I (RadRob) have been taking classes at MK (Montgomery College) for two years, and so far I've had great teachers. One thing that my Physics III teacher said was especially neat (I quote from memory):
Right now, all of you are painfully aware of how much you don't remember from your freshman year. ... The reason for taking the classes was not so that you would know the material, but so that you would know that you could learn it when you needed it. ... If you asked me right now to do [some mathematical operation, I don't recall], I could not. But if you told me to give a lecture on Friday about [same thing], I'd be ready.
That quote (however imprecise) sums up a major distinction between information and knowledge. So-called "learning" in education generally equates with cram (rote) learning. Knowledge is much more economical in resources, because by knowing you are independent of off-the-cuff facts – you have internalized a structure and can at will repopulate it with detail. You know where and how to find the information on demand, and in some cases, you can (re)formulate from scratch. – Bo Leuf
(correlates: ConFormation, AllCaughtUpNow, CareerManagement, ...)