Drill and Kill and the Olympics and, of course, Math
I’m annoyed with education in our culture. I guess it’s the Olympics: these wonderful athletes from around the world causing such universal feelings of joy with their amazing performances. These performances are the product of natural physical gifts and much mindless drilling. What could be more monotonous than swimming back and forth in the same indoor pool day-in and day-out? Think of the number of laps that Michael Phelps swam in preparation for this year’s Olympics. Good that he had a coach who understood the importance of training and not an educator who promoted “self-esteem” over performance.
Consider the practice routines of the divers, the gymnasts, the runners, the tennis players, and all the others: careers built on “Drill and Kill”. Yet they sure seem alive while they’re performing. It’s sure thrilling to watch them. Maybe we should change the slogan to “Drill and Thrill”. Maybe a thrill is a more likely outcome of drilling than death.
Of course it is. In learning math practicing the basic facts until they are mastered forms a foundation for the later thrills of solving difficult problems or finding new mathematical truths.
Tags: Drill, Math, Memorization, Olympics, self-esteem, training