Hah, I see. It’s real interesting. A few of the kids of mine have the same way of working, so we’ve agreed on them being allowed to work the way they want to. If they need computers to work, they’re allowed to. If they struggle to listen to the lecture for the rest of the class, that’s fine. As long as they’re not disruptive, they’re allowed to work on stuff their own way.
Also, I also don’t like teaching rote memorisation-stuff. I just give the kids formulas on tests and ask them to understand which one to use. No memorization, just understanding.
My philosophy is just that “if you understand it, you won’t need to memorize it”.
In any case, I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a shitty school situation. That’s not the school-system I’m used to. I’m used to looking for situations where the kids can prove what they can do, not looking for what they can’t do. If kids are disruptive, underperforming or whatever, we find out why. We may not always be able to solve all the problems, but we spend a significant amount of time trying to accommodate for the kids’ needs.
Oh damn apparently i already posted but i was still was writing and editing that comment, busy day today.
I am in awe because of this line:
“My philosophy is just that “if you understand it, you won’t need to memorize it”
This is not my philosophy as it is observation of reality.
One of my weaknesses is my memory and in a plan i may forget what step i am on. But if you really understand it you can deduct what step your on and the logical next. Its somewhat of a life hack to get things done.
When i am online on a public facing website i am usually from a somewhere USA… In context of your question you probably mean what school system, i am honestly most familiar with those where from central Europe.
I had good people as teachers but the systems they where supposed to use like _focus on grades _ didn’t work for me. I learn because i really want to know not to win or be perceived as successful.
I think the focus on grades is more harmful than helpful, to be honest. It just puts a ton of pressure on them to perform instead of learning.
And yeah, regarding philosophy/observation of reality, I agree! In case I wasn’t clear, I mean philosophy as in… teaching philosophy, or mantra, as it were.
There are definitely times where you just gotta memorize something… like names. It’s difficult to “understand” those (though not impossible if there’s a pattern. Friend of mine has siblings all named the same base word with minor changes.)
But yes. Math, science, social studies, law, etc. You don’t need to memorize almost any of it if you UNDERSTAND IT. You can reason out dates of historic events, you can reasonably guess why the mass immigration into the US stopped in like the 1920’s, etc.
Hah, I see. It’s real interesting. A few of the kids of mine have the same way of working, so we’ve agreed on them being allowed to work the way they want to. If they need computers to work, they’re allowed to. If they struggle to listen to the lecture for the rest of the class, that’s fine. As long as they’re not disruptive, they’re allowed to work on stuff their own way.
Also, I also don’t like teaching rote memorisation-stuff. I just give the kids formulas on tests and ask them to understand which one to use. No memorization, just understanding.
My philosophy is just that “if you understand it, you won’t need to memorize it”.
In any case, I’m sorry to hear you’ve had such a shitty school situation. That’s not the school-system I’m used to. I’m used to looking for situations where the kids can prove what they can do, not looking for what they can’t do. If kids are disruptive, underperforming or whatever, we find out why. We may not always be able to solve all the problems, but we spend a significant amount of time trying to accommodate for the kids’ needs.
May I ask where you’re from?
I’m teaching in Norway.
Oh damn apparently i already posted but i was still was writing and editing that comment, busy day today.
I am in awe because of this line:
“My philosophy is just that “if you understand it, you won’t need to memorize it”
This is not my philosophy as it is observation of reality.
One of my weaknesses is my memory and in a plan i may forget what step i am on. But if you really understand it you can deduct what step your on and the logical next. Its somewhat of a life hack to get things done.
When i am online on a public facing website i am usually from a somewhere USA… In context of your question you probably mean what school system, i am honestly most familiar with those where from central Europe.
I had good people as teachers but the systems they where supposed to use like _focus on grades _ didn’t work for me. I learn because i really want to know not to win or be perceived as successful.
I think the focus on grades is more harmful than helpful, to be honest. It just puts a ton of pressure on them to perform instead of learning.
And yeah, regarding philosophy/observation of reality, I agree! In case I wasn’t clear, I mean philosophy as in… teaching philosophy, or mantra, as it were.
There are definitely times where you just gotta memorize something… like names. It’s difficult to “understand” those (though not impossible if there’s a pattern. Friend of mine has siblings all named the same base word with minor changes.)
But yes. Math, science, social studies, law, etc. You don’t need to memorize almost any of it if you UNDERSTAND IT. You can reason out dates of historic events, you can reasonably guess why the mass immigration into the US stopped in like the 1920’s, etc.
So that’s how I try to teach.