simply walks out, his carriage proud and defiant.

Extra Reading: Reflect on some facts from Einstein's life:

Albert Einstein was born in Germany on March 14 1879. His mother noticed that the back of her baby's head was unusually large, and for a moment thought there was something wrong. 

With her encouragement Albert was taught to play the violin when still very young, and he became an excellent musician. (As an adult he would take his fiddle everywhere: he found that playing it relaxed him.) 

He learnt to sail, too, which he loved. Extensive reading was to become the backbone of his genius.

He knew by the age of 12 what he wanted to spend his life studying: nothing less than the behaviour of the universe. He also knew that he would spread the awareness of peace as long as he were alive.

Albert remained unusual all his life. He read more than his grade. He had well-defined opinions right from the beginning. He obtained his PhD at the age of merely 26. In trivia, we come to know that for some odd reason, he never wore socks anywhere, not even to the White House! 

Albert Einstein brought a new perspective to the relationships between light, time, space, matter and gravity. 1905 was also the year of his famous equation: E=mc2. This was a way of expressing his theory that matter could be converted into huge amounts of energy. 

It was Einstein who proved, through his 'thought experiments', that atoms really exist. His work helped to make quantum physics possible - without which much modern technology (including computers) might still be a closed book. It was for this work, not for his more famous theory of relativity, that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

The years of his greatest discoveries were, he said, the happiest years of his life. He was not yet famous, so 'nobody expected me to lay golden eggs' of yet more new and surprising scientific insights; and the First World War had not yet begun.

Albert Einstein was born a German, took Swiss nationality in 1900 and German-Swiss nationality after the war, renounced German citizenship in 1933, and became an American citizen in 1940. 

Einstein, asked by someone for his autograph, wrote: 

'Children do not listen to the wisdom of their elders. Nations do not listen to history. 

They realise not that bitter lessons of the past must ever be learnt anew.'

Question Bank

Q.1. Were the teachers interested in understanding Albert and bringing out his potential? Discuss.

Q.2. Keeping the whole passage in your mind, briefly describe Einstein’s character as it is revealed here.

Q.3. Comment on the role of Yuri as Einstein’s friend.

Q.4. Express your views on education system in Einstein’s Germany.

Q.5. Why did Einstein consider the school 'a hateful  place'?

Q.6. What was Einstein’s plan to get away from school? How was Yuri of help to him ?

Q.7. Why did Albert see no point in learning dates and facts?

Q.8. Do you think Albert was being impolite while answering the history teacher’s questions?

 Q.9.Why was Albert nervous when he met the doctor? What does this indicate about his nature?

Q.10.What was Yuri’s advice to Albert regarding his meeting with Dr. Ernst Weil?  

Q.11. What advice did Elsa gave to Albert regarding study and examinations?

Q.12. The circle of violence traps all who are involved. Comment with reference to Albert's view of his lodgings.

Q.13. Inclusive education is a must and teachers must attempt a thorough understanding of a students persona. Comment with reference to their chapter.

Q.14. How was Albert's confrontation with his History teacher different from that of the Head Teacher?

Q.15. Why do you think Mr. Koch willingly gave Albert the reference?

Q.16. How would you define Albert as a student?

Q.17. Unless understood and remedied in time, a child's 'inability' becomes his 'disability'. Discuss with reference to the extract.

Q.18. Identify the general opinion held by the teachers and Albert's cousin, Elsa about Albert.

Q.19. What can you tell about Dr. Ernst Weil based on Albert's conversation with him?

Q.20. Briefly comment on the biographer's writing style.