By: Anna Machin
Level of Difficulty:
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NOTE TO THE STUDENT:
The questions
accompanying this reading text are mostly search reading questions
LISTEN AND TAKE NOTES:
BEFORE YOU READ
·
Click the icon to the left of your screen and listen to the text being
read out loud. As you do so, highlight the important points in the text.
QUESTIONS
1.
What major change has taken place in
the assessment of the differences between humans and apes?
2.
How do we know that fatherhood is of
vital importance to human beings? Because…
3.
The misguided views concerning the role
of fathers described in the introduction are all examples of…
4.
The fact that human fathers don’t ‘hot
foot it’ and actually ‘stick around means that…
5.
The writer’s purpose in conducting her
research was to bridge…..by….
6.
What does “This” refer to in the phrase
“This has meant that…”?
7.
‘The reduced investment in the womb’ is
directly due to …..
8.
What should the logical outcome of a
shorter pregnancy be?
9.
The fact that the above is not the case
is due to the fact that this …
10.
What does “this” in the phrase “this
leads to three distinct life stages” refer to?
11.
A shorter pregnancy and early weaning
in the case of the human child would not make sense unless the mother…(Tweak
the text)
12.
Initially, women were more likely to seek help from other women because…..The
involvement of the father only came once it became obvious that it was in
the father’s interest to help/ the father’s help was inevitable/ the father
was monogamous/ the father wanted fewer offspring.
13.
The active involvement of the father in
supporting the child was triggered by…
14.
Dads had a vested interest in
supporting the mother and the child because otherwise …(Tweak the text)
15.
The fathers’ more active involvement in
the rearing of the child came when it was necessary to…
16.
What conclusion can be drawn from the
account of the Kipsigis, the Aka and Western Dads?
17.
What misconception about parenting has
recently been revised? This change of opinion is supported by the fact that…
18.
What conclusion cannot be drawn from
the account of the chemical changes in fathers’ brains? Why?
19.
What proof can you find in the text to
support the contention that fathers’ and mothers’ roles are complementary?
20.
Rough and tumble play has an important
role to play in a child’s development because…
21.
The above is supported by the discovery
of…
22.
What does the phrase “This crucial
difference” refer to? The fact that whereas …
23.
The major advantage of changing the way
we see fathers is that by doing this we will be able to…
24.
The above will have significant social
connotations as well since…
WRITING TASK
Write an essay in which you discuss the reasons why both
parents should be involved in raising a child.
READING TASK: THE
MARVEL OF THE HUMAN DAD; KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES
This beautifully
organized text comes from the website for Aeon and addresses some long-held
misconceptions concerning child rearing. The structure of the text does not
allow for detailed comprehension questions so the focus has been search reading
questions that hopefully cover all the salient points. The writing task should
come easily.
1.
The dividing line between us and apes
is about the extent and complexity of – rather than the presence or absence of
– a behaviour.
2.
It is underpinned by an extensive,
interrelated web of biological, psychological and behavioural systems that
evolved over the past half a million years.
3.
Sweeping generalisations and
stereotypes
4.
The investment that fathers make in
their children is vital for the survival of our species
5.
A glaring gap in our knowledge of our
own species/ answering two very broad and open questions: who is the human
father, and what is he for?
6.
Human babies are startlingly dependent
when they are born
7.
A narrowed birth canal and our
unusually large brains
8.
A compensatory period of maternal
investment after birth
9.
Would have led to an inability to
replace – let alone increase – our population
10.
The currency of life
11.
Got help
12.
Keeping track of reciprocity with the
other sex is more cognitively taxing than keeping track of it with someone of
the same sex / it was in the father’s interest to help
13.
The massive leap in size brains made
500.000 years ago
14.
The child and hence his genetic
heritage would not survive
15.
Teach an adolescent about the rules of
cooperation, the skills of the hunt, the production of tools, and the knowledge
of the landscape and its inhabitants.
16.
In all cultures, regardless of their
economic model, fathers teach their children the vital skills to survive in their
particular environment.
17.
That mothering is instinctive yet
fathering is learned/ The hormonal and brain changes seen in new mothers are mirrored in fathers
18.
Dad has not evolved to be the mirror to
mum (a male mother, so to speak)/ Evolution hates redundancy
19.
The brain areas where the most activity
was recorded were distinctly different, mirroring the different developmental
roles that each parent has evolved to adopt.
20.
It begins to teach the child about the
give and take of relationships, and how to judge and handle risk appropriately.
21.
Peaks in oxytocin, indicating increased
reward, from playing together
22.
The attachment between a mother and her
child is best described as exclusive, a father’s attachment to his child is
based on challenge.
23.
Empower fathers to be more involved
with their children (something that benefits us all)
24.
The sons of today who see dad as an
equal to mum in the domestic setting will follow this role model when they
themselves become parents
