Memory is a precious gift. Guard it. Build it. Delight in it. Cultivate it.
~Andrew Pudewa, Institute for Excellence in Writing
~Andrew Pudewa, Institute for Excellence in Writing
Memorization
Memorization is making learning permanent. It is a simple, effective, and joyful way to help order the affections of our children. When you have something memorized you make it your own, it becomes a part of you. It stays in your heart. When you have something memorized you "know it by heart". When you have something memorized it stays in your head too. The ancients called memorization the "furnishing of the mind". We want to furnish our minds with beautiful language, great ideas, and useful facts. Then, we can always draw on them while thinking, reading, speaking, and writing with little to no effort.
Our brains were created to memorize. There is no question that we will memorize, we just have to decide what we will memorize. So we might as well memorize the true, good, and beautiful. We can memorize beautiful language in scripture and poetry. We can memorize the ideas in famous speeches and passages of great literature. We can memorize very useful facts like the multiplication tables, the states and capitals, and the presidents of the United States.
Recent research has shown that our minds are designed to retain virtually unlimited amounts of information once memorized. However, we are only able to think about a few new (non-memorized) things at any given time. Just think of all that you already have memorized. Everything that we can do like ride a bike, tie our shoe, and make our bed are memorized actions or procedures. Everything that we remember like where to find the flour in the grocery store or how to drive to Grandma's house are memorized. Now compare that to driving in an unfamiliar place and shopping at an unfamiliar grocery store while you are on vacation. You get frustrated and tired from figuring out which way to go and where to find things because it is all new to you. So the more we memorize the easier everything else will be. For more on this, you should read Daniel Willingham's book Why Don't Student's Like School?
Our brains were created to memorize. There is no question that we will memorize, we just have to decide what we will memorize. So we might as well memorize the true, good, and beautiful. We can memorize beautiful language in scripture and poetry. We can memorize the ideas in famous speeches and passages of great literature. We can memorize very useful facts like the multiplication tables, the states and capitals, and the presidents of the United States.
Recent research has shown that our minds are designed to retain virtually unlimited amounts of information once memorized. However, we are only able to think about a few new (non-memorized) things at any given time. Just think of all that you already have memorized. Everything that we can do like ride a bike, tie our shoe, and make our bed are memorized actions or procedures. Everything that we remember like where to find the flour in the grocery store or how to drive to Grandma's house are memorized. Now compare that to driving in an unfamiliar place and shopping at an unfamiliar grocery store while you are on vacation. You get frustrated and tired from figuring out which way to go and where to find things because it is all new to you. So the more we memorize the easier everything else will be. For more on this, you should read Daniel Willingham's book Why Don't Student's Like School?
Memorization is Simple
Information can be memorized in three main ways: intensity, frequency, and duration. Some things are so intense that we remember them easily. Other things do not have that intensity so we have to use frequency and duration. This is when we use repetition. In Latin it is "Repetitio Mater Memoriae". Repetition is the mother of memory. The more we do or think something, the more we will remember it. How does a dancer learn how to do a pirouette so gracefully and effortlessly? She practices again and again and again. How does a basketball player learn to dribble the ball with such ease? He practices again and again until his mind and body have it memorized. We can do this for memorizing anything. We repeat it over and over until it is like a second nature to us.
Memorization is Effective
The more you have memorized the easier it is to learn new things because you have more in your mind to connect the new information to. The more you have memorized the easier it is to understand new concepts because you have a built up base of information or background knowledge already in your mind to draw from. What this really means is...the more you have memorized the easier it is to think, read, speak, and write.
Memorization is joyful
Memorization does not need to be dull and boring. It can be a very joyful endeavor. You can use songs and chants to aid in memorizing. You can add rhythm and movement to increase the fun. Children delight in singing, chanting, moving, and repeating!
