Academics & Tuitions

Grandson is memorising his science answers word for word for the half-yearly

citrus_kite_8599

I collect my grandson from school three days a week and sit with him while he does his work. His half-yearly exams start soon, and this week he has been learning the question-and-answer section of his science notebook by heart, every comma included. If I ask the same question in different words, he is lost. His parents decide how he studies, and I don't want to undercut his teacher, who presumably knows what the paper will ask. But I did not learn medicine this way and it bothers me. Is this simply how exams work in class 4 now, and do the marks reward it? Or is it worth gently suggesting he explain the answers in his own words?

4 comments

  • orchid_pigeon_6626

    My son memorised word for word till about class 5, and the marks did reward it then. It stopped working around class 7 when questions started being twisted, and he had to relearn how to study. So both things are true: it works for the half-yearly, and it costs him later. If his parents agree, I'd keep the memorising for this exam and do the 'explain it to me' part afterwards, when there's no pressure.

  • plum_moon_6815

    Same in our house with our older one, who is a year or so younger than your grandson. Our compromise has been that he memorises the answer, then tells me what it means in one line, in Telugu or in his own English. If he can't, we go back to the chapter. It takes longer, and he complains, but he does both.

  • coral_kite_872

    One thing worth checking with his parents is whether the school gives the exact questions in advance. Some do in the lower classes, in which case word for word is what is being tested. If the paper has unseen questions, that is a stronger argument for your approach.

  • lagoon_violin_7015

    You sound like exactly the person he needs alongside the teacher, not against her. My daughter memorised her way through primary and it was fine, she worked out the understanding part later with a lot of grumbling. I'd make the 'own words' bit a game rather than a correction, so it doesn't feel like you're marking him wrong ❤️

    • willow_balcony_6897

      the game idea worked for us. my daughter asks me questions from her chapter and i answer wrong on purpose so she corrects me. she has to explain why its wrong which is the whole point

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