A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unf

C
A star athlete at the college where I work recently stopped by my office. After committing a few unforced errors during a weekend match, she was riven by self-criticism. “I’m at peak fitness, and I practice hard. How is this happening?” She asked.
This student believes she should be able to control the outcomes of her life by virtue of her hard work. She has a sense that hours on the field should get her exactly where she needs to go. Many students have similar mentality. When they win, they feel powerful and smart. When they fail, they are crushed by self-blame. If my achievements are mine to control, they reason, my failures must be entirely my fault, too.
We talk often about young adults struggling with failure because their parents have protected them from discomfort. But there is something else at play: a false promise that they can achieve anything if they are willing to work for it.
Psychologists have sourced this phenomenon to a misapplication of “mindset” research, which has found that praising children for effort will increase academic performance. A 2018 analysis found that while praising effort over ability may benefit economically disadvantaged students, it does not necessarily help everyone.
    One possible explanation comes from Suniya Luthar, who argued in a research paper that for teens in wealthy, pressure-cooker communities, “it is not a lack of motivation and perseverance (毅力) that is the big problem. Instead, it is unhealthy perfectionism, and difficulty with backing off when they should, when the desire for achievements is over the top.” They push themselves onward in face of impossible goals. A 2007 study found that teens who refused to give up impossible goals showed higher levels of C-reaction protein, a marker of systemic inflammation (全身炎症) linked to heart disease and other medical conditions. A 2014 study showed a connection between the perfectionist tendencies and depression.
The cruel reality is that you can do everything in your power and still fail. Instead of allowing our kids to beat themselves up when things don’t go their way, we adults should help students pursue success in healthier ways in part by redefining failure as a feature, not a bug, of learning. At Smith College where I teach, students are asked to explore how setbacks and missteps made them stronger or more effective. We would be wise to remind our kids that life has a way of sucker-punching (意外打击) us when we least expect it. It’s often the people who learn to say “stuff happens” who get up the fastest.     
38. Why was star athlete trapped by self-blame?
    A. She broke down during the match.
B. She didn’t try her best in the match.
C. She believed hard work should pay off.
    D. She thought she should have practiced harder.
39. What can we learn from Paragraph 5?
A. Lack of motivation and perseverance leads to teens’ failure.
B. Praising children for effort increases academic performance.
C. Children struggle with failure due to parents’ over-protection.
D. Unhealthy perfectionism causes physical and emotional stress.
40. According to the author, adults should _________.
    A. help students learn from failure
    B. protect students from discomfort  
    C. reward students for their hard work
    D. explore the cause of students’ failure
41. Which of the following does the author probably agree with?
    A. Effort equals achievement.
    B. Motivation is the key to success.
    C. Success is not always under control.
    D. Effort is more important than ability.       
 
38. C 39. D 40. A
41. C

 
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