Bulimia and learning

Most of what we call 'studying' is closer to bulimia than learning.

We cram the night before only to vomit what we've consumed on tests the next day. Some of what we've ingested may stick, but only the scars are sure to remain.

Yes, some disciplines require split-second access to rote memorization - emergency medicine comes to mind. But this is more a behavioral skill and hardly applicable in other contexts, and professionals concede that cramming is hardly the best way to build the practical skills of practice. That comes from repetition.

With more than 20 years of higher education experience - teaching humanities courses that hardly qualify as emergency medicine - it's obvious that the bulimic approach to testing has become a giant CYA.

It's the most efficient way for industrialization to maintain control over higher education - freeing professors from teaching how to learn and use a topic, letting Ph.D.'s hide behind Scantrons and multiple-guess (choice) or fifty/fifty (true/false) testing.

The alternative? Find one the next time you are entrusted with the future of someone who must trust you to get a passing grade.
​