为人父母不仅是一份终身职业，也是一门永远学不完的科目，如何帮助孩子成为一个快乐的学习者，如何培养孩子独立自主的能力等等，是我们为人父母的终身都要研究学习的课题。下面是美国教育专家们总结的你可能一直以来都没有意识到的能够帮助你的孩子在学业上获得成功的八个秘密。

　　Surprising Secrets to school success

　　Eight ideas about academic learning you may not know。

　　by Greatschools staff

　　1. Praise the work, not the wit 给予孩子有实际意义的赞扬

　　Not all positive reinforcement is, well, positive. Numerousstudies have shown that children who are praised for their workethic are better at solving critical thinking problems than thosepraised for ability. Those praised for effort were almost threetimes as likely to focus on learning rather than “lookingsmart。”

　　不是所有对孩子正面的肯定都是真正有意义的赞扬。大量研究表明经常对孩子的学习实际成果的表扬比单单对孩子能力的肯定，更有助于帮助孩子培养良好的独立思考与解决问题的能力。而且对孩子为学业所付出的努力的正面肯定比对孩子学业轻描淡写的夸奖(如“看上去很不错”)更有助于帮助孩子提高对学业的兴趣和专注度。

　　2. Minimize your unexcused absences积极地参与到孩子的学习活动中

　　Research has shown that you should make the extra effort to bephysically present in your child’s classroom. In fact, attendingclass meetings and volunteering at school better predicts literacydevelopment than your family’s income。

　　专家建议家长[微博]要尽量能够多多参与孩子学校和班级的活动，事实上，参与班级会议、为学校或班级当志愿者都能够帮助您更好的了解孩子在学校的学习状况，同时也能够让孩子们感受到你对他的关注。

　　3. Use the TV to channel critical thinking利用看电视培养孩子独立思考能力

　　Let’s face it — prying our kids away from the TV is no smallfeat. New research shows that we might be better off using thishabit to facilitate learning. Try muting the commercials and askingyour child simple questions while she watches TV. What justhappened? What do you think about that? These questions teachchildren to be effective critical thinkers and communicators。

　　把孩子从电视机前拉走并不是一件容易的事情。最新研究表明我们可以利用孩子看电视的时间来促进孩子学习。在孩子看电视的过程中，利用商业广告的间隙，问孩子一些关于他所看的电视节目的简单问题，比如“刚才发生了什么？你对刚才发生的事情怎么看？”通过这些简单的问题来培养孩子独立思考和有效沟通的能力。

　　4. Fear not the $5 word不要害怕和孩子用复杂的表达方式

　　Many parents assume they should use simple words with kids toavoid confusion. But new research suggests we may be wildlyunderestimating their brainpower. Children whose parents usedcomplex language were found to have significantly higher IQ’s (aformidable 40 points) than children whose parents did not —suggesting that young brains become wired early for complexthought。

　　许多家长认为应该和孩子尽量用简单的表达方式，以避免孩子混淆不清。最新研究表明父母们可能低估了孩子们的小脑瓜。研究表明父母经常用复杂语句进行交流的孩子比那些经常被用简单语句进行交流的孩子的智商明显要高。

　　5. Soothe the soul with nature经常用自然平抚孩子的心灵

　　According to research, communing with nature isn’t just a nicerecreational activity. Natural settings increase a sense ofself-worth and decrease stress — two important factors in primingthe mind to learn. One study has even shown that natural settingscan help relieve symptoms of AD/HD. When children with AD/HDparticipated in the same activities both inside and outside, thosein the outdoor settings experienced fewer symptoms。

　　研究表明，经常接触大自然不仅是一种很好的娱乐活动，同时也是增进孩子的自我价值感和减少压力的一种最好方式，而良好的自我价值感和自由平和的心态是促进孩子学习的两个重要因素。

　　6. Behind every smart child is a collection of goodbooks 读万卷书行万里路

　　While reading to children is crucial, don’t underestimate theimportance of simply giving your kid access to a lot of books.Studies have found that a child raised in a book-friendlyenvironment — with at least 50 children’s books in the home —scores five percentile points higher in math and reading than kidswith less access to good reads。

　　虽然给孩子读书很重要，但是让孩子有机会接触到大量的图书也是至关重要。研究表明，在有丰富图书的环境中成长的孩子(至少在家里有50本孩子的书)比没有丰富藏书的孩子的数学和阅读能力都高出5个百分点。

　　7. Attend to the body and wake up the mind参加体育活动、活跃孩子的思维

　　The body-brain connection is far from fully understood, butresearch suggests that children’s learning abilities areinextricably tied to physical vitality. When 33 schools in Ontario,Canada, participated in a program called Living School aimed atincreasing student’s physical activity by about 20 minutes a dayand improving nutrition, some schools bellyached about lost classtime. But in the end, participating school showed enormousimprovement. Overall scores climbed 18% in just two years.Third-grade reading scores alone shot up by 50%. Ontario’seducation experiment suggests that sometimes basketball practicefacilitates learning as much if not more than another after-schooltutoring session。

　　虽然身体与大脑的联系还没有充分被解读，然而研究表明孩子的学习能力与身体的运动协调能力息息相关。

　　8. Child labor with a higher purpose鼓励孩子参与家务劳动

　　According to new research, children of all ages who performhousehold chores gain valuable skills, which they can apply toschool learning. In one study, children as young as two years oldwho performed household chores like matching socks or wiping upkitchen spills ended up having more-successful educationalexperiences and careers。

　　研究表明，不论各个年龄段的孩子，参与家务劳动都会让孩子学到很多有用的技能，而且这些技能都会潜移默化被应用到学校的学习当中。据统计，孩子如果在年级很小的时候(2岁左右)就能够主动帮助做一些家务，如给袜子配对、擦地等，最终发现会比其他没有家务体验的孩子在教育经历和未来的职业都会取得更大的成功。

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