Like a lot of other people I don’t have many phone numbers memorized anymore, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no more memorization going on. It’s a matter of importance; the ease and simplicity of carrying around a phonebook makes memorizing numbers a waster of time. I have several memorized, but far fewer than I once I did. Today I have dozens of ip addresses and user login/password combos memorized–because I have to use them without assistance more often. Many data centers disallow bringing in cell phones with cameras, which means ALL cell phones now, and while I can sometimes bring in a laptop I can’t always do that either. The point is you memorize what you NEED, and phone numbers don’t rise to that level any more. The same goes with many different kinds of information. You don’t need to memorize and encyclopedia to function or do your work, but it’s helpful to have one along. However information isn’t knowledge, and it is knowledge rather than information that is supposedly being taught in schools & universities. Simply dumping information on students is useless, and memorization is useless without context. Information is important, but a pile of facts don’t necessarily make knowledge, and a pile of knowledge doesn’t necessarily make wisdom. The trouble with schools isn’t just method, it’s purpose. The old ideal of a well-rounded citizen still exists in a vague form, but the underpinnings thereof are gone gone gone. Before restructuring schools what is needed is a new concept of what a well-rounded citizen needs to know. Some things won’t change–reading/writing, basic mathematics, enough history & philosophy to be a reasonably informed voter, etc. Some things might be completely different once somebody sets out to design a new model. But as in everything else, action follows belief. As long as teachers believe in the quasi-cynical/quasi-intellectual anti-heroic model of a ‘good guy,’ that’s what they’ll turn out with too few exceptions. Change the beliefs and the rest will follow.