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So, how is it possible to evade the allegedly "universal law"
of forgetting? Well, I confront the thing head-on. I tell
students my job is to put myself out of job. That is, my job
is to get students to the point where they can teach themselves.
I make a very big deal out of this.
Before students can take the practical test, I have to certify
that they are ready. At that time, I tell them that I may
not see them again for six months or a year ... but when I do
see them, I expect them to fly /better/ than they do now. I
expect them to read, I expect them to practice, and above all
I expect them to hold themselves to high standards. This is
not new to them on the day of the sign-off; we've been talking
about it more-or-less every day since the first lesson.
If I thought a guy could meet the standards on the day of the
test and not thereafter, I would not sign him off.
than this. The escape speed formula is special-case: it only applies to the
As an illustration of what I'm talking about: If you
remember Ohm's law by remembering three different equations
V = I R
I = V / R
R = V / I
then you're doing it wrong. The smart approach is to learn
one of those equations, and then figure out the others as
needed, using simple algebra. Bruce Sherwood makes the same
point using a different example: There is no need to memorize
the formula for escape velocity, because you should be able to
figure it out in less time than it takes to ask the question.
Actually, as you're well aware, there's more to the escape speed issue