Posted by Mrs Ives on 1:58 Sep 14
In Reply to: Acceleration and gifted kids... do they really "forget" the basics, (continued from thread below) posted by Kay in Cal
My general philosophy about math facts is that, if you really need the information you'll pick it up in due course simply by using it frequently. If you don't use it frequently then you probably don't need to memorize it, you just need to know where to look it up. An example of this is log tables. Back in the olden days, (I'm olden) you had to memorize the log tables because the teachers seemed to think that you were incapable of learning trig if you had to look up the values. There is actually a benefit to learning the log tables in that you can actually see the relationships and progression of the values, which gives you an understanding of their relationships to each other. Even if you don't pick up on the relationships you will, at the very least, be better able to perform reality checks on the answers to problems because you'll have a much better idea of the kinds of answers to expect. However, nowadays no one thinks twice about letting kids use a calculator for logs and, sure enough, one can learn trig without that "necessary" memorization. So, is everyone now devoid of mastery of the subject because they are lacking the foundation of memorizing the log tables? Thirty years ago, the answer would have been yes, but now no one even thinks about it. I try to keep that in mind whenever I hear anyone insist that mastery is intimately tied to the memorization of a particular set of facts.
I have a particular pet peeve about the insistence that one cannot possibly be a competent writer unless they can diagram a sentence, or at the very least identify all of the parts of speech. These naming conventions are simply a short-hand for discussing grammar. Whether or not you use them is more a matter of convenience than a commentary on competence. I'd rather have my kids spend their time reading well written books than memorizing grammar rules. Without formal grammar lessons all three of my homeschoolers now write for fun. My 15yo spent the summer writing a fantasy novel (it's quite good if I do say so myself), my 12yo daughter is producing a newpaper with her friends, and my 9yo is reworking some fantasy short stories that his older brother wrote when he was 12. My two oldest kids and I are the ones who received formal grammar in school, and we rarely write anything of substance because all of us hate writing. I can't help but think that there is a connection between the two approaches.
So far, the only drilling that we've had to do is with my dyslexic middle child, and she must drill both math facts and spelling. Both boys memorized math facts and correct spelling simply by using them. This is also how I learned these things. Memorization is very useful for getting A's on tests, but in our house we gain real knowledge by the sheer volume of books, movies, and documentaries that we consume. The more time we spend on drills, the less time we have for aquiring depth of knowledge. Drilling is a remedial method of learning, not primary. We only use it if real work fails.
Of course we're freaks, so YMMV.