Mahesh - Week 16: Developing my Memory


Ever since I was a child, I participated in this Tamil poem recitation contest in the Bay Area that is sort of a way for me to keep in touch with my language while living in another country. This contest tested my ability to remember thousands of words and phrases that encouraged me to develop my memory by using unique strategies to maximize my retention of these words. As I participated in the recurring instances of this contest, I learned to like my language in a literary sense rather than just the speaking experience I have with my relatives and understand the deeper meanings that can be posed by these short phrases.

Sometimes, I wonder how much of my language I really know and this competition has proven to be a great way to test myself and compare my memorization with the year before. The competition has an additional part where I have to recite the meaning of each phrase. I notice that as every year passes, I understand more about the phrases than I did the previous year, indicating growth and a definite sign of wisdom in each of the phrases. Understanding this complexity helps prove to myself that I am not forgetting my mother tongue and still remember how to interact with people in languages other than English all the time. I also remember that other education systems focus on memorization more than understanding, which I feel is not the proper assessment of my knowledge.

However much a memorized phrase can teach, the meaning behind the phrase imparts wisdom. Although the memorization aspect of it does not help me too much, I still use the wisdom I gained from these phrases and sayings into everyday life and my decision-making has considerably improved because of my efforts there. Memory can surely become a powerful tool when coupled with the effort to learn from experience.


Here is a great reading on memory-based education and resulting consequences: www.mainepublic.org/maine/2018-06-08/its-not-a-memory-test-education-needs-to-focus-on-critical-thinking 


Comments

  1. Shreeya SharmaMay 22, 2024 at 9:43 AM

    Hi Mahesh. It was interesting to learn about how your recitation of poems helps with your memory of Tamil. Poetry, unlike colloquial language, often has a unique syntactic structure and diverse vocabulary, which enables a writer or even a speaker to expand their knowledge of a language and strengthen their memory of it. It’s good to know that you’re able to remember your mother tongue so well, especially since you aren’t in an area where most people speak the language. In general, language learning is based more on understanding how the language works, although memorization is an important part of it. I agree that memory and experience are essential to learning and improving one’s life, and I appreciate how you addressed this in your blog with your anecdote.

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  2. anishka jannuMay 22, 2024 at 12:01 PM

    Hi Mahesh! I found your ideas on memory and experience to be very relatable. Whenever I try to memorize something for a test, I always end up forgetting the knowledge within a few days. However, when I use my experience and logic to understand the ideas, I am able to move that information to my long-term memory. Therefore, I remember the concepts for a much longer time. I believe that simply relying on memory without experience is not as effective as using your experience and wisdom.

    I also found it interesting how you mentioned using wisdom in other life skills. I think that the wisdom and decision-making skills I learn from my classes can also be applied into my daily life. I learn how to make good decisions and take educated guesses. These skills are very useful for situations that a person encounters in their professional and social life. Learning how to apply your conversation skills and having quick thinking skills can be a determining factor when a person is being considered for a job or selective opportunity. Therefore, it is important to consider how you are learning with experience.

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  3. Patrick ChouMay 23, 2024 at 12:24 AM

    Hi Mahesh! I found your ideas about memory and experience to be very knowledgeable. I feel like when I study for tests, I end up forgetting the knowledge a few days later and when finals roll around everything seems so alien to me. However, when I find that I have hit a roadblock I like to revisit my notes to try to draw from the long-term memory. Also, I like to make a mental map while studying by moving around the house from hour to hour thus creating a topic associated with an area of my house, like acid and bases would be my room and thermodynamics would be my living room, and the path in between would act as a physical and mental way to link the two topics.

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