Caldecott reminds us that for the medieval schoolmen, as for Plato, education was essentially musical, an education in the cosmos or lovely order that surrounds us and bears us up. “But more than that, we would desire to bring children into the garden of created being, and thought, and expression. There are areas of knowledge that should be memorized, and in the past, there was a better term for it: to learn by heart.” ~ Michael Clay Thompson We must remember that the alternative to remembering is forgetting, and when we teach something as important as grammar, that will be needed for one’s entire life, the ban on memorization makes little sense. “Rote memorization,” however, is loaded language, biased against the discipline and effort required to learn things permanently.
Some might say that “rote memorization” is not appropriate as a teaching strategy. “There are times when memorization is out of favor in education. Even the most unique, creative, and extraordinary ideas can only exist as a combination and permutation of previously learned bits of information.” ~Andrew Pudewa, 1 Myth, 2 Truths In other words, we cannot think a thought we don’t have to begin with. thoughts or concepts that they haven’t first experienced and stored. Supernatural inspiration notwithstanding, human beings in general-and children in particular-really can’t produce. “One simple and immutable fact about the human brain is that you can’t get something out of it that isn’t there to start with. “It is not surprising that, for the Greek mind, the Muses-of epic, history, astronomy, music, dance, tragedy, comedy, lyric poetry, and sacred poetry-should be daughters of Memory.” (Anthony Esolen, Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child, page 9)
“No matter what your children’s strengths and weaknesses are, or their likes and dislikes, or their gifts and talents-their brains want to gather, sort, and store, and retrieve information.” ( The Core, page 52) And I can personally attest-it’s possible. I’ve mastered and tested each and every piece of memory work in the Foundations Guide. My boys have been introduced to all three cycles of memory work, and mastered much of it. I remember thinking, alternately, there is no way we can memorize all this information and I cannot wait until we’ve memorized all this information!! Here we are.
Years ago-it seems like yesterday-I received our first Foundations Guide in the mail. Multiplication tables up to 15x15, common squares and cubes, unit conversions, basic geometry formulas, and math laws.English grammar facts (including pronoun lists and parts of speech definitions).Latin verb endings (six tenses) of the first conjugation.24 science facts/lists (including biomes, planets, Newton’s laws of motion, and the laws of thermodynamics).More than 100 locations and geographic features in Europe, Asia, Central America, and Southern Africa.24 world history sentences (from 800 AD to the present).161 events and people in a chronological timeline (from ancient history to the present).If a student is able to complete the director proof with 100% mastery, he or she becomes a Memory Master. A one-hour recitation is speed-mode! After completing a tutor “proof,” a student is spot-checked in all subjects by the CC director (around 20 minutes). (This happens after multiple practice “proofs.”) This recitation can take anywhere from 1-2+ hours. Presidents, History, Geography, Science, Latin, English Grammar, and Math) with 100% mastery all in one sitting. What is a CC Memory Master? A student recites for his or her tutor every piece of information memorized in a cycle (24 weeks work of information) for all subjects (History Timeline, U.S. Levi and Luke both completed their director proofs for the second year in a row, and I have now finished all 3 cycles. As of today, we have THREE Classical Conversations Cycle 2 Memory Masters in the house!
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