Youth Without Worry: Cracking the 26 Psychological Codes of Teenage Growth

Author: Ma Cunyan, Wang Yingchun, Mou Yurong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: Learning is a tough job, and many middle school students have a lot of complaints and dissatisfaction. According to a survey of 438 adolescents in Langfang City, Hebei Province, regarding their learning conditions: 56% felt "study is too stressful and overwhelming," 24% thought daily homework assignments were excessive, 59%- believed "exams are constant and exhausting," 67% expressed "I just want to graduate earlier," and 21% considered "learning is a pressure with no joy." Why is the student life that should be vibrant, full of songs and laughter, instead filled with oppression, tension, and pain? The main reason is the severe lack of interest in learning. In fact, if you think calmly, the learning process is not truly as joyless and unfulfilling as we complain about when we're in a bad mood. For example, when you painstakingly solve a difficult problem, you feel an indescribable sense of relief and satisfaction; when your essay is read aloud by the teacher as a model, pride and contentment arise spontaneously; when you make progress in your studies and receive praise from teachers and parents, you feel life is filled with joy and sunshine.
"Vast is the sea of knowledge, and those who know it are not as good as those who love it, and those who love it are not as good as those who enjoy it. Sailing the boat of enjoyment in knowledge, riding the wind and waves across ten thousand miles, is not that exhilarating?"
Growing Pains Xing Ming is a high school student and can also be considered a "star" in his class. In the debate competition organized by his school, he can "debate with the crowd" and win repeatedly; in the city's model aircraft competition, he has also achieved excellent results; his bold and powerful handwriting is seen on the blackboard newspaper in the back wall of his classroom; on the long-distance running track of the school sports meet, his final sprint inspires countless shouts of excitement. But unfortunately, his academic performance has always been poor. In class, Xing Ming is almost a different person. The teacher is lecturing at the podium, and Xing Ming looks up "attentively," but upon closer inspection, his eyes are vacant, his body and mind not aligned. In the exam hall, he is bewildered by the questions, no longer the effortless performer from the debate competition. With the final exam approaching, this is the biggest exam since entering high school! He is fully aware of its importance, so after dinner, he politely returns to his small room to study. But after solving only one problem, he hears a cheer from the TV in the living room, thinking it must be a goal in the match. He forces himself to focus on studying, but his brain simply refuses to cooperate, while he clearly hears every sound from the TV. In the end, he can no longer resist and quietly opens a gap in the door, placing a mirror on the desk to reflect the TV screen. Thus, Xing Ming watches an anxious football match in front of his textbooks.
After the football match ends, Xing Ming straightens up and stretches. At this moment, his mother quietly enters, placing a cup of drink on the table, her eyes revealing her affection for the hardworking child. Xing Ming avoids his mother's gaze, feeling extremely guilty.
You Listen, Why does Xing Ming behave this way? Clearly, it is due to a lack of interest in learning. In school, students like Xing Ming are not rare. We often notice that in the same classroom, listening to the same teacher, covering the same content, students' performances vary greatly: some are fully focused and attentive; some are distracted and absent-minded; some look anxious and restless, as if sitting on pins and needles. It's a kaleidoscope of expressions and attitudes. Why such a difference? To a large extent, it is due to learning interest.
So, what exactly is learning interest? Learning interest refers to a positive tendency to explore certain things, associated with pleasant emotions. It is one of the internal motivations for learning and has a positive driving effect on it. Einstein said, "Interest is the best teacher"; Sukhomlinsky also pointed out that learning interest is an important driving force for learning. Some modern psychologists have also proven through experiments the importance of interest in learning. Lazarus found that in academic achievement, two students with equal intelligence, those with interest always outperform those without. Surveys by Chinese scholars also show that the higher the level of learning interest, the better the academic performance.
In his youth, Fabre lived near a small path surrounded by a large grassland, filled with various insects. Fabre spent his days crouching in the grass, observing insects, sometimes frowning in deep thought, sometimes smiling and talking to himself, drawing the attention of passersby, who thought he was foolish. On his wedding night, Edison suddenly disappeared. His family searched everywhere but found him later engrossed in experiments in the lab. It turned out he had suddenly remembered a question and rushed to the lab, completely forgetting he had just gotten married. These two famous figures were so absorbed in their research, doing things beyond ordinary comprehension, mainly because of their strong interest in what they studied.
Objectively speaking, everyone's interests differ, both in quality and quantity. In terms of quality, different people are interested in different things; in terms of quantity, different people have varying degrees of preference for the same thing. The factors leading to differences in learning interest are also diverse. On one hand, it relates to students' personality traits. For example, quieter students might be more interested in learning than more active ones. Active students can't sit still and lack the focus to delve into the mysteries of knowledge, while quieter students are better at exploring it. On the other hand, it also relates to teachers' teaching methods. Some teachers can deliver lectures engagingly, sparking students' curiosity and desire for knowledge, naturally leading them to develop a yearning for learning. Additionally, learning interest is also related to academic pressure. A decrease in interest may also be caused by excessive academic pressure. Middle school students are relatively sensitive, fragile, and even rebellious. If the pressure from learning is too great, they might give up their efforts in their studies. (P2-4)