[irixusr]

Why forget the dates after the effort shoving them in?

And why not ask what is the value of knowing the dates of important events? The polish school system is hardly unique in this requirement.

I hated memorizing dates as a kid. Horrible at short term memory. But I was good at putting them in long term memory. Now what I hated anchors my understanding of history.

For example, does the modern Polish state obtaining independence have any meaning except in the 20s and 30s? (That is after the fall of the Czar, after WW1, before the Molotov pact). Despite Polish longing, 1917 had to happen. 1917 is an anchor.

Or consider that the discovery of America, 1492, happened less than 40 years after the fall of Constantinople and in the same year as the fall of Granada (ending the Reconquista). 1492 (and 1453) is another anchor