Why don’t we teach memorization techniques in school?

What’s the point of learning if no one remembers what they learn?

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I’ve learned a lot over my years of school. But you know what irks me? How much I have forgotten.

I have forgotten way more information than I remember. For the most part, I’m okay with that. I don’t aspire to be a walking encyclopedia. I don’t need to know everything.

But lately I’ve started learning about mnemonic techniques. Apparently, there are whole systems of memory that can be used to retain more information. Two systems that I have started implementing are the major or phonetic memory system, and the memory palace system.

The major memory system

I have always struggled to memorize numbers. I can repeat back sentences and quotes word for word, but when it comes to numbers my brain gets stuck. Birthdates, important dates in history, my debit card number…all those numbers just fly out of my head.

So when I discovered the major memory system, I was super excited. The major memory system replaces numbers with consonant letters. For example, the number 1 corresponds with the letters ‘d,’ ‘t,’ and ‘th.’