2 minutes
Traditionally, education has taught repetition rather than thinking through the methodology of memorization from its very beginnings.
In fact, this kind of learning is based on the idea that "the more often an idea is repeated, the greater the child's response or assimilation will be."
Something truly worrying is happening in education: people do not know how to think, because they are taught to memorize rather than reason.
Many studies explore the importance of learning through reasoning, since this makes analysis and understanding possible. However, the dominant methodology today is learning through memorization.
You know, memorization is faster, but your child retains information for a much shorter time. Information is forgotten, and when learning in a single block, they are likely to forget important pieces needed for analysis, making it difficult to apply the information to a specific case.
Critical thinking is fundamental, and it can indeed be taught, but it takes work and effort.
You can read our article Methods for Retaining What You Have Learned
But relax, not all is lost…
The sooner you teach your children and prepare them to think, how to do it and how to put it into practice, the sooner they will internalize what they are learning and apply thought as naturally as breathing or eating.
You know, critical thinking develops not only through classroom education, but also through sports, household chores, and other areas where your children grow.
There are many ways to encourage this thinking and improve how we reason. At home, emphasize the importance of developing "active people" who think and debate, and do not simply receive information passively.
Also, consider it fundamental to instill empathy, teaching children to value others, join teams, and work together with family and friends so they develop in a more well-rounded way.
Before finishing, though, let me share a short anecdote to motivate you to put this into practice:
Einstein recounts in his manuscripts that when someone asked for his telephone number, he opened his address book to look it up. This surprised the person, who asked how it was possible he did not know his own telephone number by heart. Einstein replied: Why memorize something I can easily look up in a book?
Einstein did not even know his own telephone number by heart, but he developed the theory of relativity.
Remember, dear parent, this is not about hiding knowledge, but opening it up.