How important is Cadet Memory Work?

[PHall]

As a former cadet, 1981 to be exact, i can still remember the cadet oath and most of the 12 general orders of the guard. Rote memorization opens your mind up to accepting new info. Whether or not you retain said info 30 odd years down the road is moot. Someone asks you a question and right away you either know the answer or you don't. There is no umm or err.
Knowing this sort of info for a promo board, however, is pretty stupid. It's more of a tool to process info and absorb it. Using it as a basis to promote is asinine. Critical thinking is a little more important. Having a better base of knowledge would be more beneficial, such as "you're Flight Sergeant of your flight at encampment. One cadet is constantly late to formation. His element leader has talked to him about it yet the problem persists. What is your next course of action?"
Applied knowledge of the position/grade. That's what I'm getting at.

sorry....Rote Memorization does NOT open your mind to accepting new information.
AND rote memorization is only the first level of lowest level of cognitive learning.......other then a tool to keep people busy at basic training...it serves very little purpose.

Rote Memorization doesn't work Pat? Better tell all of the flying training folks. Rote Memorization is very heavily used in aviation training.

Yes....but they back it up with all the theory and everything else.

I was talking in a CADET context.  Memorising you bold face EP's is very important to aircrew......but they don't make you memorise the oath of enlistment or your chain of command from POTUS on down, or the definition of leadership.

At encampment.....okay some of those things are good....it gets you to focus on attention to detail and spend your "free time" memorizing trivia.....but that is it.

I think we have a hard enough program as it is with out adding more useless BS.  Pedadogicly speaking rote memorization is the lowest form of teaching.  It is good to a certain level....but does very little to bring UNDERSTANDING or open your mind to more information.

You're missing the point Pat.     I learned how to memorize stuff by memorizing my memory work when I was a 13 year old cadet at Encampment who had the attention span of a Newt!

[NIN]

a 13 year old cadet at Encampment who had the attention span of a Newt!

A newt?

[Garibaldi]

a 13 year old cadet at Encampment who had the attention span of a Newt!

A newt?

Dangit! Beat me to it! But I'm getting better. I feel happy! I feel happy! *BONK*

[NIN]

Dangit! Beat me to it! But I'm getting better. I feel happy! I feel happy! *BONK*

You gotta get up pretty early to beat me on some of these...

[PHall]

Garibaldi, Nin is a world class movie geek..... Don't bother trying to beat him, you won't!

[Jaison009]

As a former cadet officer in CAP and Army JROTC, I took the cadet oaths very seriously. My last year as a cadet was about 10 years ago and I have never served in the military; yet I could recite the oath and teach D & C right now if I had to just from memory. Drill and Ceremony teaches discipline and bearing. In the real world these are critical traits. I learned the AF definition of leadership in 1996 as a C/B and still recite and USE it to this day. In fact it is one of the sayings hanging in my office. The use of memorization is critical later in life. As a Paramedic it was ungodly the things we had to memorize; however, lives depended on it. If you do not take it seriously now and use it to set precedence for it, it is harder to relearn life's lessons later on. The use of memorization can also help cadets do better in school and improve their academics. Athletes, lawyers, etc. all require memorization of certain skills and capabilities. The CAP values are essential to good moral behavior. Why not show its importance now while there is a chance to make an impact on the cadet's life?

[ColonelJack]

So ... how's the cow?

Jack

[Garibaldi]

So ... how's the cow?

Jack

She walks, she talks, she's full of chalk. the lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the species is highly prolific to the nth degree

[AlphaSigOU]

She walks, she talks, she's full of chalk. the lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the species is highly prolific to the nth degree

And that's the how of the cow, sir! (How can I not forget...  )

[SamFranklin]

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum
si þin nama gehalgod
tobecume þin rice
gewurþe þin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice.

Rote memorization is also used in poetic / literary appreciations like this example, which I conquered in twelfth grade.

If something is to be memorized, it ought to be meaningful and possess timeless value. "how's the cow" or whatever is silly stuff, as was the twelve general orders back in the day, for cadets, in my opinion.

[BillB]

Silly or not, you have to see from some comments...it worked. Cadets developed memorization. Dare I ask for the time?

[arajca]

19:48 MST

[ColonelJack]

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum
si þin nama gehalgod
tobecume þin rice
gewurþe þin willa
on eorðan swa swa on heofonum
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us to dæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas
swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge
ac alys us of yfele soþlice.

That's easy for you to say!

Jack

[West MI-CAP-Ret]

As a former cadet officer in CAP and Army JROTC, I took the cadet oaths very seriously. My last year as a cadet was about 10 years ago and I have never served in the military; yet I could recite the oath and teach D & C right now if I had to just from memory. Drill and Ceremony teaches discipline and bearing. In the real world these are critical traits. I learned the AF definition of leadership in 1996 as a C/B and still recite and USE it to this day. In fact it is one of the sayings hanging in my office. The use of memorization is critical later in life. As a Paramedic it was ungodly the things we had to memorize; however, lives depended on it. If you do not take it seriously now and use it to set precedence for it, it is harder to relearn life's lessons later on. The use of memorization can also help cadets do better in school and improve their academics. Athletes, lawyers, etc. all require memorization of certain skills and capabilities. The CAP values are essential to good moral behavior. Why not show its importance now while there is a chance to make an impact on the cadet's life?

So true!  It is hopeful that the things we ask cadets to memorize helps them the moment they need it.  Also, it develops brain power!

If run correctly, the program sells its self. (Sadly, we have a high turnover of cadets because we bore cadets to death!)

Next week, let's talk about...activities!😝

Dave

[docbiochem33]

Helping cadets memorize now will be important later.  In college almost everything is pure memorization and you can see the difference in people who had to memorize large amounts of information in lower levels of learning and those that did not.

Because of the memorization drills I had in elementary, high school, and CAP, I was able to memorize large amounts of material across several classes in college.  I still remember that there were about 50 bacteria, 50 viruses, 20 worms and flukes, and all the life cycles of some in just one microbiology class.  Then memorizing all 207 bones and major points of interest on, in, or around them, all the organs, all the layers of skin, all the muscles. 

The skills they learn now will help in the future.