雅思课外读物--Why kids cannot sit still in school?

这篇雅思阅读素材是要跟大家分享关于“小孩子多动症”的话题。不少年轻父母揪心于自己的孩子在学校坐不住(keep fidgeting)，纷纷求救于医生，担忧孩子是否得了多动症(ADHD)。本文作者是专业儿科治疗师，却反其道而行之，认为多数情况下，孩子坐不住的原因不是运动太多，而是运动太少的缘故!“为了让孩子学习好，他们得学会集中注意力;为了让他们集中注意力，先让他们动起来!”

A perfect stranger pours her heart out to me over the phone. She complains that her 6-year-old son is unable to sit still in the classroom. The school wants to test him for ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder注意力缺陷多动障碍，即小儿多动症). This sounds familiar, I think to myself. As a pediatric(儿科的) occupational therapist(治疗专家), I’ve noticed that this is a fairly common problem today.

The mother goes onto explain how her son comes home every day with a yellow smiley face. The rest of his class goes home with green smiley faces for good behavior. Every day this child is reminded that his behavior is unacceptable, simply because he can’t sit still for long periods of time.

The mother starts crying. “He is starting to say things like, ‘I hate myself’ and ‘I’m no good at anything.’” This young boy’s self-esteem(自尊) is plummeting(急剧下降) all because he needs to move more often.

Over the past decade, more and more children are being coded as having attention issues and possibly ADHD. A local elementary teacher tells me that at least eight of her twenty-two students have trouble paying attention on a good day. At the same time, children are expected to sit for longer periods of time. In fact, even kinder garteners are being asked to sit for thirty minutes during circle time at some schools.

The problem:children are constantly in an upright position these days. It is rare to find children rolling down hills, climbing trees, and spinning in circles just for fun. Merry-go-rounds(旋转木马) and teeter-totters(跷跷板) are a thing of the past. Recess times(课间休息时间) have shortened due to increasing educational demands, and children rarely play outdoors due to parental fears, liability issues(责任问题), and the hectic(繁忙的;发热的) schedules of modern-day society. Let’s face it: Children are not nearly moving enough, and it is really starting to become a problem.

I recently observed a fifth grade classroom as a favor to a teacher. I quietly went in and took a seat towards the back of the classroom. The teacher was reading a book to the children and it was towards the end of the day. I’ve never seen anything like it. Kids were tilting(使倾斜;翘起)their chairs back at extreme angles, others were rocking their bodies back and forth, a few were chewing on the ends of their pencils, and one child was hitting a water bottle against her forehead in a rhythmic(有节奏的) pattern.

This was not a special-needs classroom, but a typical classroom at a popular art-integrated charter school(公立学校之外的政府特许学校). My first thought was that the children might have been fidgeting(躁动不安) because it was the end of the day and they were simply tired. Even though this may have been part of the problem, there was certainly another underlying(潜在的，更深层次的)reason.

We quickly learned after further testing, that most of the children in the classroom had poor core strength(中枢肌肉力量)and balance. In fact, we tested a few other classrooms and found that when compared to children from the early 1980s, only one out of twelve children had normal strength and balance. Only one! Oh my goodness, I thought to myself. These children need to move!

Ironically, many children are walking around with an underdeveloped vestibular (balance) system(前庭平衡系统) today–due to restricted(受限制的) movement. In order to develop a strong balance system, children need to move their body in all directions, for hours at a time. Just like with exercising, they need to do this more than just once-a-week in order to reap the benefits(获益). Therefore, having soccer practice once or twice a week is likely not enough movement for the child to develop a strong sensory system.

Children are goingto class with bodies that are less prepared to learn than ever before. With sensory systems not quite working right, they are asked to sit and pay attention. Children naturally start fidgeting in order to get the movement their body so desperately needs and is not getting enough of to “turn their brainon.” What happens when the children start fidgeting? We ask them to sit still and pay attention; therefore, their brain goes back to “sleep.”

Fidgeting is a real problem. It is a strong indicator that children are not getting enough movement throughout the day. We need to fix the underlying issue. Recess times need to be extended and kids should be playing outside as soon as they get home from school. Twenty minutes of movement a day is not enough! They need hours of play outdoors in order to establish a healthy sensory system and to support higher-level attention and learning in the classroom.

In order for children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. In order to pay attention, we need to let them move.

Vocabulary

Pediatric 儿科的

Therapist 治疗师

Self-esteem 自尊

Plummet 急剧下降

Recess time 课间休息时间

Liability 责任

Hectic 繁忙的;发热的

Tilt 倾斜;翘起

Rhythmic 有节奏的

Fidget 烦躁不安

Underlying 潜在的;深层的

Restrict 限制

Reap the benefits 获益

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