This reminds me of a talk I watched a while back by Jim Kwik. He has quite the interesting backstory of how he got to where is today. (check out a video on about him on YouTube on Inside Quest) They talk about how a major problem with our school system is how children, and adults for that matter, are not taught how to learn or recall information. He gives a few examples on the show that I have helped me out and I was HORRIBLE in school.
There is so much more I would like to talk about this topic but I must be off to work soon.