Saturday, January 10, 2009
All 44
Thanks to Jim B who sent me this. My grandfather used to be able to recite all the President's names. He learned them in school. I wonder if memorization or even learning is done in most schools or is it just preparation for taking a test so that the school will pass the No Child Left Behind (HA!) Exams?
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Of course the preparation for a standardized test involves memorization rather than understanding, so I am not sure that this arguement is consistent. (Sorry Jay.) Much more important to know how something works and why than to remember the technical name for it.
Japanese reading requires a tremendous amount of memorization. And there is a huge set of characters that must be memorized before "adult" writing can be understood. So the typical junior high kid doesn't have a chance of picking up a newspaper and understanding an article. Now I am presupposing that kids learning English actually do so. But at even somewhat less than the expected learning rate, the typical junior high kid in the US should be able to read and understand a lot of the newspaper. So pure memorization can be overrated. Just like memorization of ritual. Learn what it means.
Now the one thing that the memorization demanded of the Japanese kids does, is teach them learning discipline. Which means that they also excell in math and science. Of course, they also spend 10-12 hours each day in school and in standard tutoring sessions and doing homework. And this is 5 1/2 days a week, year round.
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