Albert Einstein 5 - Albert's Schooldays Poem by Geeta Radhakrishna Menon

Albert was the only Jewish child in his class,
When he began his schooling in 1885,
In a Catholic school in Munich.
He was just six years old.
In 1888, he joined Gymnasium or German Secondary school.
Unlike, the earlier school,
He met few other Jewish children here.
However, he did not form any close friendship,
Either with his classmates or the teachers.
He was a loner and preferred his own company.

Albert developed a distaste
For the German school system,
Wherein children were subjected
To strict rules of conduct and behaviour,
To rigid and controlled curriculum,
Humiliation and punishment of students,
Who did not measure up to the mark,
Or standard imposed by the school authorities.

Years later, recalling his school days, Einstein wrote:
'Humiliation and mental oppression,
By ignorant and selfish teachers
Wreak havoc in the youthful mind,
That can never be undone,
And often, exert a baleful influence in later life.'

A Biographical Poem