Rote Learning, attention span and Mathermatics

February 12, 2012, 6:31 pm , The Island.


By Dr. Douglas King

The editorial in Thursday’s edition of The Island has hit the proverbial nail on the head. As a young teacher in primary school in the UK during the education revolution of the 60s. and so called Plowden Reforms, I stood out as an agent provocateur. I was in favour of many of the details of the report, although I was already implementing many of these, I argued vehemently that some aspects of rote learning had a value. The methodology of how best to teach children reading has came under the scrutiny of Plowden, and phonics was now on the back burner. I insisted on teaching multiplication tables through chanting (and other ways) and basic reading skills using simple phonics in addition to whole word and context clues. The reading levels in my classes were always high and by year 6 (grade 6) almost all children had rapid access to not only "tables" but also quick addition and subtraction mental arithmetic. I have always argued that if little children can so easily learn nursery rhymes (in UK and Sri Lanka) they can learn other more useful material.

At a recent convocation lecture I gave to degree level students, I gave them one minute to adhe consecutive numbers from 1 – 100. None of the 200 students or faculty voiced an answer, and even reducing the challenge to 1 – 20 brought forth no response. Anyone with basic arithmetic skills plus a problem solving approach will appreciate that 99+1 =100, 98+2=100, 97+3=100 and so forth. Only the middle 50 and the 100 stand alone to total 150 so there are 49 sets of 100 = 4900 plus 150 to make a total of 5050. This can be done with any set of consecutive numbers, My point is that creative problem solving skills must accompany rote learning to be of real value. Several children in my grade 6 classes discovered the quick solution to adding 1-20. The ability to recite the numerals from 1 – 100 is a prerequisite to a full understanding of their numerical values. I would have though that "Rap" and other pop music styles, lend themselves very easily to rhythmic chanting. Educators need to remember that familiarity breeds success. Several days ago in a local bookshop I bought two items costing Rs: 120 and Rs;110. These were totaled on a calculator ("just to make sure") and then change necessary from Rs: 300 also calculated the same way.

As far as attention span goes, much depends on the content of the lesson and its application by a skilled teacher. As an English teacher/advisor in Sri Lanka, some teachers may remember my demonstrations in government schools when I gave lessons lasting nearly two hours to students without using a single text book. Of course this was not in keeping with curriculum requirements at that time. However several years later, a very thoughtful and determined President quite rightly ordered "everyday conversational English" to be part of the curriculum. I had been advocating this for several years, and was criticized for my approach. President Mahinda Rajapaksa may not be a teacher but he values innovation and creativity, that may be lacking in much of the educational system. No wonder so many students are not reading high quality literature when the emphasis is not on enjoyment in either Sinhala or English, but simply getting through the examination and for teachers to complete the curriculum. With so many students starting their day for the 6am school transport, waiting for the same transport to take them home and then attending various tuition, homework and dharma classes, there is not much physical or mental energy left for an hour or more of reading for pleasure.

The times they are a changing, in the words of Bob Dylan, and education needs to reflect these changes, but at the same time not succumb to fashion or charlottes that have ready made answers. This applies to the teaching of mathematics and English language, where some traditional methods have stood the test of time. Hardly a week passes without large advertisements appearing in the Sunday newspapers with gurus promising massive intellectual growth, superb organization skills and personality development that propels you to the highest levels, obtainable in one single day’s seminar. All this for an "investment" of only Rs:10,000 to Rs:20,000. Obviously the advertisements work and hundreds avail themselves of the opportunity. Sadly, similar events are also aimed at children, and well-meaning parents are persuaded that their normal children will become intellectual giants.

I am reluctant to discuss government policy towards the teaching of English as a useful rather than academic skill. No doubt this has been done by many people with advanced qualifications and extensive experience in this area... It appears that all the decisions and changes have been made according to the wishes of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It remains to see whether these changes will have the desired effect. However, some of the traditional teaching methods used in Colonial times, may partly account for the excellent conversational English that many elderly people use. At its basic level English has greater simplicity than most Asian languages, and this initial simplicity needs exploitation.

douglasking1939@yahoo.com