Drill and kill

Yeah yeah yeah, I can hear the energy baggers whining already.  Well back off, you oil addict freaks.  I’m not writing about drill baby drill.  We’ll fight that battle some other time (like maybe when you’re fighting over the last drop).
 No, my topic today is about drilling students.
  Years ago, I shared an article with my colleagues discussing the value of having students memorize mathematical basics (like the times table, common square roots, conversion between percentages and fractions) so that the students would have more “brain processing power” dedicated to working more complex concepts.  I was quickly “scolded” by an administrator who simply said “Drill drill drill! Kill kill kill!”
  This is a buzz-phrase one learns while getting a professional lobotomy.  It means, “If you force a student to memorize material, it kills their motivation to acquire knowledge through discovery and contextual relevance.”

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