{"id":2213,"date":"2016-09-21T13:25:54","date_gmt":"2016-09-21T17:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woocommerce-632430-2060185.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=2213"},"modified":"2016-10-03T10:37:10","modified_gmt":"2016-10-03T14:37:10","slug":"recitation-recitation-recitation-or-three-reasons-for-recitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicallatin.org\/exordium\/recitation-recitation-recitation-or-three-reasons-for-recitation\/","title":{"rendered":"Recitation, Recitation, Recitation: Or, Three Reasons for Recitation"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Michelle Tefertiller<\/strong><\/p>\n

We live in a technological age, so why would we need to bother with something as seemingly archaic as recitation? Many of us have heard about all the research evidence\u00a0that\u00a0the part of the brain you exercise, you maintain or grow, while\u00a0the part you don’t use, you lose. But there are three other good reasons for employing recitation in your education program:<\/p>\n

\"img_9325\"<\/a>Recitation is the best way to ensure a student truly knows the material.<\/strong> When engaged in a recitation, there is nowhere for the student to hide, there is no opportunity for tricks to disguise a lack of knowledge. You either know it or you don’t, and your knowledge–or ignorance will be evident to all. If recitation was\u00a0a daily event, could students quietly slip from grade to grade without learning required material? And would they not, in addition, be more confident from this regular, oral practice?<\/p>\n

Recitation develops good public speaking skills.<\/strong>\u00a0In researching a definition of recitation to include in this post, I discovered one similarity among a number of\u00a0dictionaries. \u00a0All definitions included the fact that recitation was a public<\/em> event. \u00a0Whether the definition described\u00a0the act as a \u00a0giving a single answer, \u00a0reciting\u00a0a poem, or giving an oral dissertation of learned material, all took place\u00a0in a public setting. \u00a0 By definition, recitation constitutes\u00a0a public manifestation of knowledge which, in presentation, requires poise and focus. \u00a0In addition to knowing what to say, recitation provides consistent practice in how to stand and \u00a0how to enunciate. \u00a0A good recitation will \u00a0not be circumbendibus, inaudible or unclear. It takes daily practice to master.<\/p>\n

Recitation is traditionally how students were tested.<\/strong> In earlier times, the primary form of examination was by oral recitation. A student stood\u00a0before a teacher or panel of teachers and was asked to give oral explanations on\u00a0a variety of questions in multiple\u00a0subjects. These oral evaluations were considered a key to academic progress. Additionally, much popular entertainment consisted of\u00a0animated recitations of favorite stories or poems. Winston Churchill was famous for having\u00a0recited all \u00a070 stanzas of the Lord Macauley’s “Horatius at the Bridge.”<\/p>\n

Each of the Classical Core Curriculum<\/a> levels include recitation. \u00a0Primary level teachers are encouraged to begin the day with \u00a0rapid-fire questions that cover a variety of subjects. \u00a0For grammar and upper school teachers, \u00a0recitation should be\u00a0included at the beginning of Latin class as oral review of the conjugations and declensions. Math begins with the recitation of\u00a0fact families or multiplication tables as a warm-up to the new lesson. All students should memorize Scripture and poems, maybe even aspire to the Churchillian memorization of “Horatius”!<\/p>\n

Finally, what are\u00a0the best ways to moderate recitation? According to the Teaching Guidelines found in the Memoria Press Curriculum Manuals<\/a>:<\/p>\n