An Elephant Never Forgets! And Neither Should Home School Students
By Mimi Rothschild
Memorization is a skill that not only benefits elephants but will serve your home school student in his home school studies, Sunday school, college, and work for the rest of his life. When it comes to memorization, there are two different kinds that you have to deal with: general memorization of ideas and concepts and specific memorization or mirroring of exact wording such as Bible verses or quotes. Utilizing both in your home school teaching plan is a great way to equip your child with yet another skill that will benefit him immensely.
Concept Memorization
In home school, concept memorization skills apply to everything: from being able to translate textbook descriptions to putting literary criticism into his own words to even being able to repeat back what it is that you expect him to accomplish. Concept memorization is especially helpful to increase test taking times in reading comprehension, essays on AP exams and other standardized tests required by the education board. In general, there isn’t an area of home school or college study that won’t benefit from understanding concept memorization.
Mirror Memorization
Being able to repeat verbatim the words of a literary passage, a list of terms in a foreign language, or algebraic formulas and geometric theorems is essential to many fields after home school. Lawyers, actors, scientists, engineers, and mathematicians are some professions in which the concept of mirror memorization is necessary for success.
Practicing Memorization in Home School
The first step to either kind of memorization is to thoroughly understand the topic being studied in home school. Without full understanding of a concept, memorization becomes rote or regurgitation and it’s no longer a form of learning. This won’t benefit home school studies or the work place.
The next part of memorization, whether for home school, Sunday school, or for fun, is to recognize what parts of a book, an assignment, or lecture needs mirror memorization. Not everything does. Learning the difference between what needs to be understood in theory and what should be learned verbatim is an important aspect of memorization.
The trick for memorizing things word for word for home school studies is to repeat the information at all times of the day. Keep flashcards taped around the bathroom. While waiting in lines or during commercials, look over the information again and again. Create images that you associate with the home school assignment or create acronyms for phrases or formulas. Key words, diagrams, associations, and constant review will help you memorize home school concepts generally or verbatim.
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