User:Samsara/Debunking an urban myth: Einstein at school

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contrary to an urban myth, Albert Einstein was actually very good at school, right from the start. He joined school aged six, straight into second grade. He was considered well-tempered, reserved, smart and driven. He was also described as a dreamer, keeping a sceptic's distance to people and material things.

Einstein's marks in secondary school in Munich were never below 2 (where 1 is best and 6 worst), including Latin and Greek, although he was said to be quiet but content. He left secondary school without an Abitur (i.e. without graduating) to follow his parents to Milan.

Source: Fölsing, A. 1995. Albert Einstein. Suhrkamp Verlag. p. 29-41.

His next formal learning experience is in Switzerland, where the marking scheme runs from 1 to 6, where 6 is now best. Again, he scores top marks in Geometry, Algebra and Physics, with no mark below 4 except French, where he scores only 3, having almost caught up three years of French in one.

Source: 1987. The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 1. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

A short summary of this urban myth (in German) can be found here.