The Book of Learning and Forgetting

Summarized by Derrel Fincher

The Book of Learning and Forgetting

Smith, Frank, 1998, New York: Teachers College Press

The book deals as much with why we forget as with why we learn, and he really views these as inseparable ideas. To make his point, he contrasts what he calls the classic view of learning and forgetting with the official theory of learning and forgetting.

The classic view says that "we learn from people around us with whom we identify. We can't help learning from them and we learn without knowing that we are learning." (pg 3)

Smith lambastes the official view. As he lists on page 4, the official theory of learning and forgetting is responsible for:

• compelling people to try to learn in the most inefficient way possible, with rapid forgetting guaranteed,
• persuading individuals that they won't learn unless they make a determined effort, and that the fault is theirs if they fail,
• Segregating learners at school so they can't help each other, in the process making life as difficult as possible for teachers,
• coercing learners and teachers into ineffective programs of study, designed by distant authorities who have no way of knowing or rectifying the difficulties they create,
• forcing learners and teachers to waste their time on repetitive exercises and drills that teach only that learning is frustrating and difficult,
• imposing discriminatory and discouraging "tests" that ensure that individuals who most need help an encouragement get the least,
• convincing teachers, learners, and parents that the most important thing about educations is scores and grades,
• making learning a trial when it should be a pleasure, and making forgetting inevitable when it should be insignificant.

He then constructs a chart on page 5 showing the difference in the two visions:

His tag line is "you learn from the company you keep" at the top of page 9. He then discusses how people join clubs and learn from others in the club, down to speech and dress. Of course, clubs do not have to be called "clubs"; you just learn from the company you keep. Basically, clubs help us form our identities by helping us learn who we are and who we are not. (Note that Lave&Wenger refer to LPP as building identity.)

He goes on to show how student learn a tremendous amount of vocabulary each year, with no forgetting, even though teachers report it's a struggle to get the kids to learn the ten words on the weekly vocabulary list. (When asked when they can learn all those words, he retorts, "I suppose it's when they're not working on the word list.") He points out that the kids who learn the most vocabulary are firm members of the literacy club, and that by being readers, kids can join any club in the world. (pg 24). Authors are our guides, and kids don't really choose books "too easy" for themselves; instead, they are learning from the author. The author shows children how to read. Page 27.

How do we show children that they are members of the literacy club? It's really the other way, "What is critical is that learners must not learn that they are not members of the literacy club. pg 28.

In chapter 5, "Learning through life", he discusses the need for us to make connections for learning to effortless and that things go into long term memory effortlessly or not at all. That doesn't mean that it may not take time to learn. Even experts require time, but it does go in as the connections are built. As he says, "the struggle to learn...is always a struggle to understand." pg 35

He does acknowledge that occasionally ritual learning may be needed, in which case various techniques can be used to make it easier such as rhythm, music, etc.

In chapter 6, he discusses the fact that "official" learning theory really came from the successes of the Prussian army, so the theory is really based on a militaristic model.

In chapter 7, he brings up Hermann Ebbinghause's revelation about studying how people learn nonsense if you want to study how people learn without interest or past experience helping. Ebbinghause came up with the nonsense syllable. In short, people can learn up to about 10 nonsense items, then the curve flattens out. Basically, education bought this for the official theory. If you aren't learning, you don't have the right incentives or aren't trying hard enough.

The two oversights are 1) The theory is entirely based on nonsense and 2) most have ignored something else Ebbinghause discovered, the laws of forgetting. That is, most forgetting occurs immediately after the last learning trial or rehearsal. (But this only applies to nonsense.)

Combine this with Skinnerian behavior and politicians, and curriculum was replaced by lists and tests.

Chapter 8 covers tests and the history of tests. In the end, he points out that we don't have to test people to see if they are learning; we just have to look at what is going on in the classroom.

Chapter 9 discuss how logistics management came in after World War II and reduced teaching to logistics management, with task forces, targets, and objectives. "The only way for teachers and students to survive is to stop trying to save the system and start trying to save themselves" Page 69. He even brings up a program that seems to be DISTAR/SRA and the author said it had to be so detailed because "you can't trust teachers to teach."

In chapter 10, he talks about the official theory going on line so that teachers are superfluous, then he continues by answering some typical objections of the official theory.

Chapter 11 is Liberating our Own Learning. Several points are:

• Patience and effort are often required to engage in an activity from which learning will come, but we don't force the learning.
• The challenge should not be learning, but the enterprise in which the participants are engaged. (pg 86)
• Learning should bring enjoyment and satisfaction, but this is definitely not the same as fun.
• The power of imagination or visualization open up fast tracks for learning. Authors help us with this.

Danger signals of not using the classic theory are:

1. Trying to deliberately memorize what they are studying or practicing and
2. Plowing through materials, but only remembering confusion. Confusion indicates wasted effort or worse.

Chapter 12 is Liberating Schools and Education. First, don't throw everything out and start over. There are some good things going on and we can build off of those. He advocates a three step approach:

1. Understanding - Understand the world of schools we live in. "Teachers need to uncover the consequences of what they do; what things are good, and what things are not." pg 92.
2. Effort - Do more of the productive things and less of the others. This may often run counter to the entrenched beliefs or to students beliefs about school. Working collaboratively is best.
3. Honesty - Be honest with students. Tell them if busy work is busy work and which tests are imposed by bureaucrats. In short, raise consciousness.

He proposes not asking, "Are the students learning?" but instead "What are the students learning?" Also, abolish the words learning and teaching altogether and instead talk about doing. 

To change other peoples' minds he suggests "the solution for both teachers and administrators is the same--to invite them into liberated classrooms, not as observers but as participants." (Pg 96).

Page 97: "When I talk with teachers anxious to liberate their own classrooms from the official theory of learning, I suggest they should try to bring administrators and parents around to viewing the world the way they do. But if they fail, I recommend that they press ahead without the support of administrators and parents. Their first responsibility is to the students."

Other good quotes: "Teachers who can't do their job without instructional procedures, materials, and goals designed by people who have no contact with their students are in the wrong occupation and should perhaps be called technicians rather than teachers." page 98.

"A classroom that can't cope with students of different mental, physical, and cultural abilities is a microcosm of a society that doesn't respect such differences" Page 99.

His last thought on page 101 is that the responsibility is to organize the schools to arrange interesting experiences for their students and themselves.

Last maintained 11/19/2007