Sir, – While I am young enough to remember the tedium that was the Leaving Cert and while I appreciate any efforts to foster critical thinking in our education system, in my old age (having recently turned 30), I have taken to habitually learning things by rote.
I find that the practice sharpens rather than dulls the mind. Learning by heart, mostly Bible verses, poetry and sections of novels I have enjoyed, now seems like a lovely idea. By it, I remember the illumination they bring by absorbing them into my very body.
The basic unit of English verse, the iambic pentameter, contains as many heart beats as we make during one breath and this fact alone suggests it would be wise to consider keeping this traditional mode of learning; committing to the core of our being things that are lovely and true, whether they be formulae for quadratic equations or the closing lines of Austin Clarke poems.
I’m sure eventually somehow it will help pay off the debts, which presumably is now the only reason we do anything. – Yours, etc,