THE OPINION OF TEACHERS ABOUT THE USE OF ROTE MEMORIZATION IN THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS

“Memory is not wisdom; idiots can by rote repeat volumes.Yet what is wisdom without memory?” -Martin Farquhar Tupper India has got quite a varied educational heritage. The oldest system of education in India is the

Gurukul system. This system was rich in its approach to education. The Gurus aimed at an overall development of an individual i.e. development as a human being, a social being, spiritual development and professional development. The methods of teaching were skill- based methods like experiential methods, natural learning methods and practical learning methods. Rote memorization was only used to remember and pass on the knowledge to the next generation as there were no books to preserve the knowledge in written form. Gradually with the Mughal rule, British rule, this system became scarce. During British rule the teaching became teacher centered and because of the unfamiliar foreign language English, students had to rote memorize the knowledge.

The focus of study shifted from acquisition of knowledge to passing the exam. Thus rote memorization became the most prevalent method in Pre-Independent India. But as we can see the modern education system, in the last decades, there has been a paradigm shift. Education has become learner centered and focus is on understanding the concept rather than just memorizing it. Constructivism and active learning has replaced rote memorization. The educators now consciously make lesser and lesser use of rote memorization.