What's happening in 6th grade?
For starters, I am very surprised by my thinking after thinking this one out...Disclaimer #1: I guess it should be noted that my thinking is continually evolving, especially listening to my brilliant edu-friends hash it out all day! My thinking is always being shifted, so if there is any push back, please share! Disclaimer #2: I'm not a cognitive scientist! These thoughts have come through conversation with other educators, personal experience, and reflection! As usual, the #4ocf Voxer Group has really challenged and transformed my thinking on this topic. I presented the graphic (below) last evening half-joking, but curious about the response of others in regard to this seemingly antiquated styled assignment. "MEMORIZE THE PREAMBLE." I can recall in high school memorizing the Gettysburg Address (Mostly memorizing... I think I got an 85%? Can you really assess memorization quantitatively in this fashion? Not a discussion for now!) and Annabel Lee by Poe. Memorization and recitation has always caused me great angst. In high school, I performed in one fall play and three musicals with two leads over the years. Each time... great anxiety over the memorization of lines. All this being said, the assignment posted below made me cringe and laugh (due to the "all-or-nothing" nature of it. So... What's the verdict? To memorize? Or, not to memorize?Again, presenting some ideas here that challenged my own thinking today as to why memorization of facts is not the evil which I had previously believed. Start With WhyTrevor Bryan, Matt Larson, and Elizabeth Merce (and others) are constantly reminding myself and others to START WITH THE WHY. What's your why? What is your end goal? What's your purpose? I'll admit, I'm not doing this continual metacognition and reflection, but am becoming better! Is the end goal rote memorization? Is your only goal to have them recite and regurgitate with little other thinking? If so, have at it! Or, when it comes to something such as the Preamble, is the goal a deeper understanding of the principles that lay within? If so, you may want to reconsider the type of memorization your students are doing in the classroom. Can deeper understanding happen through pure rote memorization? Maybe? For some? Usually no. Not for me, that's for sure. Students should be tearing apart the content or text. Analyzing. Reflecting. Creating. For example, the teacher could be asking... how are the principles found in the Preamble being applied today in government? Are they being applied? Maybe students are memorizing in class, but more as a fruit of deeper learning. I have no problem with this! PassionsMatt and Rachelle spoke this evening of memorization happening in conjunction with your passions and leisure activities. I mentioned earlier that I have some background in theater. Despite memorization being semi-nightmarish and nerve wracking for me, in the end, some of my best memories occurred on stage performing in Beauty and the Beast as Maurice (Bell's dad) or in Music Man. Memorization was not the end goal here, but rather the end goal was owning the story and sharing in this story line with others on stage and with the audience. Similar experiences were mentioned by formed marching band member. Routines and music must be memorized in order to put on the performance. Again, the end goal is the experience and to entertain, and not necessarily the memorization in and of itself. Having played baseball for many years, signs were a key part of the game. You needed to memorize the signs. Believe it or not, back in the day I was a base stealer (when I was a skinny kid)! Knowing and memorizing the third base coach's signs are key to any team's success! Nevertheless, Matt helped me to understand that memorization occurs when you want to and when you need. Again, in these cases, memorization was not the end goal. You need to have a little filing cabinet in your head!Is memorization even necessary at this point? Yes! It is necessary that every human has some bank of knowledge in their brains! Whether it is your address, telephone number, favorite sports players, times tables, etc. There are most definitely times to memorize these facts. When it comes to our jobs and responsibilities. I sure hope my doctor has memorized his treatment plans or procedures! I hope administration and teachers have memorized most security protocols! Memorization is necessary. It happens. Maybe not through rote practice, but through experience. Nevertheless, memorization happens. Also, as functioning contributing members of society, we need to (and do) develop some sort of schema! We need some degree of background knowledge when it comes to our every day tasks and responsibilities. What sort of society would we live in if nobody was informed on any issues? Policies? Basic scientific, economic, government-related principles? (For those who believe we are already there, this is a debate for another time. ;) ) What if we relied on Google to recall any basic fact? We would be mindless. Not good, especially in the age of AI! There needs to be, and there will be due to one's life experience, some degree of memorization. That about wraps it up... Memorization is still necessary!I only reflected on a few of the points that stuck out to me throughout today's conversation, but there are many other facets of this conversation. I didn't do the exchange justice, but I needed to get down my thoughts because I knew I would not remember otherwise.
I'm surprised to have come to this conclusion (at least at this time). Memorization is necessary. It happens through our human experience and helps us to live fuller and more rich lives by applying what we know. As with anything, it should, and usually does, have purpose. As educators, if ever assigning something such as that seen above, we need to reflect on the WHY. What is the end goal? What's your purpose?
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About MeLouie here! 5th Grade Teacher. Level 2 Google Educator. Love all things Google. 1:1 Chromebooks. Archives
June 2020
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