My elementary years were spent in a No Child Left Behind world, in a public school where my second semester was spent solely on cramming for the big cumulative test at the end of the year. The material was breezed through, glanced at, finished before I could get a chance to really “digest” it.

Fast-forward seven years. I’m in a math class, not looking towards the end goal of a looming, state-regulated test, but to the simple task of understanding the material. Something different happened in that class. The teacher spent the majority of class simply explaining what sine is, not just repeating formulas or assuming that his students understand the concept off the bat. I remember the teacher drawing circles and chords on the board, and I remember time devoted to explaining the etymology of the word “sine.” We took our sweet time on the one small but important detail. And I learned the concept in a much more lasting way because of this.

I want to take the scenic route with learning, absorbing every detail thoroughly, lingering, even, to better understand the many facets of some concept. I would rather know a few things well than many things poorly.