Why did Albert considerer The School 'a hateful place' ?
The school system is often found to curb individual talent because the pressure of following a set curriculum and prescribed syllabus means a lack of time for encouraging students to express their creativity and give full space for their imagination to flourish. There is no time to try things outside the syllabus, there is immense stress laid on scoring well and rote learning rather than acquiring knowledge. As Albert Einstein observes in the story that it is all about factual knowledge that does not really benefit us, education should be about advancement of learning and should lead us to enquire and think further. The atmosphere in school is mainly characterised by a pressure to conform rather than go against the grain.As he walked out of the school where he had spent five miserable years, he did not turn his head even once to give it one last look before he left. This encapsulates the feelings that Albert must have been experiencing being freed of this dreadful place that had only brought him misery. He could not think of saying goodbye to anyone. Yuri was the only person in Munich he felt like seeing before leaving the town that he had come to hate as much as the school. Respect ought to be earned even if it is a teacher; seniority should not be the only criteria for earning respect. If the teacher's incompetency is evident then the student who is supposed to learn from the teacher would feel he has been shortchanged. Albert had a point because teachers are supposed to show the path of enlightenment to the student and not cram their heads with irrelevant factual information. The respect that a teacher deserves should stem from the display of his competency and ability to motivate students, that is his job and not just earning a paycheck at the end of the month.