On the other hand, I've found that working on school subjects outside the classroom can be valuable tools for education if the work is assigned correctly. I thought the college approach worked best: read the relevant sections of the textbook in advance of each class, so the material isn't being presented for the first time when you sit in the classroom or lecture hall. This also prepares the student better to ask good questions in the classroom.
In engineering school I had one particular class that I couldn't pass for the life of me. I dropped it twice and was prepared to consider another career. I don't know where I got this idea, but I spent one summer sitting in a local library a couple of days every week and simply wrote entire sections of the textbook and the accompanying sample problems out by hand in a notebook.
When the fall semester started, I was enrolled in the class for the third time. The material made a lot more sense to me that time around, and I aced the class.
When the fall semester started, I was enrolled in the class for the third time. The material made a lot more sense to me that time around, and I aced the class.
On a different scale I had a similar experience in HS. I’ve no idea what the topic was, but, atypically, I faced an upcoming test and had zero confidence in my ability to do well on it. I thought, “For 2 cents I’d make a ‘pony’ and cheat on the test. But if I took the time to write the cheat-sheet out, I’d do fine on the test without it.”The light came on. I made a one-page summary of the material, and did fine on the test as a result. So I made that a habit thereafter, as needed.
The thing I discovered in college (engineering also) was that I wasn’t very good at reading the assigned material and then doing the assigned problems. I learned that I had to attempt the problems first. Only then - only when I knew what I didn’t know - could I profitably spend time reading the textbook.