At last week's topic selection meeting, my colleague mentioned a phenomenon that I thought was very interesting.
Her family is a boy, in the seventh grade. After the midterm results came out, parents used various ways to inquire (at present, the school will not disclose the results and rankings, but the parents of the school bullies will not be ostriches, you know), and finally Sheng Sheng made a wild version of the top 20 of the grade list - it turned out that not only were most of them girls, but there was only one boy in the top 10 of the grade.
This is not an isolated case, she found that in the group of several junior high school students who are mixed daily, there are similar phenomena: the most of the girls who study well in the class, serve as class cadres, and have strong comprehensive ability are girls, but the crane tail school scum is more boys.
Just when colleagues who have male treasures at home have expressed their uneasiness, a colleague said:
"Don't worry, boys have a lot of stamina, just wait until high school." When I was in school, there were several male classmates around me, all of whom suddenly counterattacked after high school! ”
Then, everyone began to discuss the story of "boy counterattack".
What neighborhood boy studied particularly poorly when he was a child, and was admitted to Zhejiang University in college;
What elementary school male classmates are scum, high school seniors rush into the top 50 of the grade...
The story is legendary, the plot is very vivid, but the more I listen to it, the more wrong it is, and the more I listen to it, the more I feel like reading a fantasy novel...
One thing suddenly occurred to me:
"In the past, there was a high school counterattack, but now the middle school entrance examination is directly diverted, ah, where is the turn of some 'late opening' boys have the opportunity to counterattack?"
The scene was silent...
Have you ever thought of a similar question? I really thought about it when I went back – I'll share the results of my thinking later in the article. Now let's talk about the problem of the difference in the performance of boys and girls that many people believe in, is there any scientific basis?
There is a saying that the "difference in the performance of boys and girls" does exist
Regarding the problem that boys generally fail to pass the grades of girls, there are many studies abroad. One of the most famous is the paper "Gender Differences in Academic Performance" co-authored by Daniel and Susan Voyer, a professor of psychology at the University of New Brunswick.
In this paper, the Voyers came to three conclusions:
1
Overall, girls score higher than boys in all school subjects.
2
The difference in grades between girls and boys is greatest in language courses and smallest in math and science courses.
3
The degree of gender disparity in grades increases from elementary school to secondary school, but decreases between high school and college.
Seeing these three conclusions, do you think the same as I do:
Why do boys get worse grades than girls?
Why do boys catch up with girls when they get to high school?
The Voyers explained in the paper that it may be because of cultural, social factors, etc. However, I heard another explanation from Francis Jensen, a neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania:
Boys' poor grades in primary and secondary schools are due to later brain development than girls.
The amygdala develops 18 months later in boys than in girls, and the hippocampus develops later than in girls (the amygdala is primarily responsible for emotions and can regulate emotions by releasing neurotransmitters. The hippocampus is responsible for memory, which is used to encode and retrieve memories);
- Boys' frontal lobes develop later than girls (the frontal lobes are areas where people think rationally and plan, which can regulate people's emotions and behaviors, and are related to advanced functions such as problem solving and decision-making);
Boys have more connections within the hemisphere than girls, and fewer connections between the hemispheres than girls (the more connections between the left and right brains, the more flexible the cooperation of different brain regions, and the more able they can handle complex tasks).
(Note: Professor Raquel Gur and his team at the University of Pennsylvania used magnetic resonance imaging technology to discover different connections between the brains of men and women)
At the same time, the corpus callosum in adolescent boys is 25% smaller than that in girls (the callosum is the nerve tissue that connects the left and right hemispheres, and its thickness affects the ability of the left and right brains to cooperate with things), and the degree of myelin development in boys is also lower than that of girls.
These neurodevelopmental "slow half-beats" lead to poor memory, low self-discipline, poor organizational skills, poor concentration, poor writing skills, and are not good at verbal expression and handling complex things compared with girls.
Therefore, compared with girls, boys' achievements are mostly unbearable to look at, it is not difficult to understand, right?
But why is it that in high school, some boys can catch up with their grades?
This is also related to brain development.
The rapid development of brain modularity in boys is the key to counterattack
In high school, boys whose brains started late finally caught up. Whether it is the development of the amygdala, hippocampus or prefrontal lobe, it is much more mature than before. The boys also slowly learned to control their emotions, arrange their time reasonably, and knew that they had to study hard.
However, there is another possible reason, that is, the brain modularization of boys in adolescents develops most rapidly.
A high level of modularity helps to improve and improve executive function, helping people to quickly find key information, make decisions, and better solve problems when faced with problems.
At the same time, it can also improve the ability to pay attention, reduce external interference, and be more focused.
Obviously, both of these points help to improve learning efficiency.
Professor Raquel Gur of the University of Pennsylvania found a significant increase in brain modularity after the age of 13.1 in boys, which they believe represents the beginning of the brain restructuring and optimization of the boys.
This statement should be exactly the same as "boys have great staying power" and "boys open late" and other statements.
Seeing this, did the boys' parents feel a little comfort in their hearts?
However, this does not mean that the parents of boys can stand with both hands and wait for their children to counterattack.
The foundation was not laid, and the boy had little hope of counterattacking
I am not discouraged by the parents of boys, in fact, as a parent of boys and the owner of education, I am more reluctant to face this fact than anyone. But the grand scene of the imaginary boy counterattack, I am afraid that it will be really difficult to see in the future.
Why?
There are two main reasons for this. First, the era of Buddhist baby raising has passed, and the second is that after the five-to-five-open middle school entrance examination diversion, the boy cannot wait to grow up.
Recall that when we were young, the reason why we were particularly popular when we were young was that the phrase "boys have great staying power" was mainly because parents did not pay much attention to learning at that time, and the results were good or bad, all relying on the child's self-awareness.
Generally speaking, at the primary school level, boys have a heavier playfulness, while girls will be more serious and diligent, and under the general "stocking" conditions, girls with strong self-motivation will obviously be in the forefront of their grades. But in the context of "stocking", the difference is not so obvious - after all, during primary school, if you don't get ahead and learn extra, you can still catch up.
But now things are not human, from kindergarten, families are very concerned about children's learning, hard work, attitude, habits, methods and skills can not fall behind. Therefore, as long as the children with good grades are not dead to study, the foundation is usually very solid, the learning method is also very scientific, as long as there is no boredom or other unexpected situations in the back, the probability of remaining ahead after entering high school is still very large.
At this time, those boys who have not developed the habit of conscientious learning before, even if they grow up and become enlightened, know that they have to study hard, and the hidden learning ability is brought into play, it is difficult to catch up with the children who have a good foundation and have not relaxed their efforts, let alone surpassed - when people have been more than ten years ago, day after day of hard work is so easy to chase?
Moreover, the situation they are facing now may be more cruel, because some children who have opened their tricks too late are likely to have lost the opportunity to counterattack before they can start working hard.
If the general rate of the child's place is only 50%, it means that before the middle school entrance examination, if the child has not woken up to become the top 50%, basically have to say goodbye to the high school. Although there is no shortage of excellent vocational and technical schools now, there are not many excellent vocational and technical students who really want to study seriously, and in this environment, unless the children are gifted and have amazing academic ability, it is difficult to rush out.
At this time, the boys with poor grades are actually no longer on the same track as those children with excellent grades, so why talk about counterattacking?
Therefore, even if it is really verified that "boys have great staying power", parents who pay attention to their children's education should not relax their children's learning in primary and secondary schools, and it is best to ensure that their grades are above the intermediate level.
After all, even before that, when we talked about "counterattacks," most of them referred to rising from middle to superior, not from bottom to top. If the study is not laid well, it is still difficult to keep up with the large troops, and it is even more impossible to talk about counterattack.
So, how do you save the boys who lost to the "starting line"?
In fact, boys' brain development also has advantages, such as more energy and a strong sense of competition.
These advantages can be used well and can become an artifact that motivates boys to work hard.
Four little tricks, boys score up up up
1. Do a good job of emotional guidance, so that boys who are prone to loss of control can find emotional catharsis
Boys' language expression ability is naturally weak, coupled with the late development of the amygdala and frontal lobe, it is easy to lose control of emotions. If the mood is not good, it is natural that you cannot learn it. Therefore, parents of boys should especially put the improvement of their children's emotional regulation ability in an important position.
When the child is young, you can use picture books to guide the child to understand the emotions. When the child grows up, teach the child to identify emotions and accurately express emotions. For example, "I didn't eat my favorite cake, and I was very angry." When the child can say how he feels, the emotions are much more relaxed.
In addition, to give the boy an outlet for emotional catharsis. Unlike girls who like to talk to people, boys prefer to be alone when they are stressed. Give them independent space to think about problems, and you can also put a sandbag for the boys to vent their emotions.
2, use the memory curve, let the boy remember
Boys' hippocampus develops late, his memory is weak, he is not good at memorization, and many knowledge points are forgotten after learning. At this time, it is necessary to introduce the memory curve, compile a memory chart for the child, and regularly take the child to review the knowledge points.
In addition to simply memorizing, you can also use the test method to prompt children to take the initiative to recall and find knowledge weaknesses.
When enough practice is done, these knowledge points will change from short-term memory to long-term memory. Boys don't have to search hard during the exam to find the answer immediately.
3. Participate in competition activities to stimulate competitiveness
Boys are inherently more energetic and competitive than girls. Parents may wish to take advantage of this to motivate boys to learn well.
For example, you can set certain goals and rewards for your child at home to encourage boys to work hard to achieve them. You can also take your child to participate in competition activities, such as sports, speech, musical instruments, math competitions, etc., so that children can feel the atmosphere of competition and stimulate their potential.
4. Make a good schedule and help the boy plan reasonably
Boys mature late in the prefrontal cortex and are not good at organizational planning. At this time, parents may wish to be careful and set a schedule or memorandum with their children.
Incorporate the various daily travel tasks into it, and before you act, take a look at the schedule and fill in the gaps. When the child grows up, he will naturally know how to arrange his time.
Finally, I would like to say that although the above introductions are all brain science research results, it does not mean that this result is absolutely in line with the situation of each child, and parents can draw a line between boys and girls.
Each child's brain development is different, we should carefully observe the child's daily behavior, judge the child's development level. It is important that when we find that children have deficiencies, we do not blindly criticize, but understand the reasons for children's deficiencies and help children improve.