Happy Birthday, Albert! | Catherine M Johnson.
I am a big Albert Einstein fan and it is his birthday today. I enjoy his eccentric behaviour and wild hair.
Several years ago, a student asked who the guy was in a poster in our classroom.
Without hesitating, I said, “My Dad!” A second student expressed skepticism, but I answered with “Look at him. He has wild hair, is eccentric, and tells great stories. Its my Dad!”.
A third student responded, “It’s Albert Einstein. His name is on the poster.”
For the rest of my teaching years, students, parents, and I were always careful when I began to say something about my Dad. I clarified whether it was my real dad or my figurative dad. The two had interesting quotes in common.
My real Dad would say, “When you stop beating your head against the wall it feels better.” I shared that with students when we talked about Einstein’s definition of insanity: “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
ivonprefontaine
Teacher as Transformer 