Read Only Memory

One of the classy products of the massive, memory-machine factories that run across the country in the name of "schools", I thought it is not a bad idea to have a look at how a normal student is expected to learn here. (I would restrain from giving macro solutions) I still remember sitting with my incomplete Mental Arithmetic book - III as late as my VII standard. With dad near me, tears in my eyes, and total frustration in my heart I tried very hard to solve those nightmarish, yet simple problems. Of course by then I had memorised multiplication tables till 16 X 16, as expected. (By the way I do not remember beyond 11 X 11 these days.)Still there was neither confidence nor interest in me to take that III std book.
A very high score in my XII, engineering from a pretty impressive college, an MBA degree after that - all these things have not done anything to destroy my basic fear for fractions or percentages. Though somehow manage these things now, the basic hate remains. For your kind information, I have learnt French during my higher secondary classes. But today beyond "bon jour" I know nothing in French. This is because I just memorised those ten French lessons and the solved papers of earlier exams - and ended up making a decent score in the Board exams. Be it mathematics or language our system does not seem to differentiate - it is just the plain, vanilla Memory To Rescue. But even to memorise and remember things better there are sure shot techniques - our schools do not teach them also. So what exactly happens inside a school? I do not know much. While we were always asked to study well, how many of us were told how to study? Very few. Our society might not be really ready for an exploratory approach to education (the Tare Zamen Par - types), the schools can however ensure children get some basic tips on learning and remembering.
Here are some -
* Before starting to read any chapter, just flip through the pages of the chapter
* Read the summary of the chapter
* Go through the questions given at the end of the chapter
(These steps set the mind ready to accept and link information)
* Have a time-frame for each chapter.Realistic targets
* Avoid other distractions
(Our households strictly follow this point, by switching off the TV sets.Full marks here!)
* Do the chapter in manageable blocks rather than finishing at one go
* Try to read at one specific time period everyday
(The fixed schedule of schools and tuitions takes care of this)
* Wherever possible create personal relevance to the material studied
* Revise. Revise. Revise.
Above all just remind them life has more to do than school and exams. See I have managed my life without yet completing that III class Mental Arithmetic book!