What does a TRUMP presidency look like?

[DGuller]

There's nothing wrong with continuing to learn outside of school.

And there is nothing useful in memorizing factoids in school.

Rote learning gives one a base of knowledge. You're wrong.

That's not the only way of getting base of knowledge, and certainly not the most effective way.  Rote learning is almost always a shortcut for both the teacher and the student.

[dps]

There are some things that rote learning is good for.  Basic math, basic geography, stuff like that.  Knowing that sort of thing provides a basis for later acquiring a deeper understanding of various topics.

[DGuller]

There are some things that rote learning is good for.  Basic math, basic geography, stuff like that.  Knowing that sort of thing provides a basis for later acquiring a deeper understanding of various topics.

Okay, maybe multiplication tables are an exception where rote is called for.  Maybe.

Basic geography, on the other hand, I don't buy it.  I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me, because it was pure memorization of things I didn't give a flying fuck about.  Geography that did stick with me was one that I learned as part of learning something interesting, such as strategy games or history (and by history I mean real history, not sets of events and dates).

[The Brain]

(and by history I mean real history, not sets of events and dates).

Ancient Aliens?

[crazy canuck]

There are some things that rote learning is good for.  Basic math, basic geography, stuff like that.  Knowing that sort of thing provides a basis for later acquiring a deeper understanding of various topics.

Okay, maybe multiplication tables are an exception where rote is called for.  Maybe.

Basic geography, on the other hand, I don't buy it.  I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me, because it was pure memorization of things I didn't give a flying fuck about.  Geography that did stick with me was one that I learned as part of learning something interesting, such as strategy games or history (and by history I mean real history, not sets of events and dates).

You did it wrong then.  I can still remember my ABC's and the song we sung in grade 1 to learn the alphabet.  I can still remember that A squared + B squared = C squared.  And I am old 

[dps]

I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me

That probably says more about you than it says about the value of rote learning.

[Eddie Teach]

I've seen plenty of videos that show Guller isn't alone in forgetting everything he learned in elementary school.

[Habbaku]

We even have veteran NPR reporters that don't know where Ukraine is.

[grumbler]

We even have veteran NPR reporters that don't know where Ukraine is.

And Secretaries of State who don't.  I'm not 100% sure Mike Pompeo could located the United States on a world map even with the names still on it.

[DGuller]

I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me

That probably says more about you than it says about the value of rote learning.

And what does that say about me?

[dps]

I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me

That probably says more about you than it says about the value of rote learning.

And what does that say about me?

That you're kind of stupid.

[DGuller]

I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me

That probably says more about you than it says about the value of rote learning.

And what does that say about me?

That you're kind of stupid.

Okay.

[alfred russel]

You did it wrong then.  I can still remember my ABC's and the song we sung in grade 1 to learn the alphabet.  I can still remember that A squared + B squared = C squared.  And I am old 

I don't think DGuller is arguing that children shouldn't learn the alphabet or how to count to 10.

The song you learn in grade 1 to learn the alphabet is pointless. Do you remember enough geometry so that you can solve practical geometry questions? If not, remembering that A^2 + B^2 = C^2 isn't meaningful either--it is just a single element of a series of things you memorized that is pointless on its own. Can you tell us the proof that A^2 + B^2 = C^2?

[Habbaku]

I learned basic geography, and more than basic geography, in fifth and sixth grade in Ukraine.  Exactly zero of it stuck with me

That probably says more about you than it says about the value of rote learning.

And what does that say about me?

That you're kind of stupid.

I'm gonna go ahead and say that if you're calling DG stupid, you're probably the stupid one.

[dps]

You did it wrong then.  I can still remember my ABC's and the song we sung in grade 1 to learn the alphabet.  I can still remember that A squared + B squared = C squared.  And I am old 

I don't think DGuller is arguing that children shouldn't learn the alphabet or how to count to 10.

I'm not sure what he is arguing.  My argument was that learning basic facts is necessary prerequisite to further learning.  He seems to disagree.