RBSE Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 4 Albert Einstein at School

RBSE Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 4 Albert Einstein at School

Text Book Questions and Answers

About the Author

Patrick Pringle was born in 1935 in Rochester, New York. He was a freelance writer and photographer, wildlife biologist and educator. He was the editor, executive editor of Nature and Science during 1965 – 1967. He won several awards, chief being the New Jersey Institute of Technology Award, 1970, for The Only Earth We Have; Special Conservation Award, National Wildlife Federation, 1978; honor book designation, New York Academy of Sciences, 1980, for Natural Fire: Its Ecology in Forests.

Main Theme

This extract from Albert Einstein’s biography records the unhappy period of his schooling in Munich. Eventually Einstein was expelled from the school.At school, Einstein was not at all enthusiastic about the study of history. He felt it was more important to study ideas than facts. His teachers at the school in Munich were displeased with him. Albert was miserable most of the time.

Albert had been sent to this school to study for a diploma. His living quarters offered no relief. There was dirt and squalor and plenty of slum violence. His only friends were Yuri, a medical student, and Elsa, his cousin from Berlin. They tried to cheer him up. Einstein, however, did like to study Geology and books on Science. He was exceptionally good at Maths. He also played ori the violin to console himself.

After six months, Einstein could take it no more. He wanted to get away from school. He asked his friend Yuri to find a nerve doctor who would give him a certificate of a nervous breakdown and recommend rest for six months. Yuri found Dr Ernst Weil, but told Einstein to be absolutely truthful with him. Dr Weil felt he was really close to a nervous breakdown and gave him a certificate.Einstein’s plan was to return to Milan, where his parents lived. He asked his Maths teacher for a reference which would enable him to continue his education in Milan.

The next day, before Einstein could present the medical certificate, he was called by the head teacher and asked to leave the school. Einstein had been expelled for ‘constant rebellion’. Yuri was the only person he wanted to say goodbye to.

Reading with Insight

Question 1.
What do you understand of Einstein’s nature from his conversations with his history teacher, his mathematics teacher and the head teacher?
Answer:
Albert Einstein was an intelligent student but was not good at rote learning of dates and facts in history. However, only his mathematics teacher acknowledged his brilliance. Young Albert Einstein hated learning dates and facts by heart. This forever displeased Mr Braun, his history teacher.

Einstein explained his desire to know the reason a battle is fought, rather than remember its date. Mr Braun taunted him by calling his views the “Einstein theory of education” and punished him by detaining him for an extra period at school.

Albert’s brilliance was recognised by his mathematics teacher, Mr Koch, who accepted Einstein’s superiority of knowledge over his own. He gave Einstein a “glowing reference” to aid him continue his higher education. However, his principal clearly did not recognise his merit and expelled him from school. He accused Einstein of disrupting the class and of not making an effort to learn.

Question 2.
The school system often curbs individual talents. Discuss.
Answer:
Hint
1. If no

• It often advances by giving opportunities in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities
• Different options for different aptitudes
• Offers subject choices/options that help develop the talent a student may not know she/he possesses
• Encourages interaction

2. If yes

• Examination system thrust on learning
• Teacher student ratio often does not permit individual attention
• Time bound classes/specific syllabi permits adherence to standard procedures
• Facilities to cater to individual choices may not be permissible due to lack of resources

Question 3.
How do you distinguish between information gathering and insight formation?
Answer:
Gathering information: Gathering information, generally means, sorting out facts that are relevant to your work. It is usually a passive process and involves a lower level of understanding. It is more of a mechanical process based on the memorisation of facts.

Insight formation: This is a more complex process by which the actual learning occurs. The learner assimilates facts, and based on the acquired knowledge, is able to develop a better understanding of herself/himself, her/his world, and the people in her/his life. Insight formation comprises three ‘primary processes’:

• information reception or perception,
• encoding or interpretation, and
• recall and use.

RBSE Solutions for Class 11 English Snapshots Chapter 4 Albert Einstein at School, Study Learner