What did you memorize for school (elem. and high)

Motek

Tue, Feb 14 2006, 11:33 am

Elementary school:

birchos Yaakov
Shiras Devorah (Shoftim)
Shiras Chana (Shmuel)
brachos in V'Zos Ha'Bracha (instead of Haazinu)
brachos from parshas Balak

Ma Nishtana

High school:

lots from Yeshaya (like in perek 1 that we read on Shabbos Chazon), Yirmiya and Mishlei

some poems for Lit. class and a speech or two from Julius Caesar

red sea

Tue, Feb 14 2006, 11:52 am

birchas yaakov
haazinu
b'yimei for chanukah and purim in bentching
all the states and world countries with capitals- best teacher ever
sefarim of tanach
tons of dikduk and grammar songs
shiras (I think) okay, one of the 7 nivios, I don't remember it anymore

lineage of kings in navi
high school:

500 vocab words at a shot, all thru
39 melachos, not sure if was mandatory or just necessary
tons of psukim from yeshaya and mishlei
tons of history dates and kingdom lineages

so many who remembers them all.

sarahd

Tue, Feb 14 2006, 3:00 pm

Birchos Yaakov
Shiras Devorah
Shiras Chana (maybe, can't remember)
a couple of pesukim in Haazinu (very sorry we didn't have to memorize more)
Gettysburg Address
Patrick Henry's speech ("give me liberty")
some dumb poem in 7th grade, whose title I can't even remember

My sister learned the preamble to the Declaration of Independence, which comes in handy every July 4th.

Nothing in high school. I know lots of Yeshaya, though, because I love it.
I used to know lots of Koheles too, because I learned it two years in a row.
I know almost all of Shir Hashirim by heart, having done the 40 day thing many, many times.

TzenaRena

Tue, Feb 14 2006, 3:42 pm

Besides the others that were mentioned like pesukim of Yeshaya, Yirmiya,

Perek 31 Yirmiya (the haftara of Rosh HaShana)
Shuva Yisrael( Haftara of shabbos Shuva)
Shiras Devorah, Shiras Chana and Haazinu,
Shiras David (kap. 22, Shmuel II)
V'zos HaBracha[ (?) can't remember how I know it, whether school, Chitas or what]
5 1/2 perakim of Pirkei Avos (during summer camp)
Perek Alef, Perek 41 Tanya (wasn't required, but recommended)

Chani

Wed, Feb 15 2006, 7:51 am

Didn't go to Hebrew school, but we sure did memorize a lot of poetry ...

I still remember some of it

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
a stately pleasure dome decree
Where Alph the sacred river ran
through caverns measureless to man
down to a sunless sea

I would much rather have learned Shiras Chana!

Motek

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 8:55 am

new questions:

Did you hate or enjoy (or neither) memorizing in school?

Do you think it's a good idea and the practice should be continued?

I did not like memorizing things for school except birchos Yaakov was done in an exciting way in 4th grade. The teacher used colored chalk to write the word Metzuyan on the board which she did slowly, as we sang it.

And that's another thing, we sang birchos Yaakov and shiras Chana and shiras Devorah which made it easier to memorize and more enjoyable.

is it a good idea - well, it's great to have Torah engraved in your brain

should the practice be continued - I have read/heard that there's a question about 1) memorizing Tanach as it's the Written Torah 2) girls memorizing it (as opposed to boys)

Crayon210

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 11:24 am

I don't think I liked it while I was doing it (except Birchos Yaakov was a great song, and the teacher had a contest about it)...but I think it's valuable and that it should be continued.

There's a big movement to stop memorization because of the whole to-do about learning disabilities and kids with less functional memories shouldn't feel inferior...blah blah blah.

I have heard issues with memorizing TSB"C, but no psak...I think it's great to have these words "on your person".

Motek

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 12:15 pm

Crayon210 wrote:

There's a big movement to stop memorization because of the whole to-do about learning disabilities and kids with less functional memories shouldn't feel inferior...blah blah blah.

you're not serious shock

but I'm afraid you are Rolling Eyes

heaven help us all Exclamation

Crayon210

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 12:32 pm

Yes, I've heard all kinds of ridiculous things about education like that...

"It's not fair that my daughter will lose points because she can't memorize."

Oh, give me a break.

I had a teacher who gave all kinds of "alternative" assignments like art projects and oral assignments, but did almost no teaching--all done through documentaries and then quizzes and essays on the videos. It was absurd. No learning was accomplished, but at least all the weaker students could get As, and the stronger students could get Cs. <snort>

There is no other area of life where this is done...there are no remedial art classes, choirs, or sports teams. I always felt discriminated against for being academic.

[This all might be for another thread, sorry.]

TzenaRena

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 3:14 pm

Quote:

I always felt discriminated against for being academic.

me too.

Quote:

There's a big movement to stop memorization because of the whole to-do about learning disabilities and kids with less functional memories shouldn't feel inferior...blah blah blah.

I asked my third grader's Mishnayos teacher why there hasn't yet been any emphasis on learning it B'al Peh. I was very upset to hear that he thought just learning it and understanding it inside was all they (he or the kids?) could handle right now. I know if there was motivation from his Rebbe, my son would be interested to do it.

sarahd

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 4:40 pm

About memorizing Tanach - there is a chiyuv to memorize Haazinu, don't know about the rest. I think memorization is good, within reason. It sharpens the brain. I still remember birchos Yaakov from 4th grade. (Of course that might be because I also taught it.)

realeez

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 4:48 pm

memorizing important pesukim (not that any isn't important) is good but when we had a navi teacher who would tell us to memorize 1/2 a perek at a time of yeshaya - I don't know how important that was. another teacher who taught trei asar chose pesukim that are often quoted and used and that I felt was valuable (like vehayshiv laiv avos, v'arashiticha, hinei yamom baim neum Hashem) and then you feel smart when you are at a shiur and know the possuk.

realeez

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 4:50 pm

I read in hamodia once about a rebbe who would give as a punishment assignment to his boys to memorize brich shmaye (from before laining). by the end of the year he made sure to give that assignment to the entire class. on one hand, it's good to memorize it b/c the words are hard but as a punishment???

TzenaRena

Thu, Feb 16 2006, 5:08 pm

mommyabc123 wrote:

I would be listening by a farbrengen of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and I would recognize the pesukim from Tanach that the maamorim were based on, or mentioned in reference during the sichos. It was a exciting feeling to be familiar with the pesukim, I.e. the p'shat and then to hear the deeper explanation in the maamar or sicha.

Motek wrote:

Did you hate or enjoy (or neither) memorizing in

school?

I loved the challenge of memorizing. And alot of what I learned then, I retained (it's been reinforced since then) which tells me it's a valuable practice.

About memorizing Torah Shb'ksav, I read somewhere recently and can't recall where, that someone from Beis HaRav (don't rmember who) had a k'vius to learn Tanach everyday b'al Peh. I wish I could remember things that I read a few days ago the way I remember what I leaerned in Morah Neiman's class ages ago! Rolling Eyes

But it's also a fact that most times that the Rebbe quoted pesukkim, he deliberately changed something.

amother

Tue, Feb 28 2006, 2:05 am

As a BT, I really lke the topic and hearing what women learned in school.

I copied and pasted the posts as homework for ME.

My dd is very bright but the school she's in isn't very demanding. I'm going to see if she will be willing to take on the challenge of memorizing something with me. Any readback about appropriate incentives/rewards or tips would really be appreciated.

Thanks Motek for selecting this topic.