“No one covets a stressful
childhood. But the later-life benefits of growing up in a tumultuous home are
beginning to come to light, upending conventional wisdom in the process.”
By: Megan Hustard
Level of Difficulty: ***
BEFORE YOU READ
·
The effect of
trauma on the brain and how it affects behaviors | John Rigg | TEDxAugusta
QUESTIONS
1.
The life Sarah lead in her formative years left
a lasting impression because she spent her time with…
2.
What illogical idea did Sarah come to believe
in?
3.
Sarah feels sorry for her husband because she
doesn’t love him / he is too clingy / he wants to hold her hand / she can’t
tolerate signs of love / she acts on instinct.
4.
Having to deal with two alcoholic parents while
growing up sharpened Sarah’s ……………proving that there are some up sides to a
painful childhood.
5.
Read the first two paragraphs of the section
titled “New Perspectives”. We understand from this section that a painful
childhood:
·
Prevents a child from developing properly
·
Prevents a child from developing psychologically
·
Prevents a child from developing his inherent
abilities
·
Prevents a child from dealing with stress
6.
We also learn from the text that a painful
childhood can put the individual permanently on the defensive and see
‘perceived enemies’ behind every bush. This is called ……………….Such individuals
develop various antisocial behavior patterns such as……
7.
What was the major flaw in the research that
reached all the above conclusions?
8.
Read as far as the next subtitle. We understand
from the example provided that a reaction that is………….in one situation can be
………….in another or vice versa . There is more than one answer but they are
synonyms.
9. Read
the experiment concerning task shifting and inhibitory control. Did the results
of the experiment bear out the initial hypothesis? Now look at the results once
again the superiority of those who experienced unpredictability in childhood in
terms of …………..is significant because………….
10. Read
Steve’s story to the end. His childhood experiences helped develop a basic
characteristic and this has helped him a lot in life. This characteristic is…
11. A
second cognitive advantage enjoyed by people like Steve involves efficiency and
is called:
12. Growing
up in unstable environments can also make people hyper vigilant and lead them
to do better in situations where they need to….
13. Where
in the paragraph beginning “Stress is not one-dimensional…” would you place the
following sentence: There are numerous variables at play in shaping the kind of
adult the child will become and researchers should beware of
overgeneralizations
14. Why
does a moderate amount of stress increase success in dealing with a challenging
problem?
15. Does
Frankenhuis believe nurture, nature or a combination of both when it comes to
the formation of a child’s character?
16. Lillian
was able to cope with everything life threw at her thanks to …..
17. What
misguided practice does the writer criticize?
18. Read
the story of the group retreat organized by Morgan Crone. What conclusion can
we draw from the example?
WRITING TASK
Write an essay in which you
discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a painful childhood. Use the
information you have acquired.
THE SURPRISING BENEFITS OF A TOUGH CHILDHOOD KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
A lot of people experience tumultuous childhoods which leave their mark
and shape their future endeavors. This article focuses on the upsides as well
and is therefore refreshing. Hopefully, students with similar experiences to
those mentioned in the text will also provide insight and tell their own
stories.
1. Two
problem drinkers
2. That
everything was her fault
3. She
cannot tolerate signs of love
4. Observational
Skills
5. Prevents
a child from developing his inherent abilities
6.
Hostile attribution / Acting rashly, even when
unprovoked, being sullen and withdrawn and flying off the handle
7.
It focused on what people from adverse environments
were bad at
8.
Maladaptive / wrong / bad etc. ; adaptive /right
/ good etc
9.
Yes it does; Task shifting; It correlates
positively with traits such as creativity
10.
Tolerance for ambiguity
11.
Working memory updating
12.
Explore other possibilities and stumble upon
novel solutions
13.
Right at the end: it makes a good concluding
statement
14.
Because a moderate amount of stress triggers a
moderate amount of the chemical messenger called norepinephrine
15.
A combination of both
16.
Her ability to meet the challenges of change
17.
Pushing high risk kids to act more like kids
from low stress, low risk environments
18.
The minimum: The way we interpret history is up
for grabs
