you have observed that most of the students in your class are only worried about marks and do not think about acquiring knowledge parents are also satisfied as long as their children are scoring good marks in their report cards you feel this is encouraging rote learning
Answers
You can either use the following discussion or formulate your own taking ideas from it:
Student A: Hey, I wanted to discuss something very important with you?
Student B: Sure, I am free!
Student A: I am very much concerned over the general attitude of most of students towards education! Marks and grades seem to be their priority!
Student B: I did not get you! What else should the students focus on then? If they don’t score high grades and marks, they won’t be selected in colleges or professional courses! Don’t you know, higher grades in our country are criteria of selection?
Student A: You don’t get my point! I am not against high grades and marks; what I mean is they are adopting wrong ways to score them! For example they are ignoring knowledge and skills for marks and grades. They just want to score; they are not bothered about enhancing and improving their knowledge and command over the subjects. They are even adopting unfair and wrong means to score high grades.
Student B: Oh! Now I get you! You mean to say they are using wrong ways such as rote learning, cribbing, and other unfair means such as paying high amount of money to high officials and getting your grades and marks doctored.
Student A: Exactly. You hit the bull’s eye! Without knowledge and skill building what good are grades or marks? Life’s riddles, problems and challenges can only be solved through skills, specialization, and knowledge. If they are ignored what good will the grades and marks will do?
Student B: I agree with you. All great personages were men of unprecedented knowledge and skills. They never ever went after marks or grades. Einstein, Addison, S Ramanujam, etc. were never ever great students academically! But what a contributions to knowledge and sciences they made!
Student A: Parents are also encouraging their children to focus on high grades and marks only! As a result our country is lagging far behind in scientific and technological advancement!
Student B: I think at schools and homes the teachers and parents must change their attitude. Knowledge acquisition must be instilled in the students’ minds. High grades are good but knowledge and skills with high grades is better.
Student A: Our nation will become advanced only when its people will advance in their knowledge and skills. Every year we have thousands of students who score high grades; but we need more number of students with high knowledge and skills.
Student B: Only then our country will be technologically advanced.
Follow up questions and answers:
How do you think the students would react to your suggestions?
Students will find the suggestion quite hard to digest as they must have become accustomed to rote learning. However, talking to them about the negative effects of rote-learning will motivate them to knowledge building. It will definitely impel them to focus more on knowledge than rote learning.
What role do you think the school counsellor/teacher/parent plays in this situation?
The School counselor and teachers can play a very key role in changing the students’ attitude. Students listen more to their teachers. Besides, the counselor will really convince them about the benefits of knowledge enhancement.
How can rote-learning be discouraged?
Rote-learning can only be discouraged by the understanding approach. The first thing to do is align and adjust the tuning of your mind to studies and academic responsibilities. When our attitude towards studies is reckless, negligent, and apathetic, aversion for studies is bound to happen. We must change our attitude to studies first. The next thing to be done is make sincere and repeated efforts and mental exertion to comprehend the concepts at hand. Sincere reflection on the concepts and topics always bears fruit. The last thing is to derive joy out of learning. The moment you start deriving joy out of studies, it is an indication of dawn of knowledge and end of the dark night of ignorance and rote learning.