In recent years, it has become routine for students to memorize facts and be assessed immediately. Students memorize events for history courses, equations for math courses and vocabulary for English and foreign language courses in order to maintain their grades.

Students likely are divided on this approach to learning. While some credit their strong memories for allowing them to memorize information and get A’s on assessments, others blame their poor memories for hurting their grades. But this begs the question: should education revolve around pupils’ mental capacities?

The real problem with this pattern of learning is the end result is rarely applying content to real-world situations. Many students don’t feel it is necessary to remember what they have been taught in class for the long haul, since they are certain they won’t see it again. As a result, most students forget the content of their tests and quizzes days after taking them and only review for final exams.

With this system of learning, students are inclined to simply retain information thrown at them for the short-term rather than understand it for the long-term. Real-world skills are not being learned to the highest capability since knowledge can’t be applied outside the classroom for several subjects. There are many science and journalism-related internships, for example, but rarely any for analyzing ancient history or the meaning of 19th century novels. This usually leads to a loss of interest in these subjects. Students stop learning and start memorizing. At this point, grades depend particularly on how quickly students can spill their memories – strong or weak – onto their scantrons and response essays.

This is not the case for all courses, however. In certain classes, memorization is the first step toward learning and applying facts to actual situations. Information is stored in students’ long-term memories and understood along the way. In AP NSL, for example, the curriculum allows teachers to make connections to modern politics while teaching, and students can see what they are learning in the real world. Furthermore, hands-on lab activities in science courses require students to apply information to an actual experiment, allowing them to see how chemical or biological processes ensue.

The curriculum of several courses seems to lack an active approach to teaching, leaving students uncommitted. But, these classes can become more enticing with effort. If English classes had more contemporary texts, for example, interest in reading would increase. If foreign language classes presented situations where students could use their bilingualism, mastery of Spanish and French would be desired.

Until classes that engage students are no longer a minority, students will continue staring at flashcards and formula sheets, having to accept the fact that learning in high school is memorizing information.