Education

            Life's Little Reflections on Education.
             Marcus Fabius Quintilianus or Quintilian discussed how during the second stage of education, the student would trace ivory letters, specially carved, as an aid to learning the alphabet. (Pg. 76). I can remember during my kindergarten year, the teacher giving all the students worksheets containing the letters of the alphabet. This sheet also contained instructions on how to trace or copy each letter. Still today this procedure is used as an effective learning method. Although, today's educators split up the alphabet in small workable groups, so the letters can be mastered at a quicker pace.
             For each stage of education, the teachers taught me new and improved skills for memorization. For example, elementary teachers taught me how to use sight recall and songs to enforce recovery skills. Junior high teachers taught me how to read, write, and recite all information to obtain knowledge through repetition. Instructional methods passed down from one generation to the next starting from the beginning relied heavily on memorizing. Clearly the emphasis on education for all cultures was for each civilization to establish a structure for the generation or political leader. Memorization, a practical and reliable skill, could keep ethnic and geographical groups uniquely divided through historical and religious teachings. Aristotle argued that a good community rested on its members and if education were neglected then the community would suffer. (Pg. 73). .
             City expansions, improvements, growing communities, and additional students are just a few of the problems I had to deal with in the school system as a student. I was faced with the growing number of enrollments in my school district. I attended a large school where time was very limited and the quality of education seemed to be poor. The classrooms held up to 40 students and one on one with the teacher was virtually impossible.