> Alternatively, they're asking students to treat their mental-cache AS a deliverable. I think that's the student's point of view, but as a teacher will explai

> Alternatively, they're asking students to treat their mental-cache AS a deliverable. I think that's the student's point of view, but as a teacher will explain, not every part of the process is the ultimate goal. Teachers tell students that awareness of basic facts from the reading will help them get more out the class discussion tomorrow, help them get more out of the lecture, give them a head start on further assignments, etc., but to most of them that just goes in one ear and out the other. They really don't care if the class discussion happens without them and they don't understand a damn thing and the class is a total waste to them. So the teacher also has to tell them there's a quiz on the facts tomorrow and follow through on that promise. Then the students who are just want to do the minimum to get a certain grade also get a little bit more out of the class discussion, which they wouldn't have otherwise. In the end, not even knowledge of history is the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is something like the ability to use historical perspective to better participate in society and make decisions about their own lives, historical perspective that they pursue and deepen throughout their lives. Teachers can't test that. They can test, and motivate, constructive steps towards that.