Learning by Rote - The New Thing
Michael Gove is featured in the Telegraph today, suggesting that we need to copy the practices of top schools, which includes getting back to some of the more regimented methods of teaching - including learning by rote.
A few days ago I posted about how learning can be made fun. The flip side of this is that there are times when you just have to make people learn even if the method isn't popular; doing times tables by rote may be one of them.
My mental maths is quite good, and I am sure this is because of the hundreds upon hundreds of times I spent in Primary school reading out times tables; nearly 40 years later they are still stuck in my head. I know there are many other people that could say the same thing and, like me, could give numerous examples of where it has helped them.
Interestingly, I did an Open University exam last Monday (about the English language) and whilst I was revising I went back to the old tried and tested methods of creating and learning mnemonics and memorising dates by rote, which again can be boring, but certainly paid off in a number of areas (although we wait to see how the exam went overall).
The overall purpose of our education system is about preparing our young people for life. Nothing more, nothing less. If doing something dull but effective contributes to that, then it is worth it.
A few days ago I posted about how learning can be made fun. The flip side of this is that there are times when you just have to make people learn even if the method isn't popular; doing times tables by rote may be one of them.
My mental maths is quite good, and I am sure this is because of the hundreds upon hundreds of times I spent in Primary school reading out times tables; nearly 40 years later they are still stuck in my head. I know there are many other people that could say the same thing and, like me, could give numerous examples of where it has helped them.
Interestingly, I did an Open University exam last Monday (about the English language) and whilst I was revising I went back to the old tried and tested methods of creating and learning mnemonics and memorising dates by rote, which again can be boring, but certainly paid off in a number of areas (although we wait to see how the exam went overall).
The overall purpose of our education system is about preparing our young people for life. Nothing more, nothing less. If doing something dull but effective contributes to that, then it is worth it.
Labels: education, Michael Gove
posted by Martin Curtis at 8:50 AM
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