[nosignal]

At the risk of being pedantic, it's worth noting that some things benefit from memorisation (e.g. the alphabet) and some things benefit from "higher" learning (e.g. understanding the concepts of programming). I don't think patio11 is necessarily saying "something is better than nothing"; sometimes it is _better_ to teach someone 'if you see the shape O, you say "oh"'.

[apsurd]

touché =)

I understand that very clearly when you put it that way. I remember my dad beating the alphabet into my head. It was the only way that he could eventually teach me how to read.

Thanks for that.

[chii]

i agree too - the foundation stuff should be memorized so well that you know it like you would know the back of your hand.

This way, the instant recall of information can then help the higher level learning that goes on.

Think maths - if you can't add/subtract/multiply/divide fast, you will have a hard time doing algebra and calculus.