Old-Fashioned Learning?

Today many (but not all) educators disdain the concepts of rote learning and memorization, often proclaiming a greater validity for "critical thinking" and learning how to take advantage of "resources" to access factual knowledge when it is needed. But the result of such de-emphasis of learning facts, dates and literary passages can be graduates who have only a vague awareness of history, spelling, grammar and great works of art.

Virtually no one can complete an education without learning and memorizing a vast array of facts, particularly in the various professions which require a broad factual knowledge, such as medicine and law. Yet it can be argued that we all are learning fewer facts than we used to. For example, how many Americans even realize that Canada, our closest neighbor, is divided into provinces, not states? How many great poets could each of us name--let alone quote? In other words, we are experiencing a deficit of cultural literacy.

Recently I was shocked to learn that it is possible at countless colleges and universities to obtain a degree in English literature without ever taking a course in Shakespeare. Certainly English majors will study many great writers during their academic careers, but they are being denied the insight and sheer joy of becoming acquainted with one of the greatest geniuses of history. This is a tragedy.

We are denying ourselves the stimulation of getting to know the great artists, composers, philosophers and literary giants who illumined the lives of our ancestors. And increasingly, we are denying ourselves a grasp of such universal fundamentals as the basic principles of mathematics and language. Surely our lives are worth more. Is it time to reflect more deeply on the curriculums of our educational institutions?

Thanks for reading,
Gary