Slow and steady?

An anonymous mishnah in the fifth chapter of Avot (5:15) discusses the merits of different types of student. Two in particular merit closer attention. They are students who are "quick to learn, quick to forget" and ‘"slow to learn, slow to forget". According to the author of the mishnah, the advantages possessed by each of these personalities cancels out their disadvantages, so we might with good reason say that they were each as good (or bad) as one another. I would be reluctant to draw that conclusion.

Speaking from my lengthy personal experiences of teaching law both to university students and to practicing lawyers, I can say that the ‘quick to learn, quick to forget’ person generally comes over as a pretty smart individual who is a pleasure to teach: this is because the attention of a professor who is giving a class is immediately attracted by the student who latches swiftly on to the subject-matter of the class. This student’s ability to think on his feet and generate relevant questions without the need for deep and patient thought makes for classes that are lively and enjoyable both for the teacher and for other students. The fact that the content of the class is soon forgotten is something that only manifests itself later, after the class is over, and the professor discovers this unfortunate effect after the examinations are marked, when he sees this student’s poor grades and comes to understand the reason for them.

In contrast, the ‘slow to learn, slow to forget’ type of student israrely a pleasure to teach. This student sits there quietly, neither asking nor answering and often wearing a facial expression that ranges between the blank and the uncomprehending; if he or she speaks at all, it is usually to ask for something to be repeated; this can slow down the class and bore the elite corps of faster classmates. This student’s understanding of the class does not begin to happen until his lecture notes have been read and re-read together with any other relevant materials on the syllabus. Again, this is only apparent when examination papers are graded and the late-flowering intellectual development of this academic slowcoach is there for all to see.

Our Sages prefer ‘slow-and-slow’ to ‘quick-and-quick’. Rabbi Yitzchak Magriso (Me’am Lo’ez), Rabbenu Yonah and others go further and suggest that, if there are only enough funds to support one of the two, they should go to the one who is slow to learn but slow to forget. since, at the end of the learning process, however laborious and painful it may have been, that student always has something to show from the task of studying. The fact that the process has been long and arduous is itself a plus, since we learn that the reward that results from the performance of any mitzvah (Avot 5:26).

The scenario here of fast learners versus slow ones is a little reminiscent of the Aesop fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, which teaches the motto that "slow and steady wins the race". At least one Tanna was familiar with Aesop's fables though it is improbable that this particular tale would have influenced our mishnah, which takes the concept of slow-and-steady to a new level. In reality, tortoises rare if ever outrun the hare, but the slow, steady student has an excellent chance of outperforming a speedy rival.