DOING away with rote learning will breed several problems ("Weed out outdated rote learning" by Mr Terence Lee Xin Jin; Monday).
Already, students freed up from having to memorise multiplication tables are unable to do multiplication sums without a calculator.
If "modern learning" were adopted, the quality of our graduates could deteriorate.
If asked for Newton's three laws of motion, will a graduate reply, "I know them, but I'll have to check the Internet and I don't have a laptop now"?
If asked to find the volume of a cone, will a graduate say, "I know how to calculate it, but I'll need to refer to a formula booklet to get the formula first"?
Or, if asked for Chinese poet Li Bai's most famous work, will a student say, "I can check Google, but I'll need my iPhone to do that"?
Such a scenario would not bode well for the future.
Ler Boon Kwang
Already, students freed up from having to memorise multiplication tables are unable to do multiplication sums without a calculator.
If "modern learning" were adopted, the quality of our graduates could deteriorate.
If asked for Newton's three laws of motion, will a graduate reply, "I know them, but I'll have to check the Internet and I don't have a laptop now"?
If asked to find the volume of a cone, will a graduate say, "I know how to calculate it, but I'll need to refer to a formula booklet to get the formula first"?
Or, if asked for Chinese poet Li Bai's most famous work, will a student say, "I can check Google, but I'll need my iPhone to do that"?
Such a scenario would not bode well for the future.
Ler Boon Kwang
