"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler..."

As everyone knows, our Chefs for Impact event this year is approaching, and it will look a little bit different than usual. In the midst of the planning over the last week, I came across a quote that resonated with me in particular.  “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” –Albert Einstein.

 Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). While Einstein is perhaps best known for three simple letters and a number (E=mc2), most people don’t know that he was also a teacher who taught at the University of Bern, the Charles-Ferdinand University, and the Humboldt University of Berlin, among others.  One student remarked that he was often surrounded by students after his lectures, and answered questions patiently and in a friendly manner.  He spoke “in the same way to everybody.”  He encouraged students to interrupt him if he was not clear, working with them during breaks, after class, and into the late hours of the night.  One winter evening during a snowstorm he stood under a street lamp with several students.  They were working through a problem, and he took out a notebook and wrote out a few formulas. While a student carried an umbrella over him, he was oblivious to the swirling snow around him, and stayed with the group until everyone understood the solution.

People often discuss Einstein in terms of what he gave to science (the theory of relativity, for one), the type of student he was (a poor one), and his role in the Second World War (he initially recommended that the US research powerful bombs).  But what I find intriguing about him is what type of teacher he was – patient, humble and resolute. Despite all of his accomplishments, he was always willing and able to boil down complex equations into its simplest forms, and sticking with a student through this process.  It is these qualities that we look for in our own Impact teachers, and it’s these qualities that ultimately help our students learn, grow, and succeed.  To each of our teachers that are incredible thinkers, scientists, and writers in their own right – we owe a debt of gratitude for taking the time to educate a new generation of students in Zambia. 

-Reshma