Quite often, I go to dance classes. Sometimes I know the choreography and sometimes “it seems like Greek to me”. At one studio I attend, they offer a class once a week called, “Take it From the Top” which takes the choreography from one song and the instructor breaks it down into small portions. Once we know the small portions of the routine, we start out with music at a slow tempo and then the tempo is increased. Each song at a different temp is not the original song so we need to know the routine inside and out in order to do it to different music and by the end of that class, we know that song, cold. Learning subjects and information such as spelling, math facts, formulas, memorization, etc, require lots of practice and repetition.
When considering information that a child will use for a life time, like spelling, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, these facts NEED to be mastered. Sure, one could use a calculator or a phone with a calculator. However, what will the student do when they don’t have access to a calculator and they need to make an assessment on the spot if something is a deal or if their grocery receipt is correct? A retired teacher we encountered while our son was in high school playing tennis who tutored IMG students, Mrs. Schettino, told us that in working with student athletes, she hammered home to them the importance of basic computation. Facts are facts. From the spelling words, formulas, math facts and other significant information, break it down into small steps, use flash cards, mnemonic devices, repetition and any other methods that you know of that have success. Kids need to know the information forwards and backwards and teach a student to quiz themself to be assured they know the material for the test. Strive for excellence NOT perfection. The 80% rule comes into play here, which will be discussed NEXT week.
Yes, practice does make perfect (or at least excellence) for many Great Days 🍎