Why do we change the things that are working?
Recently I had a conversation with a person who attended elementary school in Philadelphia during the 1960’s. We were discussing the movie Invictus and the person asked me if I knew the poet W. E. Henley and immediately began reciting the words to the poem Invictus:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate.
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate.
I am the captain of my soul.
I did remember the last two lines of the poem, but I ask immediately when did you learn this poem? The response was simple yet thought provoking, “I learn this poem in the 6th grade and we had to memorize the poem and recite it in class.” Instantly I began to search my memory rolodex, asking the rhetorical question of myself: Why did we
discontinue memorization as a teaching tool? Did those educational leaders who advocated the removal or memorization and recitation truly think that this practice was at the root cause of our students’ academic failure? Yet there certain areas within the educational system where memorization is vital. Consider team sports, you must have the plays or sign memorized if the team is to function as a unit. The chorus has to memorize the song if they are truly singing with passion. I am at a lost, has society decided that memorization is not useful in the age of technology? Well, that cannot be true because we are society that has thousands of passwords. Is it me, I actually memorized my times table up to 12 and I memorized the 26 letters of the alphabet. Doesn’t most children games use some form of memorization to teach children? I believe that little children learn at home by utilizing memorization. Thus, I return to my original question, why would our educational leaders remove memorization and recitation from daily classroom activities? I recall Ron McKenna, the principal of George Washington Preparatory School in Los Angeles stating to the faculty and administration of Luther Burbank High School, I want all of you to look at the rug and tell me if it is okay. We all looked at the rug in the library and in harmony we responded that the rug was ok. McKenna stated the obvious, “Why would you fix something that is not broke?”
posted by Cope @ 8:50 AM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
I learned this poem in 6th Grade. Mertie Shelby was my teacher at the time. We recited this as a class every week. Then we were required to do it in front of her class by ourselves. I never understood what it meant while reciting it until I got older. Ironically, I still remember this word for word.
These things should be implemented in the school again. Modern technology has made us lazy. Our children can now type in a word or even a phrase to pull up the an answer. Does this make things easier for teachers too?
-Tasha W.
This is so true, we memorized everything, Elementary school,High school, Sunday school, and you remember it to this day. John in our jr. Layman group at church, we have kids getting ready to leave High school, they read like third graders it bothers me; It starts in the home, hell I could read and write and knew the alphabet when I first went to school, we can't blame all of it on the system. My high school friend shared this and I am sharing with each of you
Tasha, I believe that people of color and those who have been locked out of the American Dream have actually been to trusting. America's problem is real simple to me. In a general sense most white americans have learned what not to say or do in a public area, yet once you starting reading blogs on the internet and you watch the news you begin to see that there objective has not changed. We are been hunted! Teach your child the truth.
I haven't seen the movie yet. I will see it this next week. It is amazing that we can still remember the things that were committed to memory as little children. Well said. I am challenged to get my kids memorizing some stuff tonight!
You comments are always welcome and thank for taking the challenge Julian
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