Why High School Students Should Stop Writing Notes
University students don’t write notes — high schools should follow suit
Student 1: “Sir, go to the next slide!”
Student 2: “Wait sir! I’m not done copying down the words!”
Student 3: “Sir, why do you make us write so much?”
Student 4: “Sir, are the notes even for a grade?… So why are we doing them?”
I always wondered why we wrote notes in history class in high school. We were not allowed to use them on the exam, nor did I see any value in reviewing them.
Teachers didn’t encourage us to study them and only passed them back for us to place in our binder a few days before the exam.
Now, as a fifth-year teacher, I still wonder why I have my students take notes while teaching a new lesson. Students usually spend their time writing word-for-word off the PowerPoint when writing in the Cornell Notes method. If I assign guided notes instead, they’ll spend their time playing Where’s Waldo with the missing words to fill in the blanks.
Meanwhile, I’m in the front of the classroom talking as they ignore what I say.
There’s plenty of information to show people can’t multitask. So why do teachers insist on students taking…
