Poison control and Mnemonic Devices

Years ago the Pennsylvania Poison control issued a poem for children to help them remember their phone number. The poem was "I am sick because I ate one, I am sick, sick, sick now."  Turns out - it worked.  It's probably been 35 years since I learned it, and I still remember the number is 412-681-6669.  In fact, when my kids were little and I had to call poison control, this was the number I called.  It fascinates me that I still remember.

I'm not sure what triggered the memory. Perhaps it was my son's recent illness, or maybe just discussions of all the  sickness around me?  I am not sure, but this little ditty goes through my head frequently.  

Mnemonic devices have always fascinated me, and they have also helped me remember things.  Unfortunately, I am not very clever at coming up with mnemonic devices, but I have have two friends that were amazing at creating them.

I remember I would help Jenny study with her mnemonic sayings.   She was several years younger than me and had to work much harder than me to study.   She would make up ridiculous sayings to remember everything,  including how to spell words.   We shared so many laughs over the ridiculous sayings. This was my first introduction to this style of learning. 

In college I met Missy.   She and I bonded over a difficult class that required more study than I'd ever invested in a class.    Missy is an amazing teacher.  She made mnemonic devices,  taught me how to use flash cards,  and taught me so many other study skills.  She used mnemonic devices for dates and lists to provide triggers and mind mapping.   It was so fun to learn this way,  and together we passed History and Math for Trachers.

Up until that point in my life, I'd never really needed to study.  I have great recall and can easily problem solve.  But the learning that Missy taught me was so much richer than just learning facts and figures and solving problems.  She taught me how to drink deep from the fountains of knowledge.  To push deeper,  wonder more,  and reach further. 

I am forever grateful to these two unexpected teachers.   I feel like they contributed a lot to the development of a curious student who had previously been content to just capture thoughts and regurgitate them back for grades.   They taught me that true learning takes investment.  And with that lesson,  I've done many things.