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crankyoldmanHoly fuck it's cold down here. I'm wearing like five shirts, and tights under my pants which are freaking corduroys, and I am still cold.
The rest of the tunnels are warm, but the computer lab is freezing. Arg.
Not much to report. Parents came by on their way back from Chicago and bought me lunch. I love free food, so. Kind of a dull day besides that. I did run into one of my Indians, though (yes, I have Indians as well as Canadians... it's like trading stamps or something). So someone else I know! He's kind of feeling weird, being one of the older people around.
I'm still feeling a little displaced. Not in a sad way, but wow. Have I really been in college this long? Boggles the mind.
And now for a side rant.
First, read this article.
For the most part, it looked right. And then I read it again.
Now, from experience in this kind of classwork, I know you have to like, sit and work out problems until you're blue in the face. Understandable. But here's my beef.
The emphasis on the word memorize.
Now, some things you just need to know innately. Multiplication. Certain constants (just so you don't have to look them up all the time). Everything else? No.
This would probably explain why it's taking me so long to graduate, but more so than my personal difficulties with memorization is the fact that memorizing something does not make you good with it.
In fact, in most math and science classes? They're attempting to teach you to extrapolate. They give you a bunch of examples of the basics of how to do something, and then they throw a twist in when they test you on it. Because if you really know the material, you'll be able to adapt.
Memorization is the crutch a lot of education these days seems to fall back on. "Look, they memorized it, it means they know it!" No, no they don't know it at all.
Ever seen that Are you smarter than a fifth grader? show? Notice how the kids tends to be "smarter"? Well, the truth is, they aren't. The material is just fresher in their minds. If you were to take the same kids and adults, let them study the material for about a month and then ask them related but not exact memorization questions? The result would be different.
Memorization is only something that should be used when people are young. Because they're more likely to actually remember the important stuff. I may not remember my state capitols anymore because I simply don't use them often, but you can be damned sure I know my multiplication tables and some of the basic physics constants.
I mean, it's how our brains work. It is harder to teach an old dog new tricks because it takes longer to make it something almost instinctual.
What really truly gets my goat is that across the board, a lot of cirricula forget this. I've got friends in grad school having to memorize tons of formulas that will be forgotten when they have their celebration beers when the final is over. Where is the learning, other than how to play the system?
Then again, I think about stuff like this too much. My job and now my project for history have made me notice things I didn't previously notice. Strange how that happens. XD
That kind of makes me sad, because I rather like Pick The Brain, the founder's not a bad kid (and he is a kid still, from what I noticed). But sometimes you have to wonder if those that are graduated simply forget what a pain in the ass it was when they give advice like that. Or they drank the koolaid.
~Cendri
The rest of the tunnels are warm, but the computer lab is freezing. Arg.
Not much to report. Parents came by on their way back from Chicago and bought me lunch. I love free food, so. Kind of a dull day besides that. I did run into one of my Indians, though (yes, I have Indians as well as Canadians... it's like trading stamps or something). So someone else I know! He's kind of feeling weird, being one of the older people around.
I'm still feeling a little displaced. Not in a sad way, but wow. Have I really been in college this long? Boggles the mind.
And now for a side rant.
First, read this article.
For the most part, it looked right. And then I read it again.
Now, from experience in this kind of classwork, I know you have to like, sit and work out problems until you're blue in the face. Understandable. But here's my beef.
The emphasis on the word memorize.
Now, some things you just need to know innately. Multiplication. Certain constants (just so you don't have to look them up all the time). Everything else? No.
This would probably explain why it's taking me so long to graduate, but more so than my personal difficulties with memorization is the fact that memorizing something does not make you good with it.
In fact, in most math and science classes? They're attempting to teach you to extrapolate. They give you a bunch of examples of the basics of how to do something, and then they throw a twist in when they test you on it. Because if you really know the material, you'll be able to adapt.
Memorization is the crutch a lot of education these days seems to fall back on. "Look, they memorized it, it means they know it!" No, no they don't know it at all.
Ever seen that Are you smarter than a fifth grader? show? Notice how the kids tends to be "smarter"? Well, the truth is, they aren't. The material is just fresher in their minds. If you were to take the same kids and adults, let them study the material for about a month and then ask them related but not exact memorization questions? The result would be different.
Memorization is only something that should be used when people are young. Because they're more likely to actually remember the important stuff. I may not remember my state capitols anymore because I simply don't use them often, but you can be damned sure I know my multiplication tables and some of the basic physics constants.
I mean, it's how our brains work. It is harder to teach an old dog new tricks because it takes longer to make it something almost instinctual.
What really truly gets my goat is that across the board, a lot of cirricula forget this. I've got friends in grad school having to memorize tons of formulas that will be forgotten when they have their celebration beers when the final is over. Where is the learning, other than how to play the system?
Then again, I think about stuff like this too much. My job and now my project for history have made me notice things I didn't previously notice. Strange how that happens. XD
That kind of makes me sad, because I rather like Pick The Brain, the founder's not a bad kid (and he is a kid still, from what I noticed). But sometimes you have to wonder if those that are graduated simply forget what a pain in the ass it was when they give advice like that. Or they drank the koolaid.
~Cendri