Memorization vs. Inspiration
My friend Maurile sends me this link to "A Mathematician's Lament" by Paul Lockhart. My response to Lockhart's argument is bravo--so long as we are careful not to abandon knowledge in favor of inspiration alone. He is right that memorization without insight is death, though memorization is valuable as the handmaiden to knowledge and understanding. The right relation of the two has always been at the heart of good teaching. So more power to Lockhart and to all rightly inspiring teachers!
posted by G.Rap | 5:57 PM
3 Comments:
Memorization without insight or understanding is the dilemma facing China's educational system. To advance educationally, politically, and economically under China's current communist regime, a student must score well on standardized tests. To score well, the student must memorize and regurgitate thousands of facts; unfortunately, no analysis and reasoning is required. As a friend of mine who now lives and works in Shanghai told me in December, children in China do not understand the joy of learning.
I've heard similar things about China. What are the long-term consequences of this type of educational system? I know such a system is less than ideal, but what will be its effects?
I am no expert on the China question. I invite anyone who is to reply here. What I can say is that, allowing for cultural differences, any society that treats its children as products rather than persons is going to harm both its children and itself.
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