Showing posts with label Need. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Need. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

Why is it a need to go to school?

I know my title is my way of whining. But "what is school supposed to be?"
"What does the school teaches that studying by yourself cannot give?"
Why do I go to school? So far from twenty years of going to school, I would say, 'I still am going to school to get my diploma.' I guess you could say, I'm tired of going to school. But it is a must for me to go because I need to learn what I must in my field. That's only during college where subjects are, at least, more focused to ones chosen profession. In high school and below, subjects are generalized from minor to major subjects. Students even take up subjects without any relevance to their chosen career path. (Poor kids and thank you, God, I'm done with them.)
But what does the school educate it's students? (Most of the time...to memorize?)
From what I know, school is supposed to be a place where knowledge are passed to the students or the younger generation. It is supposed to be a place where the youth acquire the knowledge and discoveries of the previous generations and acquire the skills they need for their chosen careers. But why is it students are, most of the time than not, forced to memorize their notes or what the teachers "teaches" them. The purpose of acquiring knowledge is now destroyed by this method of 'studying', if studying means memorizing.
I know how to memorize, thank you, but I don't know how to study. And I almost forgot the purpose of it since I only memorized its meaning. If I were to ask you, do you know how to study? Would you be able to answer without giving me the process of memorization?

Lately, I've come to know the term mnemonic. It is a technique people uses to remember things from names and faces to words spoken by people talking in front of them. It was discovered centuries ago, used by famous people, and yet only few remembers how to use it nowadays. It was then that I discovered how futile it was for teachers 'teaching' their students to study when they themselves only know how to memorize. What's my basis for this? I asked one of my teachers how he remembers the things listed in the book and his answer made the cold hands of dread creep up on my spine during that time, "I just memorize them. And you should too since it'll be showing up in the quiz next meeting". And I never even got half of them right despite I crammed to remember it all. I just stumbled a bit and everything just dropped to the ground. On another teacher, whose teaching style I very much like, would repeat the same questions everyday, during her oral recitation time, just to stick those technical terms in the students' heads at the same time stick the answers to those questions that tends to show up in her exams. She would always ask those questions everyday, just for her students to register, recall and remember the words. But despite her effort only few pays much attention, unfortunately. And it was only later then that I realized that she was letting us memorize the term but understand the meaning behind it. Because when I asked a fellow classmate,about some things related to that teacher's lesson, who was my classmate too under that subject, he can still remember the meaning but not the term used.

All in all, I do not say that going to school only stresses students and kills their brain cells thus it is bad for them. Nor do I say that one should never go to school because teachers are incompetent. No. I only wish to convey to teachers,especially the grade school and high school faculty, what I've learned so far and my wish that they should pass down the correct technique of studying to their students and using those techniques to give them the ability to remember their lessons and and the ability to never forget them for the next decade or  more and to the students, to also take the initiative to even use their imagination to remember, and not memorize, everything they've learned. Because despite the teachers' efforts to let you remember, if you yourself do not wish to remember, nothing will happen and you'll forget it all. And as my last message for this day, to the teacher who told me, and insisted, humans are using 100% of their brain already when I asked 'how many percent does an average human use in the current generation?', Ma'am, how wrong you are. lol

Comments, suggestions, criticisms and questions are always welcome. Please, if as much as possible, leave a comment after you read this. Thanks in advance and have a good day!
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