Was Einstein a C-Student? Debunking Myths About the Genius' School Years

To console parents whose offspring are not doing well at school, great scientists with mediocre academic performance are often recalled. Among them are physicists Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein. In Edison's case, the story is true: he really did have a hard time with his studies. But the rumors about Einstein do not stand up to criticism. In the mid-1980s, documents were discovered that debunk this popular myth.

Albert Einstein was born on March 14, 1879, in Ulm, Baden-Württemberg. When the baby was one year old, his family moved to Munich. It was there that the future luminary of science spent his childhood. His parents, Hermann and Pauline Einstein, were Jewish, but decided to send their son to a Catholic school, which was located near their home.

Albert disliked classical Catholic education from the first day. Strict discipline reigned in such schools of that time: students were forced to march in formation, and the slightest misbehavior was punished by slaps on the hands with a ruler. Einstein did not have warm relationships with his peers either. Anti-Semitic sentiments in Germany were growing, and his classmates often teased and provoked him.

The boy soon left the Catholic school. In 1888, at the age of nine, he entered the Luitpold Gymnasium, a prestigious educational institution with excellent teachers of mathematics and physics. One of the best physical and chemical laboratories in Munich stood out here.

Unfortunately, Albert's hopes for a change for the better did not come true. Education at the gymnasium was little different from before: the same cramming and barracks discipline, the same arrogant attitude of teachers. The boy was not keen on active games and did not run after a ball with his friends. But he understood complex devices very well and could clearly explain how a telephone or a gramophone worked.

Relations with classmates were quite good. Albert was considered an eccentric and a nerd, but at the same time respected for his deep knowledge. He was an excellent student and was among the best students in the gymnasium. In 1984, documents were found in the archives confirming that Einstein really was a child prodigy.

By the age of 11, the boy knew physics at the level of college students. He played the violin beautifully and received excellent grades in all subjects except French. In his free time, young Albert was interested in self-education. His parents supported his desire for knowledge and bought textbooks on the exact sciences, which he managed to study during the summer holidays.

Albert's uncle, Jacob Einstein, who was also his father's business partner, often presented his nephew with difficult mathematical problems. The boy happily accepted the challenge and would not leave the house until he found a solution. Einstein also kept in touch with Max Talmud, a student and friend of the family. Talmud visited every Thursday and always brought something interesting to young Albert.

Perhaps it was his friendship with the Talmud that influenced the formation of Albert's interests. It was he who brought the teenager books from Aaron Bernstein's series of popular science essays, "People's Books on Natural Science." Bernstein was considered an outstanding scientist and was involved in many areas, including research into the speed of light.

In his books, Bernstein described various interesting situations. For example, a case when a person is in a high-speed train, and someone tries to hit him through the window with a bullet. Or he analyzed what would happen to a person if he moved along a telegraph line together with an electric signal.

These problems made Einstein wonder what happens to objects if they move through space at the speed of light. He began to doubt that light is a wave. When Albert was 12, Max Talmud brought him a university textbook on geometry. The child prodigy mastered it in a matter of days. Later, the student offered him books on philosophy, including the works of Immanuel Kant, who soon became Einstein’s favorite philosopher.

As a teenager, the future Nobel laureate began to have conflicts with teachers. Einstein did not tolerate stupid and arrogant people and was distinguished by his straightforwardness. Sometimes he was thrown out of classes for sitting at his desk and smiling ironically. Teachers were often irritated by his behavior and more than once told the boy and his parents that he was unlikely to succeed in life.

In 1894, 15-year-old Albert became completely independent. His father and uncle's electrical engineering company went bankrupt and the family moved to Milan. The teenager could not leave with them because he had to finish school. He moved into a Munich hostel, but lasted less than a year. Young Einstein dropped out of school and went to his relatives in Italy.

Now he was not only left without a certificate, but also on the list of those who evaded military service. In Germany at that time, they called up for military service from the age of 17, and Albert could be called up at any moment. The young man's situation became even more complicated: the family was in dire need of money, and he could not find a job due to the lack of a profession.

Einstein decided to enroll in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. It was one of the few universities in Europe that accepted students without a high school diploma. The young man did brilliantly in physics and mathematics at the entrance exams, but failed the other subjects miserably.

Despite the failure, the director of the technical school highly appreciated Albert's knowledge of the exact sciences. He advised the young man to get a certificate and try his luck again. By the beginning of 1896, the young man renounced his German citizenship and was considered stateless for several years until he received a Swiss passport. That same year, at the age of 17, Einstein successfully graduated from the cantonal school of Aarau in Switzerland.

Einstein's school report card showed top grades in physics and mathematics, but a C in French and Bs in geography and drawing. It is worth considering that Switzerland at that time had a six-point system. Perhaps the records from the Aarau school led biographers to the idea that he was a weak student.

The thing is that during the last trimester of school, a school reform took place. The grading scale was changed: one became the highest grade, and six the lowest. Thus, the great scientist "turned into a failing student." Throughout his life, he repeatedly criticized the German education system. In his opinion, it was more like brainwashing, supplemented by barracks discipline. Einstein once said:

The story of young Einstein shows how easily myth can overshadow reality. It also reminds us that an unconventional path to knowledge cannot always be measured by school grades. Do you think the modern education system should adapt to “unconventional” children — or is it discipline and a unified approach that shape geniuses?