about why memorizing is good or not

1. What’s Wrong with Memorizing?
Years ago William James said students should focus less on strict memorization,
emphasizing more comprehensive strategies that promote learning. But before
students can become independent thinkers, don't they need to learn basic facts
that unfortunately can only be acquired through memorization? Doesn't
memorization, as well as the different ways to organize information, make it easier
to retrieve information from the brain? Wouldn't these be considered learning
strategies? Indeed, students must simply memorize a certain amount of
information so they can retrieve it when they need to use it. For example, "A" is the
first letter of the alphabet, and a chair is called a chair -- not a box or a table. These
are facts that a student must simply remember, and most of this basic data is
obtained at an early age.
Rote memorization is the easiest way to learn something. Its purpose is to create
automaticity, so that the child will know something without having to think about it.
There is no substitute for rote memorization in learning the arithmetic facts. That
knowledge is essential in order to perform in one's head or on paper the four
functions of arithmetic: adding, subtracting, multiplying and division. Being given a
calculator to perform these functions without having this basic knowledge in one's
head gives the child no clue as to whether the answer on the calculator is right or
wrong.

2. Unfortunately, the same approach used for memorization is often applied to
concepts for which complex thinking should be applied. Memorization is not a
means through which a student can become an independent thinker. Think about
it: how long would any of us remembered the alphabet had it simply been taught
and never used again? We remember the alphabet because we began to use it
almost immediately by writing letters to create words. Likewise, we used the
sounds each letter represents in order to read words. The same applies to all data
that is simply memorized and not used.
What we have to do is to encourage children to think. To ask them about their
schoolwork whether they are reading a story, studying for a test, or completing
math homework in class. To make them able to summarize the information,
participate in meaningful discussions. To assess their comprehension. Students
who memorize data don't learn to create information from their own vision. Even if
they can recall the data over time, they may not be able to apply it to new and
novel situations. The retained information may make them great partners at trivia
games, but it will not help educate insightful visionaries capable of creating
desperately needed new knowledge. Memorizing then, is a useful tool that
shouldn’t be overused or used haphazardly and that is necessary but we must not
forget about complex thinking.