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Rote learning isn't the be-all-end-all of education, but it's actually very important. You can't think anything interesting without knowing stuff to think about. Facts are important. Memorization is important.

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The problem comes when rote learning actually is the be-all-end-all. Too many Asian students experience rote learning without any focus on actual learning. Our job used to be regurgitating paragraphs from textbooks, exactly as they were, into our exam papers. In classrooms, we were told that war happened in year X, but there was no discussion and analysis as to actual reasons, the milieu at the time, and the understanding and takeaway from that piece of history.

Facts and memorization are important, but they need to be in service to actual learning and understanding.

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