17 May 2022 3:09 pm
About the Stanley Cup, it was just an example. If you were to memorize the last 25 winners of it, does that alone tell you about what a team should do today to win it? Answer... no. The favorite to win the Cup this year is Colorado.... they have not been to a Stanley cup final since 2001. Rote memorization would not help you predict the winner this year.Skans » 17 May 2022, 3:02 pm » wrote: ↑ Poor analogy, and here's why:
- Many subjects require rote memorization: Anatomy, spelling, math, chemistry...I could go on, but I think you get the point;
- Hardly anyone wins the Stanley Cup. The academic equivalent would be engaging in research leading to the publication of a ground-breaking physics article about the discovery of a new particle that requires a revision to the Standard Model.
- I agree that not all teaching should be geared toward standardized tests. But, there does need to be a degree of standardization as to what is taught to children in different subjects at different ages.
- Teachers do need to be evaluated, promoted, demoted, and/or fired based on merit. What determines that merit should be made up of more than just student performance. However, student performance should not be ignored either.
Hate to tell you but teaching to the test does not work. Yes, rote memorization has its place but if you want someone to really understand a concept and be able to apply it in different settings.. you have to teach process not result. Teaching to the test gives the student a very narrow view of the concept... step away from that perfectly manicured framework and they are clueless.