Students should memorize facts only after they have studied the ideas, trends, and concepts that help explain those facts. Students who have learned only facts have learned very little
A fact is a piece of information, while ideas, trends and concepts provide a setting for the analysis and interpretation of facts. All of them together constitute education.The true worth of education lies in reasoning and not in memorizing.Students should learn to apply the facts using ideas and concepts rather than mugging them up.
The answer to why memorizing facts is a part of education lies perhaps in history. In olden days, means for documentation and communication of information were not as widespread and pervasive as they are today. Before the written script was invented, in order to propagate mores and traditions, people would learn them by rote and transmit them orally to future generations. In such a mileau, memorization was an integral part of learning. Especially for religious education, students would spend years learning the scriptures by heart.
But today, we are witnessing a completely different scenario. Today's age is called the 'Information Age'. Storage and transmission of data were never so easy as now. Thus the human brain need not be regarded as repository of information anymore. Gigabytes of data can be fitted into a tiny disk accessible from any part of the world via the Internet. In the modern world, therefore, the focus of education has shifted from rote learning to critical thinking. Since computers are readily available to perform the mundane tasks of memorizing, the power of the human brain needs to be harnessed to the more important task of understanding.
One concept is equivalent to a hundred facts.For instance, Kepler gave an equation which said that the square of the time taken for one revolution by a planet was directly proportional to the cube of its distance from the sun. In the absence of this concept, we would have to rely on a memorized table containing the lengths of a year for every planet. Also, facts need to continually revised as they are easily forgotten. On the other hand, it is more difficult to forget an idea or concept.
It is difficult to apply a fact to any arbitrary situation as facts are specialised instances of past occurrences. To the contrary, we can apply an idea or concept to a wide range of situations. To give an analogy- a fact is an already shaped pot whereas an idea or concept is akin to the potter's wheel where we can shape new pots for every occasion.
The importance of facts varies widely from discipline to discipline. For example, in the creative arts like drawing, painting facts are almost non-existent with the emphasis on creativity and understanding certain techniques instead. After all, a painter can never memorise every brush stroke! On the other hand, facts still play an important role in the sciences. However a science student has to additionally keep in mind that a fact is not absolute but it is only what we think at present. For example, light was thought to be a wave before Planck's quantum theory.
Any student has to remember a modicum of facts however. It wouldn't make much sense to refuse to learn the English alphabet without understanding the concept behind it or to learn geometry without memorizing the axioms. However facts can only act as a foundation for education. The real construction lies in interpreting the facts and applying them as and when required.
The days of memorizing facts only in the name of education are long past. Today we are witnessing a revolution of sorts. New terms like 'lateral thinking' are the buzzwords of the present.Thus before committing anything to memory, students should develop a healthy sense of enquiry and go into the ideas , trends and concepts behind those facts.
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 1, column 174, Rule ID: SENTENCE_WHITESPACE
Message: Add a space between sentences
Suggestion: The
...l of them together constitute education.The true worth of education lies in reasoni...
^^^
Line 1, column 242, Rule ID: SENTENCE_WHITESPACE
Message: Add a space between sentences
Suggestion: Students
...lies in reasoning and not in memorizing.Students should learn to apply the facts using i...
^^^^^^^^
Line 5, column 165, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Thus,
...sion of data were never so easy as now. Thus the human brain need not be regarded as...
^^^^
Line 7, column 46, Rule ID: SENTENCE_WHITESPACE
Message: Add a space between sentences
Suggestion: For
...oncept is equivalent to a hundred facts.For instance, Kepler gave an equation which...
^^^
Line 11, column 366, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
...play an important role in the sciences. However a science student has to additionally k...
^^^^^^^
Line 13, column 60, Rule ID: EN_CONTRACTION_SPELLING
Message: Possible spelling mistake found
Suggestion: wouldn't
...remember a modicum of facts however. It wouldnt make much sense to refuse to learn the ...
^^^^^^^
Line 13, column 220, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: However,
...geometry without memorizing the axioms. However facts can only act as a foundation for ...
^^^^^^^
Line 15, column 187, Rule ID: SENTENCE_WHITESPACE
Message: Add a space between sentences
Suggestion: Thus
...inking are the buzzwords of the present.Thus before committing anything to memory, s...
^^^^
Line 15, column 187, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Thus,
...inking are the buzzwords of the present.Thus before committing anything to memory, s...
^^^^
Line 15, column 302, Rule ID: COMMA_PARENTHESIS_WHITESPACE
Message: Put a space after the comma, but not before the comma
Suggestion: ,
...y sense of enquiry and go into the ideas , trends and concepts behind those facts....
^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, however, if, so, still, therefore, thus, whereas, while, after all, as to, for example, for instance, on the other hand
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 29.0 19.5258426966 149% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 12.4196629213 97% => OK
Conjunction : 20.0 14.8657303371 135% => OK
Relative clauses : 5.0 11.3162921348 44% => More relative clauses wanted.
Pronoun: 23.0 33.0505617978 70% => OK
Preposition: 98.0 58.6224719101 167% => OK
Nominalization: 26.0 12.9106741573 201% => Less nominalizations (nouns with a suffix like: tion ment ence ance) wanted.
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3049.0 2235.4752809 136% => OK
No of words: 612.0 442.535393258 138% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.98202614379 5.05705443957 99% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.97379470361 4.55969084622 109% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.92729790437 2.79657885939 105% => OK
Unique words: 318.0 215.323595506 148% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.519607843137 0.4932671777 105% => OK
syllable_count: 972.9 704.065955056 138% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.6 1.59117977528 101% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 6.0 6.24550561798 96% => OK
Article: 9.0 4.99550561798 180% => OK
Subordination: 4.0 3.10617977528 129% => OK
Conjunction: 1.0 1.77640449438 56% => OK
Preposition: 13.0 4.38483146067 296% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 33.0 20.2370786517 163% => OK
Sentence length: 18.0 23.0359550562 78% => The Avg. Sentence Length is relatively short.
Sentence length SD: 50.5255756273 60.3974514979 84% => OK
Chars per sentence: 92.3939393939 118.986275619 78% => OK
Words per sentence: 18.5454545455 23.4991977007 79% => OK
Discourse Markers: 3.93939393939 5.21951772744 75% => OK
Paragraphs: 8.0 4.97078651685 161% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 10.0 7.80617977528 128% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 8.0 10.2758426966 78% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 6.0 5.13820224719 117% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 19.0 4.83258426966 393% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.269412659848 0.243740707755 111% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0615555380609 0.0831039109588 74% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0514652202355 0.0758088955206 68% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.12581664004 0.150359130593 84% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0577526279713 0.0667264976115 87% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 11.3 14.1392134831 80% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 53.21 48.8420337079 109% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 7.92365168539 111% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 10.3 12.1743820225 85% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 11.6 12.1639044944 95% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.61 8.38706741573 103% => OK
difficult_words: 158.0 100.480337079 157% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 12.0 11.8971910112 101% => OK
gunning_fog: 9.2 11.2143820225 82% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.7820224719 102% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum six paragraphs wanted.
Rates: 58.33 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 3.5 Out of 6
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.