Albert Einstein at School

1. Who is Mr. Brown? Why did he not like Einstein?

Ans. Mr Brown is the history teacher of Albert Einstein at school. He did not like Einstein because the latter always disliked memorizing historical facts.

2. Why did not Albert Einstein like school?

Ans. Albert Einstein disliked school because the teachers focused on rote learning. Albert wanted to learn by understanding the cause of events rather than simply memorizing dates and names of battles.

3. Who is Yuri?

Ans. Yuri is Einstein’s best friend. He helped Einstein get the Medical Certificate, which helped the latter to get out of school.

4. Who is Dr. Ernest Weil?

Ans: Dr Ernest Weil is a newly appointed doctor in Munich. He is the one who gave the medical certificate to Einstein.

Exam Questions(2marks)

1. Why does Einstein think that learning facts is no education at all?

Ans: Einstein thinks that learning facts is not education because all facts can be verified from a book, whereas Education means understanding things and having ideas.

2. How does the example of Einstein prove that the school system ends up by eroding individual talent?

Ans: Einstein was often scolded for not learning the facts found in his history book. He was even looked down upon for his inability to memorize dates of battles etc. The school did not recognize his specialty in mathematics rather it focused only on what the students could memorize well.

3. What was Einstein’s idea of Education?

Ans: According to Einstein Education is not limited to learning facts but the understanding of ideas. Einstein believed that understanding a subject is much superior than memorizing things.

4. How did Einstein plan to get out of the school?

Ans: Einstein planned to get out of the school by using a medical leave certificate issued by a doctor.

Long Answers. 6 marks_150 words

1. “The school system often crubs individual talent” – Discuss with reference to Einstein’s experience at school.

Ans: The School system relies on a fixed routine of studies and expects each and every student to have an interest in the subjects taught. It also expects the pupils to passively accept everything said, without raising a contradictory voice. This leads to a very rigid system which hinders the personal growth of students with potential for various talent.

Einstein’s experience shows us the real condition of how a school fails to recognize history’s one of the greatest scientist to have ever lived. Einstein was inclined to learn mathematics, but his aptitude for math was not praised or recognized. Rather his inability to memorize historical facts was treated as a serious fault and hence a subject of ridicule. Moreover his voicing for an educational reform at such an early stage fell on deaf ears. He only ended up by being expelled from the school whose teaching method he refused to follow. Had Einstein suffered his days in his school without a plan to get out, we should have missed history’s greatest scientist ever.