Remembering; the Lost R in Education

So, in this world of instant access to virtually anything what should we require our students to remember? What sorts of things do we need to have at our fingertips? What things do we need instant access to that will enrich our lives? What is it that's just plain fun recalling instantly from memory. My son, Andrew, who has Down Syndrome, can recall almost everything that's happened in his life that he has enjoyed in vivid detail. He can remember what he was wearing, who he was with, what the weather was like and what snack he had when he went to the movies to watch a Harry Potter movie ten years ago.

But what about the factual information that makes up our adult lives? Is it important to distinguish a noun from a verb, to know who the Secretary of State is, to know the capital of Holland, or even where Holland is, to know how many ounces there are in a pound and how many pints in a gallon? Or is it important not to clutter our minds with minutia so that we have room for the important stuff like using computers and navigating the endless features of our cell phones?

I know which side I would come down on but I'm from an older generation that simply uses a cell phone to make phone calls and take the occasional picture. But my memory is full of the most incredible things apart from the number  of pints in a gallon, pounds in a ton and meters in a kilometer. I get an incredible sense of joy when I recognize a drumlin, an  erratic or a raised beach when I'm driving around the countryside. It's a genuine thrill when I can recall the name Copland in response to a crossword clue "composer Aaron". The fact that I can remember long-ago-learned facts when I can't remember what I did yesterday is somehow rewarding, reassuring and satisfying.

But what of today's younger generation who do  not seem to be committing things to long-term memory with the same gusto that we did in our youth. What will they have to recall in their old age? 

Knowledge is a Wonderful Thing

So is this a map of the United Kingdom, Great Britain or the British Isles? A passing comment by Professor Jeffrey Ayers started a couple of us thinking about the question of whether the three terms are synonyms or whether there are geographical or political differences between them. It is, actually, a map of the British Isles which, interestingly, includes Ireland, as well as the islands of Guernsey and Jersey off the coast of France and about 6000 other small islands (according to Wiki). The United Kingdom includes England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland while Great Britain includes just England, Wales and Scotland, the three countries joined together, as illustrated on this informative website.


There's a tendency in our current skills-based culture to trivialize the role and importance of personal knowledge in our lives and in the field of Education in general. When computers and technology were first integrated into school classrooms there was a sense among many educators that this instant access to knowledge would mean that students no longer would need to know or remember things. They could simply "look it up". The same happened fifty years ago when calculators began to appear. It was thought students would no longer need to remember their addition, subtraction or multiplication facts. How wrong they were.

Instant, independent access to knowledge is one of the things that makes an educated person. It's a great feeling to know things just because one does. The things we know, along with our thinking skills, are the tools we use to solve problems, conduct conversations, write, and generally be human. Knowing things we have taken the time to remember also helps develop our memory skills which in turn help us remember even more things with which to think..

Of course, not everything we are required to remember in school is useful, helpful, or even desirable. I remember learning the following when I was an undergraduate student; Arun, Ouse, Rother, Stour, Medway, Darnet, Mole and Wey. I memorized them so well for an exam that I can still rattle them off without even thinking about them. I even still remember what they are!

Math Memories and NeighborKeepers

On a personal note I had my Beatles birthday a few days ago; the one in the song that asks "Will you still need me, will you still feed me....". I must admit that I don't feel that old especially when it comes to thinking about math education. It's exciting to think back over the years in terms of different things I've believed or thought about at different times.


There was a time, for example when I didn't think children should be required to remember their addition and multiplication facts; a time when I thought that you just need to help children understand. We now know that the development of memory plays a large part in learning math just as it does in learning how to spell or write good English. Memory, of course, will always be better if it occurs alongside understanding.

I had the last of the three NeighborKeepers Math Mentoring workshops I have developed last Tuesday. They are free and designed to help volunteers who want to teach math to "newcomer" families in the Winooski School District where the need for extra help is significant. Hal Colston , a local social entrepreneur, is the one who is making this all happen and I hope to have the graduate students in my math ed. course work with these families as part of a course assignment next semester. If you would like to become a Math Mentor let me know at;
twhiteford @smcvt.edu (leave out the space)

I think it's cool that the British Government just designated the Abbey Rd "zebra" crossing as a National Heritage site. It just goes to show that history is always being made.