"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education."~ Albert Einstein
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compass
Sometimes all it takes to turn your life around is one moment. It could be a person who really believes in you, or it could be a thing like a book that fills your head with such new ideas you are changed forever. Have you had this happen to you? This moment came for Albert the day his father brought home a compass for him to play with.
Albert is immediately mystified by the invisible forces affecting the needle. He goes outside and marvels that no matter where he points the compass, the needle always points north.
Day after day Albert is becoming absorbed in the mysterious workings of the universe around him. He feels that "something deeply hidden has to be behind things" as he looks up at the night sky full of stars and wonders what this is.
I'll bet he learns a lot about these mysteries at school.
What? No?
No. Albert's mind is not growing much at school. He has trouble doing anything that requires memorization, like memorizing times tables and failing miserably at spelling. And he still can't read well. His teachers are starting to suggest to others that he's mentally disabled.
But wait. It gets worse. Not only is his mind not growing at school, but his heart's being attacked! Have you ever had anyone pick on you because you're different from them? It hurts, doesn't it?
Well, Albert's being attacked on his way to and from school because he's Jewish. It's even happening during school, by his own teachers! That's about as smart as judging someone because of the color of their skin instead of by the content of their character, you know, what they're like on the inside.
Albert is already extremely shy and insecure. This is only making him feel worse about himself. He can't make any friends and spends each day at school quiet and alone.
Ugh! I don't think things are getter better for Albert. Do you? I mean, he's learning to think big in something bigger than himself, like the Universe. But if only he had someone who believed in him. We all need that, don't we?
