Carol
Posts:
11
Registered:
12/6/04
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Re: Ability grouping (was:Re: Affective learning in mathematics; What is math?)
Posted:
Dec 17, 1996 10:19 PM
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J. Clarke wrote:
>
> Carol <carolmc@earthlin.net> wrote in article
> <32B5FE2A.78E1@earthlin.net>...
> > If Albert Einstein were to have been held up to this standard he would
> > have stayed in the low to medium group. It is my understanding that he
> > worked v e r y s l o w l y.
>
> Check again. Einstein taught himself geometry at 12. At 15 he dropped out
> of school, frustrated by the slow pace. In college he cut classes with
> regularity for the same reason. By age 26 he had recieved his doctorate,
> performed the research that got him the Nobel Prize, and created the theory
> of relativity, all while working a full time day job. Hardly managed that
> by slow work.
>
> Seems to me that he would have been happier in an accelerated program of
> some sort.
>
> --John
I am sure you are aware of the fact that Einstein was considered "below
average" for a long time. One reason for this is he talked little until the
age of three. Some of his favorite pastimes were gazing into a compass with
a blank look, and building card houses. A teacher suggested Einstein leave
school, since his very presence destroyed the other students' respect for the
teacher. That's why he taught himself at 15. Yes, Einstein taught himself
mathematics....can you name a teacher who would have been better? That
doesn't meant that school couldn't have been a stimulating place for him.
Consider the possibility that he could have enjoyed sharing his insights, he
could have enjoyed poetry, stories, music, art, he could have enjoyed
learning from his fellow students. His teachers were too narrow minded about
the proper way to teach and didn't listen to his needs.
--
Please e-mail me at carolmc@earthlink.net. The above address is incomplete to
prevent junk e-mail.
"When you hold a child's hand, point to the sky and say,
"Look at the airplane up there, where do you think it's going?"
and he replies, as though to an idiot, "To the airport, of course!",
whose fault is it?"
{Found in the program for Cirque du Soliel}
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