Paul Miller Loved Teaching Math So Much That He Did It for Nearly 80 Years
npr.org
npr.org
> Miller's advice to the rookies -- and anyone else angling for chance at longevity of any kind -- is simple: "Stay in good health. Watch your diet. Get enough sleep. And most of all, after the day is finished, don't worry about it."
I'll never forget that advice.
> His children recall him working long hours, leaving home not long after dawn and returning home at 11 p.m., spending his days working two or three jobs at a time.
Getting home at 11pm doesn't leave a lot of time to worry about anything I suppose.
> Technology, he says, can't make a student any smarter.
But in a way, I feel like many times, I reach understanding of a topic, after some information has sit in my brain enough that "i get it". I often don't feel I've done something special compared to my state the day before. So maybe it's all rote learning.
However I would also argue that memorization is the precursor to understanding.
I think the main issue with rote learning in schools is when only memorization is taught and tested. For example: teaching and testing how to solve the same type of problem and grading the accuracy of solving without having any critical thinking/application problems is, in my opinion, a mistake.