MEMORIZING, AS A FIFTH FACTOR IN STUDY
"All the intellectual value for us of a state of mind depends on our
after-memory of it," says Professor James. [Footnote: William James's
_Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 644.]
_Importance of memory._
In other words, there would be little object importance in reading, or
reflection, or travel, or in experience in general, if such experience
could not later be recalled so as to be further enjoyed and used. Want
of reference thus far to memory does not, therefore, signify any lack
of appreciation of its worth. No time is likely to come when a low
estimate will be placed upon memory.
_Usual prominence of memorizing as a factor in study, and the result._
How prominent memorizing should be, however, is a question of great
importance.
The four factors of study that have now been considered are the
finding of specific aims, the supplementing of the thought of authors,
the organizing of ideas, and the judging of their general worth. These
four activities together constitute a large part of what is called
_thinking._ Memorizing--meaning thereby, in contrast to thinking,
the conscious effort to impress ideas upon the mind so that they can
be reproduced--has usually been a more prominent part of study than
all these four combined. The Jesuits, for example, who were leaders in
education for two hundred years, made repetition "the mother of
studies," and it is still so prominent, even among adults, that the
average student regards memorizing as the nearest synonym for the term
studying. Repetition, or drill, however, is far from an inspiring kind
of employment. It involves nothing new or refreshing; it is mere
hammering, that makes no claim upon involuntary attention. When it is
so prominent, therefore, it stultifies the mind, starving and
discouraging the student and defeating the main purpose of study.
_Reasons for such prominence._
If the work of memorizing is so uninteresting and even injurious, why
is it made so prominent? There are probably numerous reasons; but only
three will here be considered.
In the first place, memorizing is more superficial than real thinking,
and people generally prefer to be somewhat superficial and mechanical.
It takes energy to dig into things, and, being rather lazy, we are
very often content to remain on the outside of them. Children show in
many little ways how natural it is to be mechanical. For instance,
rather than think the ideas _adverb_ and _present active participle,_
they will recognize words ending in _ly_ as adverbs, and those ending
in _ing_ as present active participles. They will class words as
prepositions or conjunctions by memorizing the entire list of each,
rather than by thinking the relations that these parts of speech
express. Young men and women, likewise, will memorize demonstrations
in geometry rather than reason them out, and will memorize other
people's opinions rather than attempt to think for themselves. Even
though it is often really easier to rely upon one's own power to think
than upon memory, it takes some depth of nature to recognize the fact
and act accordingly.
Teachers show this tendency as plainly as students. In preparing
lesson plans, for example, very few will get beyond what is mechanical
and formal. The reason that recitations are so largely memory tests,
too, is that teachers put mere memory questions more easily than they
put questions that provoke thought. It is, therefore, a well-
established natural trait that is back of so much mechanical
memorizing.
A second reason for the prominence of memorizing is found in the
desire to strengthen the memory through its exercise. We know that the
arm may be developed by the lifting of weights, so that it will be
stronger for lifting anything that comes in its way. So it has long
been a common belief that memory, as a faculty of the mind, could be
developed by any kind of exercise so as to be stronger for all kinds
of recall. Many words in spelling, many dates in history, many places
in geography, many facts in grammar and even in the more advanced
studies, have been learned rather because they were supposed to
develop memory than for any other reason. Thus the desire of
strengthening memory has considerably increased the amount of
memorizing.
The belief that memorizing normally precedes thinking rather than
follows it, is a third very important reason for the prominence of
memorizing. "The most important part of every Mussulman's training,"
says Batzel, "is to learn the Koran, by which must be understood
learning it by heart, for it would be wrong to wish to _understand_
the Koran till one knew it by heart." [Footnote: Batzel, _The History
of Mankind,_ Vol. III, p. 218.] We hold no conscientious scruples
against understanding statements before attempting to memorize them;
but one might think that we did, for our practice in memorizing
Scripture generally corresponds to that of the Mussulman in learning
the Koran. I venture to affirm, also, that the average student
habitually begins the study of his lessons by memorizing, with the
expectation of doing whatever thinking is necessary later. The average
teacher conducts recitations in the same manner. There is the defense
for this practice, too, in the fact that it seems logical to get the
raw materials for reflection into our possession before trying to
reflect upon them. The result, however, is that a surprisingly small
amount of thinking is done; for the memorizing requires so much time
and energy that, in spite of good intentions, the thinking is
postponed for a more convenient season until it constitutes an
insignificant part of study, while memorizing, the drudgery of study
becomes its main factor.
_How this prominence may be reduced._
If it is possible to reduce the prominence of mechanical memorizing,
it is highly desirable to do so, for it is unreasonable to defeat the
ends of education in the attempt to educate. Let us see how this may
be accomplished.
_1. By providing more motivation._
There is no complete cure for our tendency toward the superficial and
mechanical, due to mental laziness; the defect is too deep. Yet to the
extent that we increase our motive for effort a cure is found. Live
purposes give force; they make one earnest enough to fix the whole
attention upon a task, and to determine to get at the heart of it;
they deepen one's nature. Full concentration of attention, due to
interest and exercise of will power, is one of the chief conditions of
rapid memorizing. Some of the ways in which such purposes may be
supplied have already been discussed in Chapter III.
_2. By abandoning attempts to strengthen the general power of memory._
In the second place, we can afford to abandon all attempts to develop
the _general power_ of memory. The power of various crude materials to
retain impressions that are made upon them varies greatly according to
their nature. Jelly, for instance, has little such power; sand has
little more; clay possesses it in a higher degree, and stone in a far
higher still. But whatever persistence of impressions a given lot of
any one of these materials may possess, it can never be changed, it is
a fixed quantity.
The same holds in regard to the brain matter. Some men have brains
that retain almost everything. Professor James tells, [Footnote:
_Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 660.] for instance, of a Pennsylvania
farmer who could remember the day of the week on which any date had
fallen for forty-two years past, and also the kind of weather at the
time. He tells further of an acquaintance who remembered the old
addresses of numerous New York City friends, addresses that the
friends had long since moved from and forgotten; nothing that this man
had ever heard or read seemed to escape him. Other persons, on the
other hand, possess little power to retain names, dates, quotations,
and scattered facts; their desultory memory, as it is called, is very
poor. But whatever native retentive power any particular brain happens
to have, can never be altered. The general persistence of impressions
of each person is a physiological or physical power depending on the
nature of his brain matter, and it is invariable. "No amount of
culture would seem capable of modifying a man's general
retentiveness," [Footnote: _Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 663.] says James.
Again, "There can be no improvement of the general or elementary
faculty of memory." [Footnote: _Talks to Teachers,_ p. 123.] Our
desultory memories, in other words, are given to us once for all.
It is commonly supposed, on the contrary, that persons who memorize a
great deal, such as actors, greatly strengthen their general memory in
that way. "I have carefully questioned several mature actors on the
point," says James, "and all have denied that the practice of learning
parts has made any such difference as is alleged." [Footnote:
_Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 664.] Actors certainly do increase their
ability to memorize certain kinds of subject-matter. Any one who has
much practice in learning lists of names, even, is likely to increase
his ability for that and similar tasks, just as one who learns to play
tennis well is aided thereby in playing baseball. The reason for such
improvement, however, is found largely, if not wholly, in improvement
in one's method of work, as will be made clear later, rather than in
any increase in general retentive power.
While the question of improving the memory is somewhat in dispute,
[Footnote: See _Educational Review_ for June, 1908.] and some
psychologists assert that _any_ kind of memorizing will have _some_
effect on all other kinds, it is safe to say that mere exercise of
memory is, for all practical purposes, useless as a means of
strengthening general memory. Only those things, therefore, should
be memorized that are intrinsically worthy of being reproduced.
_3. By improving the method of memorizing._
Even though a person's native retentive power cannot be improved, the
skill with which he uses whatever power he has can be increased. Men
who lift pianos find the work very difficult at first; but soon it
becomes reasonably easy. The greater ease is not due to any marked
increase in strength, but rather to increased skill in using strength.
It is due to improvement in method; they learn how.
So it may be with memorizing. A large portion of such work is usually
awkward, consisting of repetitions that consume much time and energy.
But it is possible so to improve the method that memory tasks will
occupy comparatively little time.
_How facts are recalled._
Before discussing ways in which the method of memorizing can be
improved, it is necessary to consider how facts are recalled.
Impressions are not stored away in the brain, and afterward recalled,
in an isolated state, or independently of one another. On the
contrary, they are more or less intimately related as they are
learned, and recall always takes place through association of some
sort. "Whatever appears in the mind must be _introduced;_ and,
when introduced, it is as the associate of something already there."
[Footnote: James's _Talks to Teachers,_ p. 118.]
The breakfast I ate this morning recalls the persons who sat around
the table; memory of one of those persons reminds me of a task that I
was to attend to to-day; that task suggests the fact that I must also
go to the bank to get some money, etc. Thus every fact that is
recalled is marshaled forth by the aid of some other that is connected
with it, and which acts as the cue to it. This is so fully true that
there is even the possibility of tracing our sequence of ideas
backward step by step as far as we wish. "The laws of association
govern, in fact, all the trains of our thinking which are not
interrupted by sensations breaking on us from without," says James.
[Footnote: _Ibid._]
_How method of memorizing may be improved._
Since any idea is recalled through its connection with other ideas,
the greater the number and the closeness of such relations, the better
chance it stands to be reproduced. Improvement in one's method of
memorizing, in other words, must consist mainly in increasing the
number and closeness of associations among facts. A list of unrelated
words is extremely difficult to remember; every additional relation
furnishes a new approach to any fact; and, the closer this relation,
the more likely it is to cause the reproduction.
_1. By more of less mechanical association._
Even the simplest associations, that are largely mechanical, may be
important aids to memory. For example, it is much easier to learn the
telephone number _1236_ by remembering that the sum of the first
three numbers forms the fourth than by memorizing each figure
separately. _Teacher_ is a word whose spelling often causes
trouble; but when _teach_ is associated with _each_, which is
seldom misspelled, the difficulty is removed. _There_ and _their_ are
two words whose spelling is a source of much confusion; but it is
overcome when _there_ is associated with _where_ and _here,_ and
_their_ with _her, your, our,_ etc. _Sight, site,_ and _cite_ are
still worse stumbling-blocks in spelling; but the difficulty is
largely overcome when _sight_ is firmly associated with _light_ and
_night, site_ with _situation,_ and _cite_ with _recite._ The
association of the sound of a word with its meaning is an important
help in remembering the meanings of some words, as _rasping,_ for
example. Professor James, I believe, tells of some one who forgot his
umbrella so often that he practiced associating _umbrella_ with
_doorway_ until the two ideas were almost inseparable. Then, whenever
he passed through a doorway on his way out of doors, he was reminded
to take his umbrella along. While there might be some disadvantages in
this particular association, it forcibly suggests the value of
association in general.
The various mnemonic systems that have been so widely advertised have
usually been nothing more than plans for the mechanical association of
facts. Sometimes, to be sure, it has been more difficult to remember
the system than to memorize the facts themselves; yet they, too, give
witness to the value of association.
I once asked a thirteen-year-old girl, in a history class, when Eli
Whitney lived. She gave the exact month and day, but failed to recall
either the year or the part of the century, or even the century. Her
answer showed plainly that her method of study was doubly wrong; for
she not only offended against relative values in learning the month
and day while forgetting the century, but she revealed no tendency to
associate Whitney's invention with any particular period of history.
Even cross-questioning brought no such tendency to light. She was
depending on mere retentiveness to hold dates in mind. The habit of
memorizing facts in this disconnected way is common among adults as
well as children, and as a remedy against it the student should form
the habit of frequently asking himself the question, "With what am I
associating this fact or idea?"
In contrast with associations that are more or less mechanical, there
are vital associations that are possible in all studies containing
rich subject-matter.
_2. By close thought association.
(1) Through attention to the outline._
Early association of the principal ideas, or early recognition of the
outline of thought, is perhaps the most important of these. One can
proceed sentence by sentence, or "bit by bit," in memorizing as in
thinking, adding one such fragment after another until the whole is
learned. But the early recognition of the main ideas in their proper
sequence is far superior. These essentials give peculiar control over
the details by grouping them in an orderly manner and furnishing their
cue so that the whole is more easily memorized. This is true even in
the case of verbal memorizing, as is evidenced by a certain minister
quoted by Professor James. "As for memory, mine has improved year by
year, except when in ill-health, like a gymnast's muscle. Before
twenty it took three or four days to commit an hour-long sermon; after
twenty, two days, one day, one-half day, and now one slow analytic,
very attentive or adhesive reading does it. But memory seems to me the
most physical of intellectual powers. Bodily ease and freshness have
much to do with it. Then there is great difference <of facility in
method. I used to commit _sentence_ by _sentence._ Now I take the idea
of the whole, then its leading divisions, then its subdivisions, then
its sentences." [Footnote: James, _Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 668.]
Thus early attention to organization is a large factor in memorizing,
as in study that aims principally at comprehension of the thought.
Where good organization is wanting,--as in tracing lessons in
geography, and other mere tests of facts,--this aid to memorizing is
lacking, and one must depend more upon brute memory power. On the
other hand, where the portions of one's knowledge have become so
closely interrelated and so well organized that they form a well-knit
system of thought, one's ability to remember may be surprising.
Spencer and Darwin were examples of men whose ideas were thus
organized. Neither of them possessed phenomenal memories to start
with; but their observations so generally found a group of close
relations to sustain them, and these groups were associated with one
another in such a close and orderly way, that the outline of the whole
could be easily surveyed, and any fact could be quickly reproduced,
just as any book can be speedily found in a well-organized library.
Thus, as we grow older, if the organization of our knowledge is
improving, the power of reproducing it will likewise be increasing.
_(2) Through comparisons._
Comparisons are another means of establishing valuable thought
connections. Study by topics, also, furnishes special opportunity for
comparisons. "It is generally better," says James Baldwin, "to learn
what different writers have thought and said concerning that matter of
which you are making a special study. Not many books are to be read
hastily through." [Footnote: James Baldwin, _The Book Lover,_ p. 43.]
Koopman likewise declares, "A single trial will prove to any student
the superiority, in interest, of the topical and comparative over the
chronological and consecutive method of studying history." [Footnote:
Koopman, _Mastery of Books,_ p. 43.] Again, "The student who has not
known the pleasure of reading _all_ the works of an author, as a study
in personality, has a great source of enjoyment still before him."
[Footnote: _Ibid.,_ p. 44.]
Many persons have the feeling that it is a moral duty, after having
begun a book, to read it through. Here is the recommendation that our
reading for a time "converge to one point"; that we find, for example,
what several psychologies have to say on one topic, such as memory,
rather than read one psychology from cover to cover. The value of
comparison for thoroughness has already been emphasized. Its value
from the view-point of memory is great, not only because it insures
more lasting impressions due to increased interest, as just suggested,
but also because each new comparison, while reviewing, also
establishes new and closer associations among old ideas.
_Memorizing of Kipling's "Seal Lullaby."_
According to the above, we can best memorize by establishing whatever
associations seem interesting and reasonable. Take, for instance,
Kipling's Seal Lullaby:--
Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that sparkled so green.
The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow;
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee,
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.
The music of the rhythm leads one to read it aloud from time to time.
The first two lines are an announcement of bedtime; the next three
tell where the resting place is, and the last three give assurance of
safety--that is the outline. Any one has often observed how black the
waters become as night approaches, and the picture is vividly recalled
as the first couplet is read. "Combers" is almost a strange word, but
its use makes its meaning reasonably clear. Is there a cradle of some
sort? And a good pillow, too? Is there any tenderness indicated on the
part of the mother? Any pet names applied? What dangers might cause
uneasiness? Which is the most beautiful part? What lullabies of our
childhood does this recall? How does this one compare in beauty with
"Rock-a-bye-baby"? Let us sing each, in order to judge. What marked
contrast is there between the two, in the latter part?
I first ran across this lullaby in company with two friends, to each
of whom it was entirely new. It appealed to us so strongly that we
read it aloud several times and talked it over. We considered some
questions such as the above, and compared it with "Rock-a-bye-baby,"
disagreeing somewhat in our opinions. When we left it, each of us
nearly or quite knew it by heart, although we had scarcely thought of
trying to memorize it. In this way the association of ideas with one
another, particularly with things that have been long cherished, is a
very valuable aid to memory.
_Where the fault in cramming lies._
To some persons this method of memorizing through association of ideas
will seem very slow. It must be acknowledged that there is a more
rapid way, called _cramming._ Every mature student has found
that, under great pressure, he can commit to memory the substance of
thought, and even the words, for an astonishing amount of matter. The
difficulty is, however, that it will hold only up to a certain hour,
the hour after examination, for example; then it goes so rapidly that
one can fairly feel it slipping away. Such rapid memorizing is a
witness to the value of very close attention in study; but the rapid
escape is testimony to the necessity of a closer association of facts.
Owing to undue haste the ideas are crowded into the memory without
becoming intimately related, or tied together, in numerous ways. Then,
when some part is forgotten, as is sure to happen, the other parts,
being unrelated to it, offer no cue for its reproduction. Thus one
part after another is lost; and, even though the ideas are closely
related by nature, the lack of appreciation of such relationship on
the part of the student allows the whole to escape as rapidly as mere
lists of facts. To be firmly remembered, either a great amount of
drill is necessary, or else the ideas must be _assimilated_, and
assimilation cannot be hurried in this manner.
_The principal means of making mechanical memorization less
prominent._
The ordinary plan of study, by which memorizing precedes thinking,
results, as we have seen, in crowding out thinking by leaving little
time and energy for it. Memorizing thus becomes a substitute for
thinking, and makes study an extremely dull task. This is an
inversion, however, of the true order. If thinking is made to precede
conscious attempts to memorize, the nourishing character of study is
assured, and direct attempts at memorizing become largely unnecessary,
because most of the memorizing has already been accomplished
unconsciously. In other words, _memorizing then becomes a by-product
of thinking, instead of a substitute for it._ We often regret the
prominence of memorizing in study, and here is probably the principal
means of reducing it. There will be less of it, to the extent that we
do more thinking; and there will be far more thinking if we put
thinking first in time, thereby making it first in importance.
I once saw Kipling's _Seal Lullaby_ presented to seven-year-old
children. The teacher read it aloud from the blackboard, then the
class read it. Then the class set to work to memorize it, a line or
two at a time. This was a good example of bad method, for adults as
well as for children. If they had planned first to _enjoy_ the
poem by trying to read it several times aloud with expression, by
talking it over, illustrating it and singing it, the memorizing would
have taken care of itself. As it was, their teacher's haste to have it
_learned,_ amounted to a direct advocacy of the principle of cramming;
for they were attempting to memorize through force rather than through
association of ideas. One reason older students practice cramming to
such an extent is that they have never been fully taught a better
method; the schools have never fully stood for a better method of
memorizing.
So long as memorizing is put first in time, and therefore in
importance, those persons who have quick memories will be held up as
the ideal students, whether they have higher abilities or not. Quick
memories, however, are poor educators indeed unless they are coupled
with unusual earnestness and energy. With all classes of students,
therefore, the thinking should habitually precede attempts to
memorize.
_Examples of improvement in memory through closer attention and better
method._
From all that has been said, it is plain that _how_ to memorize is
closely bound up with the question _when_ to memorize. We are now
ready to appreciate the statement that good memorizing is really
good thinking, and that improvement in memory is mainly improvement in
attention and in method of thinking.
This is in general true, even in spite of some opinions to the
contrary. Thurlow Weed, the journalist and politician, for example,
greatly increased his ability to remember, and attributed the
improvement to an increase in his general power of memory, due to its
exercise. He relates his experience in the following words:--
My memory was a sieve. I could remember nothing. Dates, names,
appointments, faces--everything escaped me. I said to my wife,
"Catherine, I shall never make a successful politician, for I cannot
remember, and that is a prime necessity of politicians."
My wife told me I must train my memory. So, when I came home that
night, I sat down and spent fifteen minutes trying silently to recall
with accuracy the principal events of the day. I could remember but
little at first; now I remember that I could not then recall what I
had for breakfast. After a few days' practice I found I could recall
more. Events came back to me more minutely, more accurately, and more
vividly than at first. After a fortnight or so of this, Catherine
said, "Why don't you relate to me the events of the day, instead of
recalling them to yourself? It would be interesting, and my interest
in it would be a stimulus to you."
Having great respect for my wife's opinion, I began a habit of oral
confession, as it were, which was continued for almost fifty years.
Every night, the last thing before retiring, I told her everything I
could remember that had happened to me, or about me, during the day, I
generally recalled the dishes I had had for breakfast, dinner, and
tea; the people I had seen, and what they had said; the editorials I
had written for my paper, giving her a brief abstract of them. I
mentioned all the letters I had sent and received, and the very
language used, as nearly as possible; when I had walked or ridden--I
told her everything that had come within my observation.
I found I could say my lessons better and better every year, and
instead of the practice growing irksome, it became a pleasure to go
over again the events of the day. I am indebted to this discipline for
a memory of somewhat unusual tenacity, and I recommend the practice to
all who wish to store up facts, or expect to have much to do with
influencing men. [Footnote: Quoted by James, _Psychology,_ Vol. I, p.
665.]
Professor James comments on this experience as follows:--
I do not doubt that Mr. Weed's practical command of his past
experiences was much greater after fifty years of this heroic drill
than it would have been without it. Expecting to give his account in
the evening, he _attended_ better to each incident of the day, named
and conceived it differently, set his mind upon it, and in the evening
went over it again. He did more _thinking_ about it, and it stayed
with him in consequence. But I venture to affirm pretty confidently...
that the same matter, casually attended to and not thought about,
would have stuck in his memory no better at the end than at the
beginning of his years of heroic self-discipline. He had acquired a
better method of noting and recording his experiences, but his
physiological retentiveness was probably not a bit improved.
[Footnote: James, _Psychology,_ Vol. I, p. 666.]
Again, as to the memorizing of facts by actors, Professor James
says:--
What it has done for them is to improve their power of _studying_
a part systematically. Their mind is now full of precedents in the way
of intonation, emphasis, gesticulation; the new words awaken distinct
suggestions and decisions; are caught up, in fact, into a preexisting
network, like the merchant's prices or the athlete's store of records,
and are recollected easier, although the mere native tenacity is not a
whit improved, and is usually, in fact, impaired by age.
It is a case of better remembering by better thinking. Similarly when
schoolboys improve by practice in ease of learning by heart, the
improvement will, I am sure, be always found to reside in the _mode
of study of the particular piece_ (due to the greater interest, the
greater suggestiveness, the generic similarity with other pieces, the
more sustained attention, etc., etc.) and not at all to any
enhancement of the brute retentive power. [Footnote: _Ibid._, p.
664.]
_The prominence of drill._
It still remains to consider the extent to which mere repetition or
drill should be prominent. Some help toward an answer may be found in
certain recent investigations into the value of drill, and in certain
recent improvements in method.
Spelling, arithmetic, and language being the subjects that have
required the largest amount of drill, these will be the principal
studies here considered.
Dr. O. P. Cornman in his _Spelling in the Elementary School_ recounts
some very interesting investigations into the value of drill in that
subject. In two schools, each containing the usual eight grades, the
use of the spelling book and home lessons in the subject were
abandoned for a period of three years. At the same time the period
which had been devoted to studying and reciting in spelling in
school was omitted from the school program, making the mastery of
spelling entirely an incidental matter. The results thus obtained were
then compared with the results previously obtained in spelling in
those two schools, and also in a number of other schools that devoted
from ten to fifty minutes daily to spelling. The conclusion reached
was that "the spelling drill as at present administered throughout the
country adds little or nothing to the effectiveness of the mere
incidental teaching of spelling"; [Footnote: Cornman, _Spelling in
the Elementary School,_ p. 66.] or, again, that it "is of so little
importance as to be practically negligible." [Footnote: _Ibid.,_ p.
65.] This result may have been due to a considerable extent to poor
texts in spelling and to the ineffective methods of drilling used.
A large portion of the time spent on arithmetic in the first six
grades is usually occupied with drill. Some schools devote a full
fifth of their time to this study, thus making the drill in arithmetic
very prominent. It is commonly supposed that so much repetition
greatly improves the results. Yet, according to investigations
undertaken by Dr. C. W. Stone, "a large amount of time spent on
arithmetic is no guarantee of a high degree of efficiency. If one were
to choose at random among the schools with more than the median time
given to arithmetic, the chances are that he would get a school with
an inferior product; and, conversely, if one were to choose among the
schools with less than the median time cost, the chances are about
equal that he would get a school with a superior product in
arithmetic." [Footnote: Stone, _Arithmetical Abilities: Some Factors
Determining Them,_ p. 62.]
Such conclusions as these give ground for suspicion of any very large
amount of drill, even in these drill subjects; it involves too much
waste. One important reason for the waste is the fact that drills
usually are uninteresting or lack motive, and on that account
attention lags, until one learns slowly or not at all. It is true that
one can and ought to _will_ to do certain necessary things. But
even adults are so made that an act of will insures close attention
for only a moment at a time, then attention lags again; sustained
attention is assured only when the work undertaken is subordinated to
some real interest, so that attention is involuntary.
Recent advances in method of studying language offer further
suggestions in regard to the advisable prominence of drill. In the
study of modern languages, for example, it used to be the custom to
depend largely upon drill for the mastery of a vocabulary, and of the
forms of the verbs, nouns, and other parts of speech. Likewise in
teaching children to read English it was customary for much drill on
new words to precede the actual use of such words in reading. Now much
more rapid progress is effected both in modern languages and in our
vernacular by greatly increasing the amount of matter read and
decreasing, correspondingly, the quantity of drill. The suggestion,
therefore, is here made that not only the extensive drills of former
times involve much waste, but also that they are probably unnecessary.
Further than that, since a closer and more abundant association of
facts has already eliminated a large amount of drill, it may be
expected that the good work of elimination will go on much farther.
Very extensive drills in the future, therefore, do not promise to be a
recommendation for the teacher who is responsible for employing them;
they will be the resort of those persons who lack the energy or
ability to do a higher kind of work, that is, to _think_.
We need not congratulate ourselves, however, that drills will ever
disappear entirely; some drill, like some punishments for children,
will probably always be in place, and a considerable amount is still
necessary. We must expect a fair amount because we shall probably
never be bright enough to make the associations of ideas fully take
the place of review by drill. In particular it must be remembered that
those portions of our knowledge that we expect to use daily must
become second nature to us, or be reduced to habit; that means that
many facts must become familiar enough to be reproduced instantly
without effort. That is the case, for example, with the multiplication
table. Thoughtful association is only a good beginning in the
formation of habits; repetition also has a very important place, which
must be continued until the knowledge stands at our command "without
thinking."
THE ABILITY OF CHILDREN TO MEMORIZE BY THINKING
_The crucial question._
No one doubts the ability of children to memorize; that is the one
thing that they have always been known to be able to do. One argument
for teaching them foreign languages as well as many things
unintelligible to them now, but possibly useful later, is that they
can learn them so easily. That is the ground also, on which much
verbatim memorizing of literature and Scripture, that they could not
hope soon to appreciate, has been required of them.
The crucial question in this connection, therefore, is not, "Can
children memorize?" but rather, "Are they capable of more than
mechanical memorizing, or learning by rote? Can they think well enough
to memorize largely through association of ideas, like older persons?"
_Children's ability to memorize by thinking._
The answer to this question has already been practically given. It has
been shown that children can conceive specific purposes; can
supplement the thought of authors; can measure the relative importance
of facts well enough to establish fair organization among them; and
can judge the soundness and general worth of statements. They not only
_can_ do these things, but they normally do do them; their present
daily lives constantly call for these several kinds of mental
activity.
These several factors, however, largely compose the activity of
associating ideas with one another, or of thinking. Children can,
therefore, memorize through thinking, just as naturally as adults can.
_The desirable prominence of such memorizing in childhood._
While very extensive drills are perhaps generally recognized as
questionable in the case of adult students, there is a tendency to
regard them as entirely proper in childhood. And the helplessness of
children--in spite of frequent little rebellions on their part--prevents
the establishment of a contrary conviction. We admit that a considerable
amount of drill is guaranteed to children through the three R's and
spelling, whether any one approves of it or not. But what about much
beyond this minimum? Shall the teacher willingly increase the amount
by neglecting possible associations within those four subjects, and
also by requiring much memorizing of literature and facts in other
subjects that cannot be appreciated at the time? Or shall she regard
the close association of ideas as the normal activity of children and
a great quantity of drill and rote learning as at least verging on
the abnormal and the unhealthy? These are questions of great importance
in the instruction of children.
It seems safe to affirm that, in general, there are the same reasons
for regarding drill and thoughtless memorizing as an evil--though to
some extent a necessary one--in childhood as in adult life. Indeed, if
there be any difference, the evil is probably greater in childhood,
for drill furnishes no nourishment to childhood, while that is
peculiarly the period of growth, when abundance of nourishment is most
important.
Granted that the ability of children to memorize things that do not
brighten the eye is striking, it must be remembered that their mental
and moral growth in numerous directions is also striking. It is far
more important that their spiritual welfare as a whole be provided
for--as live ideas lying within their sphere of experience can be made
to provide for it--than that they starve themselves now for the sake
of storing up material for the future. The latter plan shows a very
low estimate of child-nature, and a misapprehension of the relation of
the present to the future.
Aside from this, it is in the elementary school that children must
mainly acquire their permanent habits of study; the methods of work
there acquired will not be made over on entering the high school or
college. If they there become accustomed to beginning their lessons by
memorizing, and to memorizing words without appreciating their import,
the chances are good that they will have the same habits later. Why
not, if there is anything in habit? At least, they will have much to
overcome if they reform. On the other hand, if they there begin the
mastery of lessons by studying the thought, and memorize largely
through the association of ideas, they are likely to continue that
plan later. By thus becoming thoughtful in regard to childish matters,
they give best promise of being thoughtful on larger subjects later.
In all these remarks there is no intention of making philosophers out
of children; but there is a feeling of the necessity of preserving and
developing their live-mindedness. Opposition to this feeling indicates
that children are not expected to do much thinking even in their own
sphere of experience.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING CHILDREN TO MEMORIZE PROPERLY
Other things being equal, the depth and hence the permanence of
impressions varies as the degree of attention varies. For example, if
a child's whole attention is given to a name, or a date, or the
spelling of a word, he may retain it in memory after having heard it
only once; otherwise it may have to be repeated several times.
_1. Need of concentration of attention, and method of securing it._
Children, however, easily fall into the securing it. habit of dividing
their attention between work and play, so that half of their time is
wasted; yet they labor under the impression that there is much virtue
merely in _spending time_ on lessons.
Divided attention is not confined to children, either. It is
frequently observed that announcements made before large schools are
never understood rightly by _all,_ simply because there are always
some who are thinking partly of something else. A certain professor of
English in one of our large universities has for years been in the
habit of dictating the following directions, with illustrations, to
his students beginning composition: "Fold the paper lengthwise from
right to left, leaving the single edge to your right hand. Endorse on
the first three lines. Do not use abbreviations in writing the date.
Omit all punctuation, or, if you punctuate, use commas at ends of
lines and after date of month." In classes ranging from forty to
seventy-five persons, as many as 90 per cent have failed to follow
these directions. What better proof is needed of common laxness of
attention?
To remedy this evil among children teachers would do well to refer
much less to the _time_ spent in study and much more to the _kind_ of
attention given. More than that can be done. Children are often
directed to "pay close attention," or to "concentrate their attention
fully," sometimes without comprehending the meaning of the command,
and more often without knowing what steps to take in order to obey.
Both difficulties can be partially overcome by fixing time limits to
tasks, even in the lower grades. For example, two minutes can be
announced as the limit for reading a half page in the second reader.
Under that stimulus the children will do their best; and when they
have undergone several such tests successfully, reference to these
tests will explain what is meant by close attention; reference to
their successes also will instill confidence that they know how to
give close attention, for they can do again what they have already
frequently done. The dawdling that is so common among children is
partly due to lack of an ideal, and such time limits should be
resorted to somewhat frequently in order to keep the ideal fresh in
mind, as well as to cultivate confidence that the ideal can be
realized. Military governments often obtain undivided attention to a
remarkable degree, showing that attention is a thing that can be
cultivated in some directions. Similar determination to secure it
should be exercised in the school, only the pressure applied should be
of a different kind.
_2. Danger of cramming and its avoidance._
College students are not the only ones who gulp down facts, hold them
undigested for a few hours, and then disgorge them. Many children
study largely in this way in preparation for their daily recitations,
as is shown by the fact that they retain facts a very short time, even
though they seem to know each day's lessons. It is true in spelling,
for example, and in geography and history. It is true likewise in
verbatim memorizing of poetry and Bible verses on Sunday mornings.
The general remedy for this evil is found in the requirement that
ideas be associated, and as far as possible enjoyed, before any
special attempt is made to memorize. This is most difficult in
spelling; but some associations are possible there, as suggested (p.
168). It is comparatively easy in geography and history, after
children have received some instruction as to method. It is impossible
in verbatim memorizing of literature, if selections are made that are
far beyond children's appreciation. But there is no need of such
selections; there are plenty of poems and Bible verses that can be at
least partly understood and really enjoyed by very young people, and
it is that kind that should be chosen.
Naturally the thinking that is thus required cannot be expected in
large amount from the younger children, for they will feel and enjoy
much more than they can analyze. Also, it should, perhaps, be expected
very little in memorizing that is entirely voluntary, as when a poem
is learned by some child simply because he likes it. But memorizing
that is a part of school work, and therefore a part of serious study,
should be undertaken in this way, because it is the right way. The
number of associations, too, is not so important as the method of
study that the child gradually adopts.
_3. Ways of leading children to memorize through thinking in study
periods._
How children study in preparation for the recitation will depend upon
how the recitation itself is conducted, upon what is _first_ called
for there and what is most emphasized. The reason that memorizing
constitutes the main part of study, not only in the elementary school,
but in the high school and the college, is that reproduction has been
the principal thing required in the recitations all along the line. It
is the character of the recitation, therefore, that must first be
changed.
The questions that are considered in the recitation are the factor of
greatest influence. If the children find that the teacher's questions
usually begin with what, or where, or when, thereby merely calling for
direct reproduction of the substance of text, she may talk ever so
much about right methods of study, but they will memorize before
thinking and without thinking.
Very many of the questions should test not so much knowledge of the
text as the pupil's way of treating the text. The spirit of the
teacher's usual general question should be, How have you associated or
related these facts? And some of her detailed questions might well be:
What object do you see in studying this topic? What statements here
need filling out, and how have you done it? What are the most
important ideas here? Or the most beautiful? How do these statements
remind you of others that you already know? Have you found any of
these statements questionable? And, if so, how? Thus the conduct of
the recitation will show the kinds of questions that must be expected.
Gradually the teacher should refrain from putting the questions
herself and leave that to the pupils. That becomes very important as
they mature; for how otherwise will they learn to study alone?
The questions should include higher forms of comparison far more than
is customary. Much of the study of geography, for example, should
consist of the comparison of countries with one another. Poems should
be compared and grouped. _The Children's Hour, Snow-Bound,
Evangeline,_ and the parable of the Prodigal Son taken together
reveal a conception of home life that is not obtained by the study of
literary selections in an isolated way. So Burke's three addresses,
_On Taxation,_ in 1774, _On Conciliation,_ in 1775, and _Letters to
the Sheriffs of Bristol,_ in 1777, throw light on one another and form
a unit. Such comparisons continually review original facts, and in
that way eliminate much customary drill. Preparation for such
comparison in the study period properly puts mere memorizing far
in the background.
The cross lights that different studies throw upon one another through
careful correlation--as when literature and history deal with the same
topic--are valuable in a similar manner and should be included in the
questions that are considered.
Finally, when the text is so intolerably dull that it discourages
reflection, instead of stimulating it,--as is not seldom the case,--it
very often lies within the teacher's power to accomplish her objects
mainly by the use of other books that are supplementary and for
reference. This she should do without hesitation. Much routine drill
on geography text, for instance, can be avoided by using geographical
readers. Pointed questions, of course, would be in control here as in
other cases.
These various thought questions, coming from teacher and pupils,
should not be reserved until toward the close of the recitation, to be
put then _if any time is left._ That defeats their object. They
should occupy the time from the beginning of the period; it is the
memory questions that should follow, if there is time and if they are
needed. The order in time for the thinking and the special attempt to
memorize is one of the most vital matters, and it is highly important
that the recitation itself stand for the order that is expected in
private study.
_4. Conditions for the best kind of drill._
While it is the sign of a weak mind to give great prominence to drill,
some drill is unavoidable. There are two conditions that must be
fulfilled in order to secure the best kind. One is that sufficient
motive be provided to secure very close attention. The use of motor
activity may be an important aid in this direction, as when children
are allowed to walk about and point in locating places in geography,
to dramatize in reproducing literature, and to use sand and clay in
representation of various kinds.
Emulation is a powerful motive, but has so many dangers that it should
be used sparingly. The cooperative spirit is the kind that the school
should cultivate, and heated competition does not readily lead to
cooperation. There is, however, much profit and no danger in making
comparisons among one's own products.
The teacher herself may be one of the most potent factors securing
close attention. If she has force and has cultivated the friendship of
her pupils until they are anxious to please her, her appeals to their
own wills will not be in vain. If, in addition, her skill in handling
a class inspires confidence, she can do much toward conducting her
class through drills without waste of time. Very many drills are
failures mainly because the teacher is a poor manager, not knowing how
to distribute materials quietly and quickly and to assign and
supervise work so that all are kept busy. The strong personality,
however, has its dangers, also, for it may _carry_ children through
drills instead of letting them carry themselves. In the main, unless
children furnish their own steam when they work with a teacher,
they will have little steam to do work when left to themselves.
The healthiest provision for motive in drills is found in the
recognition of a given drill as a necessary step toward the
accomplishment of some already greatly desired end. A child will
willingly practice mixing colors in order to obtain a certain shade,
if he is much interested in painting a certain kind of calendar. And
he will gladly drill upon the rendering of a poem, if he is anxious to
surprise his mother with it on her birthday. Such subordination of
uninteresting tasks to larger purposes is highly educative, and no one
has found the limit to which it can be carried.
The second condition of successful drills is that they be short. Even
under the most favorable circumstances children cannot long remain
alert on subject-matter that lacks intrinsic interest. In brief,
therefore, drills to be effective must be made sharp by the presence
of motive, and must be short.