The Memory Method - Essay Example

Memory Method Memory method entails learners memorizing information given by the teacher and replicates the same information in the exams. Memory method involves students taking time to listen to the teacher, takes notes, read them repeatedly until it is embedded in memory. Memory method has had some strong points owing to the various instances it has been used by learners, however; there are challenges associated with this method. There are [proven instances where memory method has been instrumental in ensuring the student’s goals are achieved as demonstrated by Raemon Mathews and Tony Buzan. Foer and Freiere have differing views regarding memory method. This study aims at analyzing arguments for and against memory method as presented by Foer and Freiere, respectively and on this basis give a conclusion on memory method. Raemon Mathews and Tony Buzan believe that memory method in effective in the modern place as a way of learning by students. Memory method is still important for people since what people remember belongs to them and they became creative through an illustration of what they remember. In Freiere’s view, memory method is similar to “banking deposit” education system and that students learn nothing form it. He believes that education through the memory method is merely an act of depositing where the teacher is the depositor and students depositories and the information if communiqués to which this process he calls banking concept of education. He believes that communication is one way from the teacher to the students and the students have no opinion in decision making in the memory method. Freiere believes that knowledge materialize from invention and reinvention through “hard work, continued and expectant and impatient humans in the world, with the world and with each other” (Freiere, 60). He also believes that the banking concept of education reduces the creativity of students; hence, it is least effective method to use in the learning process. Banking concept of education enumerates the challenges facing the education system as the students and teachers do not meet their requirements. He therefore gives no credit to memory method as a method of learning in the education system forming the main argument he has against the memory method. Owing to the problems noted by Freiere in the article on memory method, he gives the opinion that a good education system is known as “problem posing”. Problem posing emphasizes freedom in the relation between a teacher and a student and communication is both teacher to student and student to teacher. The world is seen as a transformation in the problem solving approach of education and the perception of the world they exist and where they find themselves establishing a form of action and thought in the learning process. This leads to them interacting with the world a lot better and have the ability to ask questions and seek for clarification in as the communication route in problem posing is two way. This leads to an increase in the ability of the students to learn better than in the memory method where students only take what they are told by the teachers as given without thinking creatively and critically about it to come up with their own conclusion. Memory method is good for students as it helps them get good grades in their examinations. A good advocator of memory method for student learning is Raemon Mathews, as he believes you cannot learn without memorizing and you cannot memorize without learning. He states, “you can’t learn without memorizing, and if done right, you can’t memorize without learning.” In his view, Raemon believes that there has to be a basis in terms of knowledge that can only be harnessed through memory method to understand and learn better. Therefore, memory method plays a monumental role in the process of knowledge creation as it forms the basis and a foundation from which learning occurs. This is demonstrated by his class of best crop students he named “The Talented Tenth” who have perfected the memory method and are very good at it that they score the highest marks in the studies. Mathews has been awarded severally as the best teacher due to the high performance of his class who use memory method showing that it leads to better performance of students in their studies. Memory method is good because it makes people more creative when applied in the learning process. This is well demonstrated through mind mapping technique by Buzan. Mind mapping is the creation of a mind map through drawing lines off the main points then the ideas are taken out and distilled to ensure few words as possible and use of drawings to illustrate the main points and act as a memory fortress. Mind mapping was a new form of note taking that took advantage of the ancient wisdom of the Ad Herennium through the fact that mind mapping makes use of codes and symbols, images and arrows use of color and underlining. This he believes is the beginning for them to understand the reason behind this de-contextualized knowledge to form the required knowledge on the matter dealt with in the class room. Since they cannot easily forget, they have a higher capacity of passing than those students who do not use mind maps, a form of memory method, as they can easily forget the concepts though when they do not form images or drawings in their minds and memorize them. Mathews exemplifies mind mapping in his emphasis for his students to take every opportunity to turn facts into images to help them remember the concepts easily as images are easily remembered that facts which are easy to forget. The main reason for the ability to remember using the min mapping technique is there is something where information can stick to owing to images by students in their minds. This makes the students creative in the analysis of life concepts through development of mind maps, making memory method an invaluable method to learning. A big misunderstanding on memory was that it was generated through ramming it with facts until the head is filled with facts. This however is not the case as memory is in fact an imaginative process. Memory and creativity are very much related since both memory and creativity are an imaginative process. However, memory and creativity are differentiated by the amount of focus “The art and Science of memory is about the capacity to create images quickly and link disparate ideas. Creativity is the ability to form similar connections between disparate images and to create something new and hurl it into the future” in form of a “poem, or a building or a dance, or a novel” (Foer, 202). Since both memory and creativity are dependent on disparate facts the more one has a high facility to make associations developed by memory method, one’s creativity is increased. Since memory affects people’s creativity positively, it is good for students as a form of learning. On the same line of thought, scientist’s creation of things is based on the thought due the basis of the knowledge that they remember. Memory method allows a person to remember hence it the main basis for creation of new things by scientists and without it there would be no invention by scientists. This serves to show the importance of memory method to the scientists and that it has a place in the society today as it makes people creative. Memory method is important to people as technology cannot be able to do everything people require to be done in their lives. Technology has enabled people to perform many duties that were previously a huge task and took a lot of time and effort to perform requiring skills and expertise. Technology has been invented to perform these tasks but there has been a very high reliance of people on technology but technology is not that reliable. Technology cannot perform all the functions as required by people, hence the need for people to use memory method as a store of information rather than full reliance to use of technology. Technology use has a lot of loss of information due to fire, loss of technology gadgets and unintended deletion of data, which makes it less useful than memory method. Owing to high capabilities of technology in the access of information through the internet and in computers, there is a high dependence on this method to get information and there is no creativity and use of memory by people. This leads to people being more stupid with the use of technology than when the memory method is used that augments creativity and improve grades. Owing to the failures of technology, memory method is the tool that people can access at any and use to meet their daily needs. In conclusion, memory method is important for people to use as it allows people to remember what they actually know and it ensures the people meet their needs through memory method. Memory method leads to the success of students in the examinations through achieving good grades by implementing memory method in the learning, memory method also makes people more creative as there is a direct relationship between memory and creativity as demonstrated by Mathews. Memory method is useful for people as it is more reliable in the lives of the people compared to technology, which is relied upon but is not as reliable since it cannot do everything. This is despite being challenged by Freiere who believes that memory method is useless in the learning process and refers to it as a banking deposit and students do not gain any knowledge. The opinion that problem posing is better than memory method does not hold as memory method has more benefits than disadvantages and it is clear that it translates to more benefits to the users. Work Cited Foer, Joshua. Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything. New York: Penguin Press, 2011. Print. Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum, 2000. Print. Read More