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I came across this article (above), though I have seen a few over the years. I am amazed at how simple things that are time-tested work amazingly and efficiently in helping children learn. We are utilizing more copywork, narrations, drawing, and notebooking in our homeschool. I can't even describe how much the children retain from using these methods. Even the high school girls are loving these methods. They easily tire of the same ole read the chapter, answer the questions take a test, repeat. This is not true education. My children stash the information in their short-term memory then quickly forget it all once the test is completed. Writing things out, keeping notebooks or journals of work, boosts learning.
And yet, in public school, these skills are being lost. Instead of keeping notebooks or writing, children type their notes. Everything is transitioning from paper and books to iPads and computers. And while I enjoy technology, I keep reading articles about how the older methods work successfully, activating the brain in ways science never fully realized until, ironically, technology developed to such a degree as to measure the activation. We now can run tests that show which areas of the brain light up after writing in cursive, that lay dormant after typing the same thing. The act of writing stimulates the brain.
I have no plans to switch methods of teaching. We use our computer for a couple subjects. Math is computer-based for my older girls, but they also fill up paper figuring their answers by hand.
If your child is struggling in school, try going back to some of the older methods is learning. They weren't replaced by better... Just newer.
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