From the Assistant Principal

What’s Worth Remembering

Memory is a curious thing. The American author and beat poet, Jack Kerouac, known most notably for his novel On the Road, was also known for his incredible memory. He was nicknamed Memory Babe by his family and friends because of his unbelievable ability to recall entire conversations, including minute details from his childhood, in exceptional detail.

My memory is not quite as good, but it is fascinating to think about what we remember - and, just as curiously, what and why we forget. I can recall snippets of my childhood, but these are mostly associated with big moments and emotions. Breaking bones. Getting in trouble. Birthdays and Christmases.

But what about all of the mundane things that I have remembered from my childhood? How do I remember, for example, the meaning of particular words, or facts about the universe, or my childhood phone number?

For some of these things, it’s obvious. You know your phone number because you said it a thousand times. You dialled it a thousand times. You wrote it down… a thousand times. But the way memory works is a little more complicated - and we can use what the experts now know about memory to help our students remember what’s worth remembering. This idea sits at the heart of what cognitive scientists have been telling us: that knowledge builds memory, and memory helps make new learning possible.

At Newport Lakes, we spend a lot of time thinking about what we want students to take with them - not just at the end of a school year, but ten or twenty years from now. Of course, we want them to remember how to read and write, how to work with numbers, how to ask good questions and solve problems. But we also want them to remember big ideas, strategies that work, and ways of thinking that will help them well beyond the classroom. We want them to remember our values, and the feeling of being known and cared for. We want them to remember what it felt like to be part of a community that believed in them, and we want them to remember to take risks, to be kind, and to keep learning.

We now know from the science of learning that memory doesn’t work like a filing cabinet - it’s not about simply storing information away. Instead, memory is strengthened by use. The more often students think about something, revisit it, connect it to other ideas, and use it, the more likely it is to stick.

This is why you’ll see students at NLPS revisiting key concepts, explaining their thinking out loud, or drawing diagrams to make connections visible. It’s why we ask questions that require more than one-word answers, often to the chagrin of the students. And it’s why we are always conscious to slow down the pace of learning, not speed it up. Deep understanding takes time - and repetition, and meaning, and emotion - and it is hard work.

Because in the end, what’s worth remembering isn’t always the content itself, it’s the thinking that goes with it. (I’ll just include this quick note to say here, yes, the content is very important. Because knowledge helps new knowledge stick to old knowledge, and that’s how we build deeper understanding, and if I didn’t write this then there would be some very upset teachers with me.) It’s the confidence in knowing ‘I’ve done this before.’ The joy of making a connection. The satisfaction of learning something new… and making it stick.

When students revisit ideas and connect them in meaningful ways, they don’t just remember more - they start to feel more successful as well. And when learning feels successful, school feels like a good place to be. That’s what creates the kind of memories we hope stay with them long after they’ve left our classrooms.

So what’s worth remembering from a child’s time at primary school?

Hopefully, it’s more than just facts and figures. It’s the feeling of making progress after a challenge. The courage to speak up. The pride in helping someone else. The joy of performing, creating, wondering, exploring. The sense of belonging, and the confidence that comes from knowing they matter.

At Newport Lakes, we hope our students carry with them not just what they learned, but how they learned it - and the belief that they are capable, curious, and connected.

That’s what we think is worth remembering.

Mat Williamson

Assistant Principal (not a Memory Babe)