Educate to Retain
As human beings, we are constantly striving to attain knowledge and to identify our purpose in life. This endeavor ensures that we have something to look forward to, something that keeps us going. However, when it comes to imparting knowledge to children, while the curriculum is well defined, the purpose of knowledge is not. Schools and administrators spend hours pouring over information to offer the perfect knowledge package, but why is this relevant is not particularly evident. As a result, while we have students who give in their 100 percent during the school year, whether they retain the knowledge or not, is not taken into consideration. There are a few measures that can be taken to address this.
A Parallel space
The home environment acts as the primary learning space for children. They learn in this space without being taught and the lessons are based on what they observe. It is important to ensure that what they are taught in school is synchronized with what is reflected and supported in their homes, the learnings in both these places should resonate. For this purpose, a network needs to be built between the teachers and parents. This will not only ensure that children learn well but will also create a parallel environment where they see their learnings being put to use. This broadened sphere of learning enhances the retention of knowledge.
Address the why
Attaching a reason to every action makes it valid and reasonable, similarly defining the reason why something is taught assists in making the whole process and the knowledge gained more beneficial. If students know why they are taught something, it makes the whole effort worthwhile as they are willing to learn with an open mind. They are more comfortable acquiring the knowledge and they assimilate the knowledge with an objective in mind. They are more committed and involved in the process and in the bargain, the objective of education is better addressed.
Add meaning to learning
The objective of learning is to gain success in life. However, adding meaning to this learning creates a myriad of colors that make the entire process more worthwhile and engaging and this leads to the overall growth of the child and not just the accumulation of knowledge that has no meaning. Furthermore, this meaning lays the path to satisfaction and leads to intrinsic happiness that stems from understanding what is being done and why.
The objective of education can be achieved only if it is retained and retention is amplified if it is supported with an objective. Knowing why an action is taken adds value to the action. Applying this principle to education can enhance the learning journey for every student.
Author: Latika Sakhuja & Sitender Sehrawat
