Classical education memorization is not the enemy of deep learning but rather the foundation upon which true understanding is built.
Over the years of studying classically with her children and serving as Chief Academic Officer for Classical Conversations MultiMedia, Jennifer Courtney has heard a lot of myths about classical education. Not myths, such as Homer’s epic poems, designed to present our children with examples of heroes to follow and villains to shun, but the common understanding of the word: misconceptions.
If you are exploring classical education for your homeschool but feel uneasy about what seems like too much memorization, this particular misconception deserves careful attention. Many thoughtful parents worry that classical education is just mindless drill and repetition rather than rich, meaningful learning. In this article, Jennifer explains why memorization in classical education is not only relevant but beautiful and is the natural way children learn.
Is Classical Education Just Memorization?
This remains one of the most persistent classical education myths I encounter. There are two issues to address here. We need to look at whether or not memorization is bad for children. Then we can consider whether or not this is all that children do during their early years.
Why Memorization Matters in Classical Education
First, why do we automatically assume that memorization is bad? Jewish young men were expected to memorize multiple books of Scripture. Traveling poets in ancient and medieval times memorized long poems such as The Iliad, The Odyssey, the legends of King Arthur, and Beowulf. Just because memorization has become a lost art in our day does not mean that it is no longer good and necessary.
Many of us moderns assume that memorization is either too hard or too boring. If we examine both of these assumptions, we will see that neither of them applies to young children. If it were too hard, then they would never learn to speak English. How do we teach them the words of our language? We repeat them over and over again until they know them. Secondly, children find it pleasurable to memorize and recite. (This explains the lasting popularity of Mother Goose nursery rhymes). Think about how often your children memorize commercials or entire picture books.
Foundational Knowledge Through Memorization
There are many things we hope our children will memorize such as Scripture, poetry, and family rules. We also acknowledge that many of their early subjects require memorization for mastery. Few question the importance of memorizing spelling rules or multiplication tables. When we tackle foreign languages, we assume that our children will need to memorize vocabulary words and grammar rules. We expect our physicians to memorize human organ systems when they study anatomy.
To follow our own logic, then, we should assume that every subject has basic knowledge that must be memorized. We see this as an important skill at the start of mastering any new subject. We should assume, then, that young children would spend a good deal of time on classical memory work because all subjects are new to them.
Memorization and Comprehension: Building on a Strong Foundation
It has been said that God revealed Himself to His people in two ways: through His Word and through His world. We all expect our children to hide God’s Word in their hearts, but we often neglect the study of His world.
When very young children memorize science facts such as the three types of rocks (igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary), they are actually learning about how God designed the world. For now, it is pleasurable to them to chant these big words. They are just fun to say! Later, they can examine actual rocks and attempt to classify them into these categories. This is also pleasurable to our minds. We like to put things in order. Later still, they may use their knowledge of rock formations to discuss origin theories.
In all of these activities, we can point them to the Creator. While you are memorizing facts about rocks and examining actual rocks, why not look up Scriptures about rocks? What does Jesus mean when he tells the Pharisees: “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40, KJV).
Throughout our memory work with our children, we should be focused on two ideas. First, we are laying a foundation for future study. Second, we are teaching children about God through the study of His world.
Listen to The Life of Memory on the Everyday Educator podcast
The Difference Between Rote Memorization and Classical Memory Work
Other critics of classical education agree that memorization is necessary, but mistakenly believe that this is all we are asking young children to do. That would be drudgery indeed! This reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between rote learning and classical memory work.
While they are memorizing important facts about God’s world, we want to share stories with them about science and history. You may be tired of reading about rocks or insects or Christopher Columbus, but your children are not. Remember that all things are new and exciting to them. Try to share in their sense of wonder and revel in these years of discovery with them.
Memory Work as Part of the Trivium
The classical Trivium is composed of three arts: Grammar, Dialectic, and Rhetoric. The art of grammar can be defined as the study of vocabulary. Every are of study has vocabulary, from math to science to foreign languages. We should embrace learning the words and their definitions. You can capitalize on this developmental period by filling young minds with foundational knowledge that will serve them throughout their education.
As they read, they will be excited to recognize facts they have memorized about science and history. Try to choose books that encourage this sense of wonder. I often turn to older history texts in our home because they encourage children to be amazed at the heroes of the past. Newer biographies often encourage children to be young skeptics. They can be critical thinkers later. For now, they need to be amazed and inspired.
Practical Ways to Incorporate Memorization into Daily Homeschool
If you are wondering how to make memory work homeschool routines more effective and less tedious, consider varying your approach throughout the week. Classical memory techniques do not require sitting still at a table with flashcards every single day. One of the simplest ways to keep memory work fresh is to add movement and creativity to your review times.
Add Movement to Memory Work
Physical engagement helps cement information while making review time more enjoyable. Try these active approaches:
- Invite your children to recite memory work while jumping up and down, doing toe touches, spinning in a circle, or balancing on one foot
- Have students recite using funny voices or while making faces
- Play tic-tac-toe as you ask questions—if students can state the complete fact, they can draw an “X” or “O”
- Kick or toss a ball back and forth while chanting math facts or Latin conjugations
Transform Everyday Materials into Learning Tools
You do not need expensive educational supplies to make memory work engaging. Simple household items become powerful teaching aids:
- Let students write memory work on windows and doors with window markers or crayons
- Pull out sidewalk chalk on warmer days for outdoor review
- Use mini chocolate chips to mark geography locations on a map (a technique that never fails to please in our household)
- Create memory work cards that students can “win” by correctly reciting information, offering simple prizes like choosing the bedtime story or earning an extra five minutes of tickling at bedtime
Read more memory tips in Mixing Up the Memory Work
Frequently Asked Questions About Classical Education and Memorization
Is classical education just memorization?
No, classical education is not just memorization. While memorization plays an important role, it is only one piece of a classical education. Classical education also includes the art of dialectic, where students learn to think critically and analyze arguments, and the art of rhetoric, where they learn to articulate and defend their own positions. Early memorization provides the foundational knowledge that makes these later arts possible.
What’s the difference between rote memorization and classical memory work?
Rote memorization typically refers to repetitive drilling of facts without context or meaning. Classical memory work, by contrast, embeds facts within a rich context of stories, wonder, and discovery. While children memorize important facts, they also read engaging books, conduct hands-on experiments, and develop a sense of awe for God’s world. The memorization is paired with understanding and application, not isolated from it.
Why does classical education use memorization?
Classical education uses memorization because young children naturally excel at it and because foundational knowledge must be established before critical thinking can occur. You cannot analyze what you do not know. By filling children’s minds with facts about history, science, mathematics, literature, and Scripture during the years when their brains are most receptive to memorization, classical education provides them with mental furniture they will use for the rest of their lives. This approach also aligns with how God designed the human mind to develop.
Does memorization help or hurt learning?
Memorization benefits education when appropriately tailored to the child’s developmental stage. Research shows that memorization strengthens neural pathways, improves recall, and provides the building blocks for higher-order thinking. For young children learning the grammatical arts, memorization is natural, enjoyable, and essential. The key is pairing memorization with wonder, story, and application so that facts become meaningful rather than empty data points.
What comes after grammar in classical education?
There are seven liberal arts in a classical education. The first three arts are arts of language-grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric. The remaining four arts are arts of number–arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and harmonics. Grammar is the study of vocabulary, dialectic is the study of ideas, and rhetoric is the study of persuasion. Together, these three language arts allow students to pursue the art of winsomely sharing truth with those around them.
Read The Five Core Habits of Grammar: How to Dress for Lifelong Learning
Reclaiming a Lost Art
We can reclaim the lost art of memorization as we study God’s Word and His world. When we understand that classical education, criticized for “too much memorization,” is actually classical education misunderstood, we can confidently guide our children in the skills of grammar with joy. The difference between classical and modern education approaches to memory work lies not in whether memorization happens, but in how it is framed, what is memorized, and how that knowledge is later used.
The benefits our children will experience from memorization extend far beyond their early years. As they move through the arts of the trivium, they will draw on this stored knowledge again and again, seeing connections they never imagined and using their solid foundation to build towers of understanding that reach toward truth, beauty, and goodness.
Learn more about the Trivium and the 15 Skills of Learning with these resources:
- What is the Trivium and How Does it Apply to Homeschooling?
- Mastering the 15 Classical Skills: A Parent’s Guide to the Trivium
- What Are the Five Core Habits of Grammar?
- What Are the Five Common Topics of Dialectic?
- What Are the Five Canons of Rhetoric?
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