Stow the Flash Cards Mom and Dad:Social Skills Better for Your Kids兒童教育：社交技能重于識(shí)字卡

文/利茲·紹博 格雷格·托波 譯/周忠花

By Liz Szabo & Greg Toppo

眾所周知，望子成龍心切的父母會(huì)在幼兒尚處襁褓之時(shí)便為他們播放莫扎特的音樂(lè)，也會(huì)在他們尚未步入學(xué)堂之時(shí)便手持識(shí)字卡向他們發(fā)問(wèn)。

[2]但基于一項(xiàng)新研究，這些父母或許會(huì)再度關(guān)注對(duì)孩子為人處世的基礎(chǔ)教育，如學(xué)會(huì)分享以及機(jī)會(huì)均等。

[3]這項(xiàng)研究對(duì)750余名年僅5歲的孩子進(jìn)行了為期20年的跟蹤調(diào)查，最終發(fā)現(xiàn)具有較強(qiáng)社交能力和情緒管理能力的學(xué)齡前兒童比其他孩子更容易在學(xué)術(shù)和事業(yè)上有所造詣。

這是新近發(fā)布的兩項(xiàng)研究之一，這兩項(xiàng)研究均表明了童年生活對(duì)孩子一生的影響。

[4]根據(jù)這項(xiàng)發(fā)表于《美國(guó)公共衛(wèi)生雜志》的研究，幼兒園時(shí)期在“社交能力”一項(xiàng)取得高分的孩子比同齡人更有可能按時(shí)完成中學(xué)學(xué)業(yè)，獲得大學(xué)學(xué)位并擁有穩(wěn)定工作。但文章指出，社交能力并不僅僅指結(jié)交朋友。事實(shí)上，老師們會(huì)從團(tuán)隊(duì)協(xié)作、解決沖突、傾聽他人意見以及謙和地提供建議等多方面對(duì)孩子們的表現(xiàn)進(jìn)行考評(píng)。

Parents who want their kids to succeed have been known to play Mozart in the nursery and quiz their preschoolers1preschooler學(xué)齡前兒童。with fl ash cards2flash card識(shí)字卡。.

[2] A new study suggests these parents might want to go back to the basics by teaching children to share and take turns.

[3] Kindergartners with strong social and emotional skills were more likely than their peers to succeed academically and professionally, according to a 20-year study that followed more than 750 children until age 25.

The study is one of two published recently that illustrate how a child’s early childhood shapes adult life.

[4] In the first study, youngsters whose kindergarten teachers gave them the highest scores on “social competence” were more likely than other kids to graduate high school on time, earn a college degree and hold full-time jobs. Social competence involves more than making friends,according to the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health3《美國(guó)公共衛(wèi)生雜志》為美國(guó)公共衛(wèi)生協(xié)會(huì)會(huì)刊，成立于1911年，旨在推動(dòng)公共衛(wèi)生的研究、政策、現(xiàn)狀和教育。.Teachers rated kids on the ability to cooperate, resolve conflicts, listen to others’ points of view, give suggestions without being bossy4bossy 專橫的。and other skills.

[5] Kids with weaker social skills were more likely to develop substance abuse5substance abuse（精神性）藥物濫用。problems, be unemployed, smoke pot6pot〈俚語(yǔ)〉大麻。, get arrested, live in public housing or receive public assistance, according to the study, which included children from low-income neighborhoods in Nashville; Seattle; Durham, N.C.7N.C.為North Carolina縮寫，即美國(guó)北卡羅來(lái)納州。; and central Pennsylvania.

[6] For some measures of adult success, good social skills appeared to be more important than academic ability,said co-author Damon Jones, a senior research associate at Pennsylvania State University. Likewise, social competence often proved to be a better predictor than race, sex or family income.

[5]而在考評(píng)中表現(xiàn)不佳的孩子則更易于出現(xiàn)濫用藥物、失業(yè)、吸食毒品、鋃鐺入獄、居住廉租房以及接受公共救濟(jì)借以度日等問(wèn)題。值得一提的是，研究中的孩子有的來(lái)自納什維爾、西雅圖、北卡羅來(lái)納州達(dá)勒姆市和賓夕法尼亞州中部等地區(qū)低收入居民區(qū)。

[6]按成人的一些成功標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來(lái)看，良好的社交技能似乎比學(xué)術(shù)能力更為重要，賓夕法尼亞州立大學(xué)高級(jí)助理研究員，同時(shí)也是此項(xiàng)研究作者之一的戴蒙·瓊斯表示。而且，社交能力通常比種族、性別以及家庭收入更能決定一個(gè)人的未來(lái)。

[7]但兒科醫(yī)師迪娜·莉瑟爾認(rèn)為，幼時(shí)社交能力差并不意味著就與成功無(wú)緣。

[7] Children with poor social skills in kindergarten are by no means a lost cause8lost cause必將失敗的事業(yè)，敗局已定的事業(yè)。, pediatrician9pediatrician兒科醫(yī)師。Dina Lieser said.

[8] The study provides a hopeful message, because it’s possible to improve social skills throughout childhood, said Lieser, chairwoman of the American Academy of Pediatrics10美國(guó)兒科學(xué)會(huì)致力于幫助嬰幼兒、青少年和年輕人解決身體和心理上的一切問(wèn)題，代表著美國(guó)育兒領(lǐng)域最前沿的研究水平和最豐’council on early childhood, who wasn’t involved in the study.

[9] A growing number of studies point to the importance of early childhood experiences in shaping the brain and later behavior. A 2011 study found that people who showed more selfcontrol as preschoolers were healthier and wealthier by age 32, even after researchers considered influential factors such as IQ11為intelligencequotient（智力商數(shù)）的縮寫，簡(jiǎn)稱智商。and social class.

[10] A second new study found that psychiatric12psychiatric精神病學(xué)的；精神病治療的。troubles in the teen and preteen years predicted future problems in adult life.

[11] That study, published Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry13JAMA為《美國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)雜志》（The Journal of the American Medical Association）的縮寫，是美國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)主辦的一種綜合性臨床醫(yī)學(xué)雜志，創(chuàng)辦于1883年,是國(guó)際四大著名醫(yī)學(xué)周刊之一?！睹绹?guó)醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)雜志·精神病學(xué)》（JAMA Psychiatry）為其分刊。, found that children who had mental health problems at ages 9 to 16 were more likely to suffer legal, fi nancial, health or social problems by age 19 to 26.

[8]相反，莉瑟爾認(rèn)為，這項(xiàng)研究給人們帶來(lái)了希望，因?yàn)樯缃荒芰﹄S著兒童成長(zhǎng)存在提高的可能。莉瑟爾是美國(guó)兒科學(xué)會(huì)幼兒教育委員會(huì)主席，并未參與此項(xiàng)研究。

[9]童年經(jīng)歷會(huì)對(duì)個(gè)人智力和后期行為產(chǎn)生不可忽視的影響，這一點(diǎn)已經(jīng)得到越來(lái)越多研究的證實(shí)。2011年的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，即使將智商和社會(huì)階層等其他影響因素考慮在內(nèi)，學(xué)前時(shí)期更為自律的孩子到32歲時(shí)還是更為健康和富有。

[10]另一項(xiàng)研究則發(fā)現(xiàn)，青少年時(shí)期的精神困擾會(huì)影響未來(lái)成年后的生活。

[11]這項(xiàng)周三發(fā)表于《美國(guó)醫(yī)學(xué)會(huì)雜志·精神病學(xué)》的研究還指出，9至16歲年齡段患有心理疾病的孩子更有可能在19至26歲期間遭遇法律、經(jīng)濟(jì)、健康和社交上的問(wèn)題。

[12]事實(shí)上，心理疾病在這批研究對(duì)象中非常普遍，近半數(shù)以上的孩子都未能幸免。這項(xiàng)研究是大霧山研究項(xiàng)目的一部分，其研究對(duì)象主要來(lái)自于北卡羅來(lái)納州11個(gè)以農(nóng)業(yè)為主的縣區(qū)。

[12] Mental health problems were common in the research project,affecting more than half of the children in the study, part of the Great Smoky Mountains Study14大霧山研究項(xiàng)目始于1993年，因研究對(duì)象來(lái)自北卡羅來(lái)納州西部，而該地區(qū)又屬于大霧山山區(qū)，故此得名。大霧山國(guó)家公園，也稱大煙山，位于田納西州與北卡羅來(lái)納州交界處，是美國(guó)最受歡迎的國(guó)家公園。, which included children from 11 mostly rural counties in North Carolina.

[13] About 26% of 1,420 children in the study met the criteria for a behavioral or emotional disorders,such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity15hyperactivity極度活躍，活動(dòng)過(guò)度。disorder. About 31% of children had a psychiatric problem that was troubling but didn’t met the criteria for an official diagnosis.

[14] Researchers followed the children to see which ones developed a major problem in adulthood, such as becoming suicidal, becoming addicted to drugs,developing multiple psychiatric problems, being charged with a felony16felony嚴(yán)重犯罪（如謀殺、放火、強(qiáng)奸等）。,being incarcerated17incarcerate監(jiān)禁，下獄；禁閉。, dropping out of high school or becoming a teen parent.

[15] Nearly 20% of healthy kids experienced one of these problems,compared with 42% of those with mild mental health problems and 60%of those with a diagnosed psychiatric disorder, according to the research.

[13]研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，參與研究的1420名兒童中符合行為和情緒障礙癥狀的占近26%，具體癥狀包括抑郁、焦慮、藥物濫用、注意力缺陷或者多動(dòng)癥等。此外，約有31%的研究對(duì)象有心理問(wèn)題，但尚不符合正式診斷標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

[14]研究人員通過(guò)對(duì)孩子們進(jìn)行跟蹤調(diào)查，研究他們成年之后的主要問(wèn)題，如具有自殺傾向、沉迷毒品、身患多重精神疾病、被控重罪、遭遇監(jiān)禁、中學(xué)輟學(xué)以及早育。

[15]根據(jù)這項(xiàng)研究，心理健康的孩子長(zhǎng)大后出現(xiàn)上述問(wèn)題的僅占近20%，而在患有輕微心理疾病的孩子和被確診患有精神疾病的孩子中，這一比例卻分別高達(dá)42%和60%。

[16]但在患有精神障礙的孩子中，僅有40%曾接受過(guò)些許幫助，而真正在專業(yè)心理健康機(jī)構(gòu)接受過(guò)治療的也不過(guò)20%，杜克大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院副教授威廉·科普蘭表示。

[16] Only 40% of kids with psychiatric problems got any help at all,and only 20% were treated at a specialty mental health facility, said study co-author William Copeland, an associate professor at the Duke University School of Medicine.

[17] Copeland said his study shows it’s important to help these high-risk youngsters. “These problems don’t just resolve themselves and go away,”Copeland said.

[18] Pediatricians should screen children for social, emotional and behavioral problems and, if needed,arrange for help for parents, as well,Lieser said. Treating a mother’s depression, for example, can help the whole family.

[19] Early-childhood education advocates say investing in education can help communities reap18reap收獲，收割。benefits that go well beyond the costs of sending a typical 3- or 4-year-old to a high-quality preschool. An often-quoted figure promises that $1 invested in preschool and other early interventions can yield as much as $16 or $17 in benefits down the road.

[17]科普蘭認(rèn)為該研究已經(jīng)證實(shí)幫助這些高風(fēng)險(xiǎn)人群具有十分重要的意義。 “這些問(wèn)題不會(huì)自行消弭，”科普蘭說(shuō)道。

[18]莉瑟爾則認(rèn)為，兒科醫(yī)師應(yīng)該從社交、情緒和行為方面對(duì)兒童作全面檢查，而且如果條件允許的話，還應(yīng)該為兒童父母提供必要的幫助。比如，治愈母親的抑郁會(huì)對(duì)整個(gè)家庭產(chǎn)生積極的影響。

[19]幼兒教育的倡導(dǎo)者聲稱，教育投資為社區(qū)所帶來(lái)的收益要遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)將一名三四歲孩童送到高質(zhì)量幼兒園的花費(fèi)。有一項(xiàng)數(shù)據(jù)經(jīng)常被引用，在幼兒園以及其他兒童教育機(jī)構(gòu)中每投入1美元，便能在未來(lái)創(chuàng)造16或17美元的收益。

[20]或許最廣為人知的案例——瓊斯在研究中也有引用——包括正在進(jìn)行的佩里學(xué)前教育研究計(jì)劃。佩里學(xué)前教育研究是20世紀(jì)60年代由美國(guó)高瞻教育研究基金會(huì)在密歇根州伊普西蘭蒂組織的實(shí)驗(yàn)研究項(xiàng)目。該項(xiàng)目對(duì)當(dāng)?shù)丶s125名家境貧困的非裔兒童的跟蹤調(diào)查持續(xù)到青年時(shí)期，最終發(fā)現(xiàn)接受佩里學(xué)前教育的孩子較少需要特殊教育服務(wù)；擁有更高的中學(xué)畢業(yè)率；其年輕女性早育的比例也僅為對(duì)照組的一半。

[20] Perhaps the most well-known example—and Jones cites it in his study—involves the ongoing study of the Perry Preschool19Perry Preschool Program Study佩里學(xué)前教育研究項(xiàng)目是由美國(guó)海斯科普教育研究基金會(huì)組織的實(shí)驗(yàn)研究項(xiàng)目，也是美國(guó)最早啟動(dòng)、最具名氣的幼兒教育長(zhǎng)期研究項(xiàng)目，其實(shí)驗(yàn)研究結(jié)果有力地證明了幼兒教育對(duì)人的未來(lái)發(fā)展具有長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)的影響。, a Ypsilanti,Mich., program that served poor African-American children in the 1960s. Researchers with the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation20High/Scope Educational Research Foundation美國(guó)海斯科普教育研究基金會(huì)，也譯高瞻教育研究基金會(huì)，是全美學(xué)前教育研究和評(píng)價(jià)方面的權(quán)威機(jī)構(gòu)，致力于將主動(dòng)學(xué)習(xí)應(yīng)用到實(shí)際課程中去，開發(fā)海斯科普課程，進(jìn)行教育質(zhì)量評(píng)估，開展早期教育項(xiàng)目有效性的相關(guān)研究，以及培訓(xùn)早教教師及管理人員。其最為有名的研究項(xiàng)目即為佩里學(xué)前教育研究項(xiàng)目。,based in Ypsilanti, tracked about 125 local children through their 20s and found that those who had gone through the Perry program needed fewer special education services, had higher high school graduation rates and, among young women, had a teen pregnancy rate that was about half that of a control group.

[21] The study has followed participants into their 40s, and subsequent research has found that the Perry kids earned more as adults, were less likely to have committed crimes or gone to jail, and were less likely to receive public assistance.

[21]這項(xiàng)研究一直持續(xù)到實(shí)驗(yàn)對(duì)象步入40歲，后續(xù)的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，接受過(guò)佩里學(xué)前教育的孩子在成年之后薪資更高，犯罪服刑率更低，接受政府救濟(jì)的可能性也更低。

[22]“如果對(duì)兒童成長(zhǎng)予以干預(yù)，他們所能取得的進(jìn)步簡(jiǎn)直驚人，而且這樣的機(jī)會(huì)一直到他們五歲之后才會(huì)消失。”喬伊斯·哈里森表示。哈里森是巴爾的摩約翰·霍普金斯大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)院一名主攻兒童與青少年精神病學(xué)的副教授，并未參與此項(xiàng)目?！昂⒆觽冞M(jìn)入幼兒園以后，這樣大好的機(jī)會(huì)便不再了。當(dāng)然，這并不是說(shuō)沒(méi)有實(shí)施干預(yù)的可能了，而是在此之后的干預(yù)更難。兒童早期的強(qiáng)大可塑性在五歲之后便會(huì)逐漸降低?！惫锷^續(xù)

[22] “You have this window up to age 5, where if you intervene, it’s amazing the progress these kids can make,” said Joyce Harrison, an assistant professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, who wasn’t involved in the study. “By the time kids get to kindergarten, we’ve lost a really big window. It’s not impossible to intervene, but it does get harder. There is this huge malleability21malleability可鍛性。that decreases at age 5.”

[23] Communities today often miss the opportunity to help youngsters develop their social, emotional and behavioral skills, Harrison said.

[24] “So often, kids who start out behind end up staying behind,” Lieser said. ■

[23]他認(rèn)為，在幫助青少年發(fā)展社交、情感和行為能力方面，現(xiàn)如今的社區(qū)常常錯(cuò)失良機(jī)。

[24]“孩子如果輸在起跑線，通常也就輸在終點(diǎn)線。”莉瑟爾表示。 □