It’s funny to think that in between being a genius and painting surreptitiously smiling signoras and inventing helicopters and engines of war and dissecting the human anatomy and jotting down all his insights in mirror writing, Leonardo da Vinci was able to come up with wise words on all manner of things, like learning for example, at which he was hardly a novice…
Study without desire
spoils the memory, and it
retains nothing that it takes in.[symple_spacing size=”10″] ~ Leonardo da Vinci (🐦 Tweet Me!)
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What’s curious and disheartening here is that da Vinci’s message from half a millennium ago is one we are still desperately trying to get heard and taken seriously even today.
The question isn’t whether personally choosing to study a topic helps the learning process: surely it does; nor is it about whether enjoyable, engaging and personalised teaching increases motivation and results – it’s being shown to do so in progressive classes the world over. No, it’s about how to overcome the huge hurdles of entrenched archaic systems and inflexible mentalities to be able to use these techniques and approaches in the first place.
Leonardo da Vinci tells us that the memory is less effective if it isn’t driven by a real desire to master the matter. Scientific studies would back up this common sense observation.
So too would a moment’s reflection on bored students sluggishly traipsing into class, furtively texting under desks, or alternatively struggling and stressing over stodgy subjects and endless exams (dis)respectively. Let’s get desirous!
~ Sab Will
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Notes on ‘SCRIBBLISMS Desireless Mess’
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Scribblisms is where we have fun sharing and thinking about some great learning quotes from down the years. Feel free to join in the discussion – the more the merrier.
Rainbow English School is a non-profit educational organisation based in France. We aim to improve the level of English and the effectiveness of teaching in general. We work with teachers and educational organisations to help them adapt and personalise their teaching methods.
Our method and approach is based on the latest scientific research into how we best memorise, recall and usefully apply k
nowledge. We provide innovative tools and techniques which people can immediately use in their current learning or teaching situation. And we have fun doing it!
© 2016 Rainbow English School / Sab Will