Taken from an article at the Memoria Press blog.

Memorisation is foundational to grammar school education. In fact, it is why the grammar school is called the grammar school in classical education—it is the time when the student focuses on memorising the Latin grammar. But memorisation is a method that should not be limited to learning Latin, nor should it be reserved for the young. It is infinitely invaluable and supports education at every age.

We use memorisation to build a foundational base of knowledge and to fill the hearts and heads of our students so they may write, speak, and think with clarity, truth, and beauty. The facts, Scripture, poetry, songs, and literary passages memorised by students are formative and life giving. They become the truths to which they will cling, the stories to which they will allude, the resources to which they will refer, and the facts with which they will persuade throughout the whole of life. The well-educated person, who has a head and heart full of meaningful knowledge, is a better writer, speaker, thinker, and servant because he or she has an overflowing font of resources within, ready for
access at any time.

Repetition is what makes memorisation possible. Adults find repetition dull, but the child does not. Try to recall a child learning something new, perhaps a new song on the piano or a new skill like riding a bike. Children delight in doing a new thing over and over and over again. But the satisfaction is not complete until they show us. “Watch this!” they shout. Repetition and recitation (presentation) are the methods the child naturally uses to learn. These are the tools he naturally employs to practice and then to seek correction and praise. Chesterton, as always, says it more beautifully, pointing to the Source of this natural disposition:

… grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon.

In general, students enjoy the challenge. And they always love the successes. But I’ll add this: Even if a hint of tedium creeps in at some point, is there not an important lesson to be had there too? Another word for repetition could be discipline: the athlete who practices day after day, year after year; the adult who sets the early alarm and drives to the same job day after day, year after year; the parent who makes the meals, washes the dishes, and does the laundry day after day, year after year. Repetition is a necessary part of life that should be prepared for and embraced. Through repetition and discipline, we learn to do well what is expected of us. And, importantly, we learn to do our work well, not just once, but consistently.

Repetition helps us with individual tasks, but it also adds comfort and routine more broadly. Repetition offers order, and freedom itself is born of order.

Continue reading at Memoria Press: