Chapter 23: Moving Toward Independence: Logic for Life / 第23章：走向独立：生活的逻辑

Your middle-grade中年级的/ˈmɪdəl greɪd/ student学生/ˈstuːdənt/ is busy忙碌的/ˈbɪzi/ learning about logic逻辑/ˈlɔːdʒɪk/, cause原因/kɔːz/ and effect效果/ɪˈfekt/, valid有效的/ˈvælɪd/ and invalid无效的/ɪnˈvælɪd/ arguments论证/ˈɑːrɡjuːmənts/, clear thinking思考/ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/. All this knowledge知识/ˈnɔːlɪdʒ/ isn't limited to academic学术的/ˌækəˈdemɪk/ work. Logic applies to daily日常的/ˈdeɪli/ life as well.

The logic stage阶段/steɪdʒ/ is a time of growing independence独立/ˌɪndɪˈpendəns/, both mental心理的/ˈmentəl/ and practical实际的/ˈpræktɪkəl/. As the student begins to form形成/fɔːrm/ her own opinions观点/əˈpɪnjənz/, she also should begin to take responsibility责任/rɪˌspɑːnsəˈbɪləti/ for parts of her daily life.

Educationally, this new independence assumes呈现/əˈsuːmz/ the form of increased time spent in self-study自学/self ˈstʌdi/. As you move through the middle-grade years, you—the parent家长/ˈperənt/—should start to step back from minute-to-minute每分钟的/ˈmɪnɪt tu ˈmɪnɪt/ supervision监督/ˌsuːpərˈvɪʒən/ of the child's study. Begin in fifth grade五年级/fɪfθ greɪd/ by giving the child a single assignment作业/əˈsaɪnmənt/.

("Read these two pages in your history历史/ˈhɪstəri/ book, and choose which topics主题/ˈtɑːpɪks/ you want to study further. Then see me.") If the child completes完成/kəmˈpliːts/ the assignment responsibly, she enjoys the rewards奖励/rɪˈwɔːrdz/. ("Now you're done. Take some free time.") If she doesn't, she pays the price代价/praɪs/. ("It's time for swimming. But you've been lying on your bed reading a comic book漫画书/ˈkɑːmɪk bʊk/ instead of doing your history, so you'll need to stay in and finish it before going outside.")

This is the practical application应用/ˌæplɪˈkeɪʃən/ of logic. Certain behaviors行为/bɪˈheɪvjərz/ have certain consequences后果/ˈkɑːnsəkwənsəz/. And responsibility leads to freedom自由/ˈfriːdəm/. If the child does her assignments regularly, you can begin to assign her a day's work at a time and check in with her at the end of the day to make sure she's finished. If she doesn't complete完成/kəmˈpliːt/ the work, supervise监督/ˈsuːpərvaɪz/ more closely.

During the logic stage, the home-educated在家教育的/hoʊm ˈedʒukeɪtəd/ student should begin to understand the logical relationships关系/rɪˈleɪʃənʃɪps/ of daily living as well as the connection联系/kəˈnekʃən/ between responsibility and freedom—that is, between work and money金钱/ˈmʌni/, preparation准备/ˌprepəˈreɪʃən/ and success成功/səkˈses/. During the middle grades, students should begin to manage管理/ˈmænɪdʒ/ their own finances财务/ˈfaɪnænsɪz/ and keep their own daily schedules时间表/ˈskedʒuːlz/.

We suggest that seventh graders七年级学生/ˈsevənθ ˈgreɪdərz/ open a checking account支票账户/ˈtʃekɪŋ əˈkaʊnt/ at a local bank银行/bæŋk/ (many offer free checking without a minimum balance最低余额/ˈmɪnɪməm ˈbæləns/ to students). Help the student draw up a budget预算/ˈbʌdʒɪt/ so that she knows what portion部分/ˈpɔːrʃən/ of her money (earned or allowance零用钱/əˈlaʊəns/) is available for spending花费/ˈspendɪŋ/, what part should be saved for a long-term goal (at least 20 percent), what part should be kept for family responsibilities (clothing, presents), and what part should be given away to charity慈善/ˈtʃerəti/ or the religious community.

We also think that the logic stage is the perfect time for students to learn how to keep to a schedule时间表/ˈskedʒuːl/ independently. At the beginning of fifth grade五年级/fɪfθ greɪd/, go together to an office supply办公用品/ˈɔːfɪs səˈplaɪ/ store and buy a daily planning calendar计划日历/ˈplænɪŋ ˈkælɪndər/ and a large wall calendar日历/ˈkælɪndər/ with enough space to write on for each day of the month.

In the fall, sit down together and make preliminary初步的/prɪˈlɪməˌneri/ plans for the entire year. On the large wall calendar, write down the weeks you plan to spend in school, the weeks you'll take off, family holidays假期/ˈhɑːlədeɪz/, and other commitments承诺/kəˈmɪtmənts/. (Now is a good time to explain to the student that schedules are flexible灵活的/ˈfleksəbəl/.) At the beginning of each month, the two of you should make lists of goals目标/ɡoʊlz/. What do you want to accomplish完成/əˈkɑːmplɪʃ/ in each subject? What days will the student "go to school"? What other appointments约定/əˈpɔɪntmənts/ (library visits, music lessons, sports, doctors' visits, birthday parties, holidays, science fairs) need to be written on the calendar?

Keep this calendar in a prominent显眼的/ˈprɑːmɪnənt/ place, and make it a cardinal rule基本规则/ˈkɑːrdɪnəl ruːl/ that the student must write all new appointments (baby-sitting临时保姆/ˈbeɪbi sɪtɪŋ/ jobs, nights out, visits with friends) on both calendars as they come up. A good rule: If it isn't on the calendar, it doesn't happen. (If you're schooling two or more children, this rule is necessary必要的/ˈnesəˌseri/ for your sanity理智/ˈsænəti/.)

In her daily calendar, the student should keep a basic daily schedule ("Mondays: up by 7, math 8–9, science 9:30–11 . . .") and refer to it. Each week, she should list her responsibilities责任/rɪˌspɑːnsəˈbɪlətiz/. What should she complete in each subject? How much time can she spend watching TV, playing on the computer, talking on the phone? She should have her own alarm clock闹钟/əˈlɑːrm klɑːk/ and watch so that she can begin to keep track of her own time.

This basic training in the logic of daily life yields three rewards回报/rɪˈwɔːrdz/. First, the student gains structure结构/ˈstrʌktʃər/ to her days. We understand that different personalities性格/ˌpɜːrsəˈnælətiz/ cope well with different degrees of structure, but we firmly believe that everyone needs a daily schedule of some kind in order to be productive高效的/prəˈdʌktɪv/.

Second, the student begins to understand that you, the parent, are not the sole motivating force动力/ˈmoʊtəˌveɪtɪŋ fɔːrs/ in her life. She doesn't do her assignments because you're nagging唠叨/ˈnæɡɪŋ/ her; she does them because the assignments have to be done by Friday so that she can move on to the next week's lessons because she wants to have enough time over the summer to do no school at all. She doesn't turn off the TV because you ordered her to; she turns off the TV because she's used up her TV quota配额/ˈkwoʊtə/ for the day.

Third, she's getting ready for college大学/ˈkɑːlɪdʒ/ and a career职业/kəˈrɪr/. Freshmen大一新生/ˈfreʃmən/ who fail classes or get fired from jobs often do so because they've never been responsible for their own schedules. They've always gotten up because Mom called them, changed classes because the bell rang, done homework because the teacher told them to. When they reach the relative freedom of college life, they often founder失败/ˈfaʊndər/.

Your classically trained古典训练的/ˈklæsɪkli treɪnd/ student won't founder if she has been well trained—not only for academics, but for the responsibilities of daily life.

Bauer鲍尔/ˈbaʊər/, Susan Wise. Teaching Students to Work Independently. Charles City, VA: Well-Trained Mind Press, 2009. $3.99. A one-hour audio音频/ˈɔːdioʊ/ download lecture讲座/ˈlektʃər/ with accompanying PDF handout讲义/ˈhændaʊt/, detailing a step-by-step method of moving students toward greater self-responsibility自我责任/self rɪˌspɑːnsəˈbɪləti/ and independent work during the middle grades.