Quick: What’s the capital of Albania? How do you figure out the square root of 342? Who was the sixteenth President of the United States?
How do you say the verb “sing” in the plural past tense in Hebrew? Why do we light eight candles on Hanukah when the miracle really lasted for only seven days?
If questions like these bring back fond memories of your school days, then you were probably one of those students who could easily remember facts, figures and information. Chances are you did fairly well in school. But if you get a queasy feeling in your stomach whenever you think about these things, then it’s possible that you were one of the students who was struggling with memory issues. Because all of the above questions have one thing in common: they force you to remember.
Our brains function in an incredible way. We can store millions of bits of information in our memories, and very often we can retrieve them at will. So when we meet someone at a wedding who we haven’t seen in many years, we can confidently say, “Hi Tova, how are you?” instead of wondering what her name could possibly be. That’s because we were successfully able to pull her name out of our memory bank
But lots of us have trouble finding those little bits and pieces in our memory banks and bringing them out at will. And there’s no simple solution to correcting this problem because there are so many different types of memory which are stored in so many areas of our brains. There’s short term memory, long term memory, auditory memory, visual memory and sequential memory. There’s memory that comes with recognition and there’s memory that comes with recall. And to confuse matters even more, there’s automatic memory, episodic memory and active working memory.
Education experts have been studying memory for decades, trying to figure out how to expand or develop our memories so that we can learn more, absorb more and remember more. After all, more memory means more knowledge. Fortunately, they have devised certain methods that can help us recall some of the things we need to know. Some of these methods may prove invaluable to the struggling student.
I have found it quite helpful for my students to develop their own survival strategies and techniques to remember things. They will not work one hundred percent of the time, but they have worked wonders on many occasions. The following are some excellent examples:
Chaya had to memorize the 50 states for a social studies quiz and no matter how hard she tried, she could only remember twelve. Finally, she called her friend Devorah who was struggling with the same problem. Together, they devised a silly song with a familiar tune and incorporated the fifty states as the lyrics. Before long, they were singing the 50 states together. It was corny—it was funny—and it worked!
David had to remember the multiplication tables for his math exam. But when he got to the higher numbers, he got totally confused. Then David’s older brother taught him a trick for remembering the nine times table. He showed him that the digits in the answers always had to add up to nine. It didn’t ensure that he got 100 on the exam, but it certainly did help.
When Tzvi and Aryeh were preparing for their high school entrance exam, they reviewed the Torah portion together over and over again. Still, these aspiring students felt that they didn’t know it well enough. So the next time the Rabbi reviewed the Gemarah, they received permission to bring a small tape recorder to class. The boys recorded the entire review and played it over and over again during the next few days. By the time the exam came around, they practically remembered the entire thing by heart.
Every student is different and each individual situation is unique. But students who recognize that they have a memory problem are the ones who will be best able to deal with it and to work on ways to correct it. That’s why I encourage anyone who feels there may be a problem to speak to a teacher, a counselor or an education specialist. There are tests and evaluations that can ascertain your memory strengths and weaknesses. Then you and your education specialist can devise personal and customized strategies for dealing with the situation.
The important thing is to stay calm. You know that feeling of panic you get when you’re taking a test and can’t remember a thing? Try to control it. Concentrate on being relaxed and in control. Then think of your brain as a giant ‘lost and found’. The information is in there somewhere. You just have to find it. Try to use the power of association. If you don’t remember the date of the American revolution, try remembering other events that occurred around then and maybe you will figure it out. If you forgot how to spell a word, write down similar words and maybe you will be reminded. Be persistent. Be creative. Be relaxed. Very often, the answer will come to you.
If it doesn’t, that’s okay too. Students who feel frustrated and angry because they have difficulty remembering things should just hang in there. While much of your success in school depends on your ability to remember, the truth is that once you’ve settled into adult life, many of these facts and details are just not relevant anymore. As a student, you are presented with new information to learn and absorb on a daily basis. But as an adult, you have to deal with more or less the same information every day.
Of course it’s impressive when somebody remembers who won the 1962 World Series. But being a memory whiz does not necessarily ensure your success as a mother or as a sales associate for a large corporation. So don’t worry. If you want to sharpen your memory skills, you can do so with the help of a professional. But you can always still lead a happy, productive and successful adult life even if you are memory-challenged. Unless, of course, you’re one of those people who always loses your car keys.
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Mrs. Rifka Schonfeld founded and directs the widely acclaimed educational program SOS, servicing all grade levels in secular as well as Hebrew studies. She offers teacher training, consulting services and evaluations. She has extensive expertise in the field of social skills training and focuses on working with the whole child.
