Do School Children Memorize Today? S/O Sorta

[eema.gray]

The article about the geneticist and intellegence made me think about something.

When I was in school, we memorized stuff regularly and often.  I would venture to guess that by high school, the memory averaged out to 2 items a month that had to be memorized and presented to the teacher either orally or written on a test.

Do schools cultivate the skill of memorization today?

Do you think the skill of memorizing and recalling helps to exercise the brain and improve information retention?

[IAMmomtotrips]

I make my students memorize and present speeches and poems all the time. Memorization is low on the bloom's, but we had standards for public speaking and I am the wicked witch when it comes to presentations! My 9th graders are currently presenting the memorized "A Road Not Taken"...on Friday, they turn in their poetry notebook, and then next week, they present their speech on a chosen poet and poem for a major poet.

[FrogSalad]

My first grader hasn't been required to memorize anything beyond spelling words at this point.  I don't know what strategies the teacher employs in class but we write, sound out digraphs and orally spell the words at home throughout the week and he has a quiz over the words on Friday.  Math homework consists of addition/subtraction problems.  He brings home a self-guided reading book every day and then takes a five-question quiz over the material once we've decided he understands the words and the story.  If he scores 80-100% on 3 books of a level, he progresses up to the next reading level.  That way, the teacher can assess if he's comprehending the story or if he's simply memorized the words.

[fullxbusymom]

Our kids have to memorize all the time.  Sight words, addition & subtraction facts, multiplication facts. Social studies require a ton of memorization, as does science.

[lga1965]

Sure they memorize but then they need to know WHY,don't you think ?

[nurbabe82]

 Memorization is used at ds' school with sight words. I have mixed feelings about it with the sight words in particular because they are learning reading rules and then he tries to apply them to the sight words when he is first learning them, and it doesn't always work and it confuses him. But I think memorization is used a lot in school intentional or not (test, etc.)

[eema.gray]

As an example, when I was in oh, probably fourth or fifth grade, I had to memorize the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution.  I KNOW I understand what those documents were all about, not then.  But when I did learn ABOUT those documents a few years later, I already had the texts set in my head so the who and why added depth to something I already knew a little about.

Quoting lga1965:

Sure they memorize but then they need to know WHY,don't you think ?

[lga1965]

Yes, exactly. We had to memorize a lot if Shakespeare in English class, then interpret what the speeches and sonnets meant,too.

Quoting eema.gray:

As an example, when I was in oh, probably fourth or fifth grade, I had to memorize the Declaration of Independence and the Preamble to the Constitution.  I KNOW I understand what those documents were all about, not then.  But when I did learn ABOUT those documents a few years later, I already had the texts set in my head so the who and why added depth to something I already knew a little about.

Quoting lga1965:

Sure they memorize but then they need to know WHY,don't you think ?