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December 2004
Memorization Tips: In Defense of Memorization
The value of memorizing has become a somewhat controversial topic in
discussions regarding education methodologies. Certainly we have
available today a wide variety of learning methods not previously
known to earlier generations. However, do these new approaches to
learning invalidate memorization as a critical part of the learning
process? Here's two thoughts on the subject, coming from two very
different directions, that we have found from articles on the web:
"Aren’t exercises in memorizing and reciting poetry and passages of
prose an archaic curiosity, without educative value?
That too-common view is sadly wrong. Kids need both the poetry and the
memorization. As educators have known for centuries, these exercises
deliver unique cognitive benefits, benefits that are of special
importance for kids who come from homes where books are scarce and the
level of literacy low. In addition, such exercises etch the ideals of
their civilization on children’s minds and hearts."
Michael Knox Beran, "In Defense of Memorization",
City Journal Summer 2004
"Why memorize math facts?
My private practice is full of kids whose parents thought that way,
and now have to pay me lots of money to teach the kids what they could
have been taught for free in second or third grade. They usually hit
the wall some time in middle school or in algebra I, where you have to
use these math facts rapidly on the fly.
And while I would agree that some of the very highest areas of math o
not require automaticity of basic math facts, they do require
automaticity of the skills that fall somewhere in between them and
single-digit addition, and that those skills are very difficult to
master and to automatize when the basic stuff isn't firmly in place.
It's going to be very difficult to get to graduate-level mathematics
if you can't hack calculus because you couldn't hack algebra because
you couldn't hack middle-school math because you couldn't hack
arithmetic."
Aimee Yermish, Educational Consultant
(*Note: Reference to this site is being made simply to point out the information
contained there. SoftLore, LLC does not have an affiliation with this site, or
any other site that we refer to in our "Memorization Tips", nor does this
reference imply an endorsement of any products, services, or theories associated
with the site)
Do you have some favorite tips and techniques for memorizing? Please
feel free to share them with us.
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