What exactly does the "prefabricated" education hurt?

Editor's words

Let the children finish the next semester's courses and practice the matching exercises in advance, hoping to learn more easily and have more advantages after the start of school; plan the path in advance, and the children's growth path will be carefully planned and implemented by parents ...... This summer vacation, the discussion about "prefabricated education" has set off an upsurge on the Internet, and one of them is a powerful statement: setting goals for children for a long time and reducing independent choices, it may "damage the prefrontal lobe" and even cause atrophy of the prefrontal lobe.

Is planning and preview no longer a reasonable way of parenting and learning? What exactly is "prefabricated education"? Does "prefabricated" education really "hurt the brain"? To what extent do parents plan for their children before crossing the line? Compared with "arranging hard", do they neglect something more important in the process of accompanying their children's growth?

Let's take a look at the nature of parenting from the perspective of psychology and cognitive science, stripping away the complex parenting situations and questions.

"The 'prefabricated educational damage to the prefrontal lobe' of the Internet heat transfer may stem from an over-interpretation of developmental psychology and brain imaging research." According to Zhang Xutong, a researcher and doctoral supervisor in the school of psychology and cognitive science of East China Normal University, the existing research is not enough to prove that "prefabricated education" can directly lead to damage or atrophy of the prefrontal lobe. However, rather than adding another layer of "brain-breaking" anxiety to parents, it may be more noteworthy whether children still have the opportunity to practice autonomous planning, solve problems, and assume age-appropriate responsibilities under intensive arrangements led by parents or institutions, and whether this educational arrangement will affect children's learning motivation, efficacy and parent-child relationship.

"Prefrontal lobe damage"?

Indeed, brain imaging studies have found that children who have experienced higher levels of rigorous upbringing over a long period of time have smaller volumes in certain areas of the prefrontal lobe and amygdala gray matter. However, long-term and continuous strict parenting, as well as a series of risk factors such as stress, conflict and sleep disturbance, are not equivalent to making up lessons, studying in advance or parents' supervision and arrangement. "It is entirely possible that a parent who gives his child a lot of classes and prefabricated studies is very warm and supportive at the same time, but is more anxious about education or is influenced by the environment around him. If you confuse these parenting phenomena, it is instead easy to create new parenting anxieties." Zhang Xutong said.

Executive functions that help us remember and process information, control impulses, and adjust and execute strategies are indeed closely related to the prefrontal lobe and the brain networks it participates in, and continue to develop during childhood and adolescence. At the same time, developmental psychology research does find that more parental support is associated with better executive function later in life. However, Zhang Xutong reminded that these studies illustrate the development of group-level associations, which does not mean that "parents will definitely cause ability differences if they give their children a few independent choices." When it is regarded as a judgment of children's brain development, they need to be more cautious. Even if there are differences, they cannot be equated with "brain damage".

Of greater concern are autonomy, motivation, and parent-child relationships

If every time a child encounters difficulties, an adult tells him what the goal is, what to do in the first step, when to adjust, and whether to do it well in the end, then the child does lack some cognitive work that could have been undertaken by himself. Zhang Xutong believes that compared with "brain function decline", a more reasonable concern is whether children still have motivation to actively mobilize executive functions and whether they can play their potential under pressure.

A child may well be intelligent and perform well, but in an environment where all goals are dictated by others, they are increasingly reluctant to actively invoke these abilities. Parents' autonomous support is associated with a more positive motivation to learn; arranged, controlled parenting may affect this motivation and may also lead to parent-child conflict, weakening the role of a good parent-child relationship, a "protective net" that could have helped children resist a variety of developmental risks.

In the face of the same training intensity, why have different performance? Zhang Xutong pointed out that the so-called "same training", for different children may be completely different psychological tasks. If a child has more knowledge and ability to match the curriculum requirements, coupled with appropriate guidance, he may continue to experience "a little difficult, but I can solve"-this moderate challenge brings a sense of ability. Another child may experience continuous failure due to his lack of ability or lack of sufficient guidance and support when facing the same content. If he cannot quit, cannot choose, and is constantly compared and evaluated at the same time, it is easy to gradually change from difficulty to "I can't" or even "I don't want to learn any more" mentality.

Do "scaffolding" parents

Zhang Xutong believes that prefabricated education cannot be simply understood as "too much control" by some parents ". When education competition is strong, school requirements and peer comparison bring pressure, and parents lack clear and credible scientific guidance, many parents' choices stem from an understandable worry that their children will not be able to learn in advance. I am afraid that once I fall behind, it will not only affect my grades, but also affect my self-confidence and mental state.

"Prefabricated education" is not the same as proper preparation. Proper preview is not to finish the course and practice in advance, but to build a mind map in advance to let children know the position and function of new knowledge in the overall system and generate curiosity and expectation. If the "prefabricated baby" is to learn the contents of the next semester directly and practice the exercises well in advance, the children may not get the same learning support as in school, and the poor effect may affect their interest and efficiency. At the same time, repeating the classroom as it is after the beginning of the term may also reduce the novelty and cognitive challenges of the classroom.

A full schedule may point to over-nurturing, but it's just a sign. Zhang Xutong said that the core of judging whether there is excessive control and excessive parenting is whether parents' participation, help and control exceed the real needs of children at the current stage of development, squeezing their own opportunities to acquire and practice their abilities. This substitution may occur not only in learning, but also in self-care, social and emotional processing.

How can parents find a balance between participation and letting go? Zhang Xutong suggests that the key is to look at the child's growth and potential, and gradually return the planning power to the child. In the early school period, parents provide more structure and safety boundaries, can arrange the schedule for children, and encourage children to explore various learning opportunities with due respect for children's preferences. At the same time, children have the right to make simple choices within the boundaries and have a lot of opportunities to play, try and solve small problems. In primary school, parents' arrangements can be gradually changed to joint plans to teach children how to break down tasks, check progress and resume setbacks, but avoid completing these steps for children. Adolescence, on the other hand, should significantly increase the child's decision-making power over learning methods, timing, activities of interest and personal goals, with parents responsible for the bottom line of safety, health and family rules, and gradually move from being a commander to a counselor who provides information and appropriate guidance as the child approaches adulthood.

"Good parental support is more like" scaffolding "-providing support when children cannot do it temporarily, avoiding substitution when they can try, and returning responsibility to children in time when they have the ability to do it independently." Zhang Xutong reminded that it is normal for children to complain occasionally and want to give up. In addition to providing emotional comfort and encouragement, parents also need to provide some clues and help in problem solving so that children can succeed with assistance, and then gradually withdraw "scaffolding" and encourage independent attempts as children's abilities grow; however, if the child has multiple and persistent stress indicators-such as obvious poor sleep, persistent irritability or depression, physical discomfort, loss of interest in things he liked in the past, strong fear of evaluation, long-term avoidance of certain types of learning, or the family has fallen into high-frequency conflicts around learning, it is necessary to reevaluate the intensity and methods of relevant training and learning.

The key to judging whether "over-prefabrication" is not how full the schedule is. Zhang Xutong stressed that the key lies in whether children still have room to practice their abilities, express opinions and participate in choices.