Try to answer and discuss following questions.

What is more important: physical or mental development?
What does it mean: to let children grow naturally?
What is an effective approach in upbringing?
If you were a mum or a dad, how would you bring up your child?
Why is it so important for children to gain independence from parents?
Is it right to encourage the child for good behavior?
What does it mean: to be mature? Is it a physical state or a new way of thinking?

Read and translate this text.

Parents are too permissive with their children nowadays.

Few people would defend the Victorian attitude to children, but if you were a parent in those days, at least you knew where you stood: children were to be seen and not heard. Freud and company did away with all that and parents have been bewildered ever since.

… The child’s happiness is all-important, the psychologists say, but what about the parents’ happiness? Parents suffer constantly from fear and guilt while their children gaily romp about pulling the place apart. A good old-fashioned spanking is out of the question: no modern child-rearing manual would permit such barbarity. The trouble is you are not allowed even to shout … Certainly a child needs love … and a lot of it. But the excessive permissiveness of modern parents is surely doing more harm than good.

Psychologists have succeeded in undermining parents’ confidence in their own authority. And it hasn’t taken children long to get wind of the fact. In addition to the great modern classics on child care, there are countless articles in magazines and newspapers. With so much unsolicited advice flying about, mum and dad just don’t know what to do any more. In the end, they do nothing at all. So, from early childhood, the kids are in charge and parents’ lives are regulated according to the needs of their offspring. When the little dears develop into teenagers, they take complete control. Lax authority over the years makes adolescent rebellion against parents all the more violent. If the young people are going to have a party, for instance, parents are asked to leave the house. Their presence merely spoils the fun. What else can the poor parents do but obey?

Children are hardly creatures (far hardier than the psychologists would have us believe) and most of them survive the harmful influence of extreme permissiveness which is the normal condition in the modern household. But a great many do not. The spread of juvenile delinquency in our own age is largely due to parental laxity. Mother, believing that little Johnny can look after himself, is not at home when he returns from school, so little Johnny roams the streets. The dividing line between permissiveness and sheer negligence is very fine indeed.

The psychologists have much to answer. They should keep their mouths shut and let parents get on with the job. And if children are knocked about a little bit in the process, it may not really matter too much … Perhaps, there’s some truth in the idea that children who’ve had a surfeit of happiness in their childhood emerge like stodgy puddings and fail to make a success of life.

Say: agree or disagree. Explain your point of view.

Parents are too permissive with their children nowadays.
The child’s happiness is all-important, the psychologists say.
Certainly a child needs love … and a lot of it.
Children are hardly creatures.
Psychologists have succeeded in undermining parents’ confidence in their own authority.

Pay attention to underlined words and phrases. Write them down.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary

Love – любовь

Security – безопасность надежность уверенность

Care – забота

Affection – привязанность

Respect – уважение

Patience – терпение

Reassurance – утешение

Happy home backgrounds – хорошая обстановка в семье

Responsible adults – ответственные взрослые

Not to feel neglected – не чувствовать себя пренебрегаемым

To be sensitive to one’s feelings – остро реагировать на чьи-либо чувства

To be too wise to argue – быть слишком мудрым чтобы спорить

To speak firmly – говорить решительно

To be consistent – быть последовательным

To be fair – быть справедливым

To have no favourites – не иметь любимчиков

To show much patience – быть очень терпеливым

What solution can you offer for the following problems?

To the average child his parents are kill-joys. They are always saying “No”. No getting dirty, no jumping on the sofa, no running around naked, no hitting the little sister.
Much more that a direct rebuke, sarcasm infuriates children. It makes them completely irrational and they direct all their energies to planning counter-attacks. They will be completely preoccupied with revenge fantasies. Sarcasm not only serves to deflate a child’s standing in his own eyes but in the eyes of his friends as well.
I don’t like James to play with Paul next door. Paul uses very bad language, and James will pick it up. But Paul is James’s best friend and he sneaks out and sees him very often. So I lock him up in the bathroom as a punishment. Sometimes I deliberately don’t speak to him for hours on end.

TEACHERS

In Pairs, discuss the questions below.

1) What was your favourite teacher at primary school?

2) What can you remember about him/her?

3) Why did you like him/her?

Read the text and answer these questions.

1) What kind of pupil was Graham?

2) How did Mr Jenkins help him?

3) What did Mr Jenkins think about Graham?

4) How does he feel about Graham now?

5) Why does Mr Jenkins love teaching?

My inspiration.

Graham Lawrence, 29, science author and TV presenter went to Overton Comprehensive, 1981-89.

I haven’t seen Mr Jenkins since I left school but he was my inspiration. I wasn’t very good at most school subjects. I suppose I was a bit lazy and now I wish I’d done a bit more work, especially in languages. But when I went into Mr Jenkin’s science class to prepare for my GCSEs, I really became interested in a subject for the first time.

Mr Jenkins was full of enthusiasm and made everything interesting – I wish my French teachers had been the same! He used to demonstrate things with lots of practical examples. One day he took us outside and we built a rocket. It was great fun.

I wasn’t a particalary willing and cooperative student at school. I know I shouldn’t have been so rebellious, but it was probably because I lacked confidence. Mr Jenkns made me feel that I could do things. I was interested in astronomy and he asked me to give a lesson to the class. That was really the first time I ever tried to explain science to an audience. Now, when I’m preparing a programme, I think about how Mr Jenkins would have done it. Sometimes, I wish I could phone him and ask for his opinion!

My pupil.

Brian Jenkins, science teacher at Overton Comprehensive.

When Graham came into my class he was a bit “difficult”. But when he got interested, it all changed. He was extremely bright and he should have done much better in all of his other subjects. I’ve read a couple of his books and seen him on TV. I say to my wife, “Oh look, I used to teach him! ” I certainly wish I was as successful with all my pupils as with Graham. It’s difficult teaching nowadays. There are discipline problems and not enough money. The government should give more money for science education. I also wish the classes were smaller – it’s difficult doing lessons in laboratories with big groups. My wife often wishes I had chosen a less stressful career.

But I love teaching. It’s a great feeling when you know you’ve taught something well. It also makes me proud when I see my pupils doing well, like Graham. I feel that I’ve achieved something.

Find sentences in the text that mean the same as the ones in the box.

Graham:

1) I regret I didn’t do enough work at school. _____________________________________

2) It’s a pity I was so rebellious. _______________________________________________

3) Sometimes I want to phone Mr Jenkins to ask his opinion. ______________________________________________________________________

Mr Jenkins:

4) It’s a pity Graham didn’t do better in other subjects. _______________________________________________________________________

5) The government doesn’t give enough money for science education. _______________________________________________________________

6) I think the classes are too big._______________________________________________

7) My wife regrets I didn’t choose a less stressful career. ____________________________________________________________________

Read the underlined phrases once more and write down their translation.

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