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There is a point in every family when it's time for the talk. No, not that talk. Not that one either. I'm talking about the science-and-math talk. The kind of talk that should happen every time your child is having trouble or even just working on homework. Most parents, having been through primary school themselves at some point, have a difficult time with this talk. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted through the Intel Corporation, parents are more comfortable talking with their kids about drugs than about science and math.
Some key points from the survey:
More than half （53 percent） of parents of teenagers admit that they have trouble helping their children with math and science homework.
Nearly a quarter of parents （23 percent） who admit to being less involved in their child's math and science education than they would like say their own lack of knowledge in these subjects is a key barrier.
Another 26 percent of parents who are less involved than they would like wish there were a one-stop shop with materials to refresh their existing, but unused math and science knowledge so they can better help their kids.
Talking about drugs is easier for parents because it's a vague subject. It doesn't have much depth to it. You can get the message across in just a couple of short sentences, or an example of someones' life gone wrong thanks to the influence of drugs. Not to mention, it's a talk that almost every competent parent has with their child at some point in their lives, right up there with the good ol' sex talk.
Science and math are not vague subjects. Not only is there extreme depth to be found, but there is commonly a generational gap between the parent and the child. Science and math haven't changed, but the amount of knowledge and the understanding has. We know more as adults than when we were children, but we have to relate to them on a child's level, rather than on an adult-level understanding of the material. This is where it becomes difficult for parents. Shelly Esque, vice president of Intel's corporate-affairs group, explains the challenge:
Our survey points to a difficult reality for our nation's parents: While they may recognize the importance of math and science, they are unable to engage with their children around these subjects due to limited understanding of the topics and scarcity of resources to help. We need to help parents help their kids make the best choices, including taking math and science courses so they are prepared to succeed.
Even though 98 percent of parents believe that science and math are critical to the future of the country, and 91 percent believe that parental involvement is key to their children's success, parents are still having trouble talking to their children about science and math. Sure, it's easy to express the importance of the subjects, but when it comes down to actually doing something - that is where we're lacking. Even I have trouble helping with math and science sometimes. Not because I'm not knowledgeable, but because it's hard to transfer my knowledge to that of an 8-year-old.
The problem is, parents recognize that math and science are critical to their child's future success, but they also realize that speaking to their children about drugs and alcohol is critical to their child's survival. Especially when it comes to talking to teenagers, it's hard enough just saying hello to them, much less trying to connect with them on their schoolwork. So the drug talk is always easier.
What parents need, and - as the survey data mentioned above shows - they know they need. is help. Normally I'd say that it's all up to the parents, and they should work on the effectiveness without outside intervention.
However, when a company like Intel is willing to step up and put in the time and resources to come up with solutions to assist parents in connecting with their children on math and science, I'll make an exception. Through its initiatives it's looking to bridge the gap and create tools that parents can use to better understand what their children are working on and what they can do to help. Shelly Esque again:
Over the past decades, Intel has worked extensively with teachers, students, communities and governments to help inspire and prepare the next generation of innovators with a solid math and science education. We haven't, though, worked with parents, who we think are a critical piece of the education equation. Our goal in releasing the results of this survey is to raise awareness among parents that they aren't alone in their challenges so they feel more confident seeking out assistance to encourage their kids to take an interest in math and science, and we hope resource providers will come forward to help them.
Parents, take note. When a company like Intel is stepping in to provide a means to assist you in bridging the educational gap with your children, take full advantage. To that point, if you have the resources to help, feel free to do so. While it's important that your kids grow up drug-free and healthy, it's just as important that they grow up educated as well. You can almost guarantee that the less you focus on their education, the more you are going to be focusing on the drug talks.
每個(gè)家庭在討論時(shí)間都會(huì)有一個(gè)中心。不，不是這個(gè)。也不是那個(gè)。我說的是科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)的討論。是每次孩子們?cè)谟龅铰闊┗蛏踔林皇亲黾彝プ鳂I(yè)時(shí)的談話。很多家長，一直到小學(xué)畢業(yè)，自己在某個(gè)時(shí)候都一個(gè)有與此困難時(shí)刻的談話。實(shí)際上，根據(jù)由因特爾公司指導(dǎo)的一個(gè)近期調(diào)查，家長在跟自己的孩子討論毒品時(shí)比討論科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)時(shí)舒服的多。
來自調(diào)查的幾個(gè)關(guān)鍵點(diǎn)：
*半數(shù)（53%）以上的青少年家長承認(rèn)，他們?cè)趲椭⒆拥臄?shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)家庭作業(yè)時(shí)有困難。
*近四分之一（23%）的家長承認(rèn)很少孩子們的數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)教育中，他們更愿意說自己缺乏這些方面的知識(shí)，這是一個(gè)主要障礙。
*另外26%的家長較少參與，但更希望有一個(gè)一站式的可以更新他們現(xiàn)有的而不使用數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)知識(shí)的材料商品店，那樣他們就可以更好的幫助自己的孩子。
對(duì)于家長來說，談?wù)撍幤啡菀锥嗔耍驗(yàn)檫@是一個(gè)模糊的主題。它沒有太多的深度。你可以從幾句簡短的句子中獲得信息，或者某些人的生命因?yàn)槎酒返挠绊懚甑暗睦�。更何況，這是一個(gè)幾乎每個(gè)稱職的家長在某個(gè)時(shí)候與其一生的孩子都會(huì)有的談話，直到有良好關(guān)于性的話題。
科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)不是模糊的概念。不光是有極端的深度去挖掘，但通常在家長和孩子之間有一個(gè)代溝。科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)不會(huì)干邊，但是知識(shí)的數(shù)量和理解力會(huì)改變。我們作為成年人比我們還是孩子的時(shí)候更加知道，但是我們必須在孩子的水平去聯(lián)系它們，而不是站在一個(gè)成年人對(duì)材料理解的水平。這就是哪里變得對(duì)家長困難的原因。SHELLY ESQUE,因特爾公司-事務(wù)組的副總裁，解釋了這一難題：
我們的調(diào)查指出了我國家長面臨的一個(gè)現(xiàn)實(shí)困難：雖然他們認(rèn)識(shí)到數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)的重要性，但是他們無力幫助孩子解決這些問題，源于他們對(duì)這些主題的有限理解和資源的缺乏。我們有必要幫助家長幫助孩子做出最好的選擇，包括加入數(shù)學(xué)課堂和科學(xué)課堂，以便他們做好成功的準(zhǔn)備。
即使98%的家長相信科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)對(duì)國家未來是至關(guān)重要的，以及91%的家長相信家長的參與是孩子成功的關(guān)鍵，但是家長與孩子們談?wù)摽茖W(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)時(shí)仍然有困難。當(dāng)然，這很容易表示出問題的重要性，但是當(dāng)它涉及到真正做的東西----那就是我們很缺乏。甚至是我有時(shí)幫助科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)是也有困難。不是因?yàn)槲也欢�，而是因�(yàn)槲液茈y把我的知識(shí)轉(zhuǎn)達(dá)給一個(gè)8歲的小孩。
問題是，家長認(rèn)識(shí)到數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)對(duì)孩子將來成功的重要性，但是他們也意識(shí)到跟孩子們談?wù)摱酒泛途凭珜?duì)孩子生存的重要性。特別是當(dāng)涉及到跟青少年交談，就已經(jīng)夠難說是打招呼，更要與他們的課業(yè)相聯(lián)系。因此關(guān)于毒品的討論總是相對(duì)容易的。
家長需要的是什么，以及---正如如上所述的調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)顯示---他們知道他們的需要，就是幫助。通常我會(huì)說這全都取決于家長，他們應(yīng)該有效的工作而不受外界的干擾。
盡管如此，當(dāng)類似因特爾的一個(gè)公司愿意加強(qiáng)時(shí)間和資源來提出解決方案，以協(xié)助家長聯(lián)同孩子的數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)，我將做破例一次。通過其主動(dòng)性，希望修補(bǔ)差距并創(chuàng)造家長可以用來更好的理解孩子們?cè)谧鍪裁春退麄冏魇裁纯梢詭椭⒆拥墓ぞ摺HELLY ESQUE再一次強(qiáng)調(diào)說：
過去的幾十年里，因特爾已經(jīng)一直與教師，學(xué)生，社區(qū)和政府部門一起廣泛的用堅(jiān)實(shí)的數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)教育激勵(lì)和幫助準(zhǔn)備了改革創(chuàng)新的下一代。盡管我們沒有同那些我們認(rèn)為是教育公式關(guān)鍵部分的家長們一起工作。我們展開此次調(diào)查結(jié)果的目的就是引起家長們的注意，他們不是單獨(dú)面臨難題的，那樣他們就會(huì)感受到更多信心去尋求幫助，鼓勵(lì)他們的孩子培養(yǎng)在數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)方面的興趣，我們希望資源提供者們能夠前來幫助他們。
家長們，請(qǐng)注意。當(dāng)一個(gè)想因特爾的公司正在加緊提供方法去幫助建立你和孩子之間的教育橋梁時(shí)，請(qǐng)充分利用。為了這一點(diǎn)，如果你有幫助的資源，請(qǐng)隨時(shí)這樣做。雖然你的孩子遠(yuǎn)離毒品和健康的成長是重要的的，但是他們成長的教育也同樣是非常重要的。你幾乎可以保證，你越少關(guān)注他們的教育，你就越多的關(guān)注毒品的討論。
