What should I do if my child can’t learn?

Let me tell you a story first. In 1848, 25-year-old Fenice Gage was the foreman of a railroad company in Vermont, USA. He was a capable, gentle, polite, organized and conscientious young man. One day, while workers were using bombs to break up the rubble, an iron rod weighing 6 kilograms accidentally penetrated Gage\’s left cheek and penetrated his head. Ordinarily, Geji must die. Miraculously, it didn\’t take long for Gaige to stand up again from where he fell… After treatment, although he was blind in his left eye, he miraculously recovered to health! After recovering from health, Gage\’s temperament changed 180 degrees – the former gentle Gage disappeared, replaced by the fierce and violent Gage. Due to a major change in personality, his employer had to let him go. After that, Gage worked in horse farms, circuses, farms and other places, but was fired because of his weird temper. In 1860, he suffered a sudden epilepsy in a drunken area in a dark alley and ended his life at the age of 37. Why is it possible to miraculously survive when an iron rod penetrates the head? But why did his personality change drastically after he survived? If I had seen this story three years ago, I would have been confused and confused. In the past few years, after watching many neuroscientists’ various experimental results, analysis and reasoning, and summaries on the human brain, I can immediately understand the ins and outs of this matter. You see, this is the benefit of cognitive enhancement. Five documentaries that improve children\’s motivation to learn were collected at the time. In order to clarify these issues, Gage promised to have his brain dissected and studied after his death. Gage\’s skull and iron rod are still preserved in the Harvard Medical School Museum. The final research results made a huge contribution to the development of human brain science. Why Gage miraculously survived but his temperament changed drastically? Research by neuroscientists has given a scientific and reasonable explanation. Paul McLean is a neuroscientist working at Yale School of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. In his view, the human brain is composed of three brains: the brainstem, the limbic system and the cerebral cortex. From the perspective of human evolution, it can be said to be the reptilian brain, the mammalian brain and the primate brain (from bottom to top). These three types of brain are connected by nerves, and they influence each other. Only when they are in harmony can the brain function normally. The reptilian brain ensures our basic survival. Among the \”triple brains\”, the first to mature is the \”reptilian brain\”. This growth is completed during the fetal period. About 360 million years ago, primitive fish from the ocean marched to land, and the earth entered the age of reptiles. In order to adapt to life on land, reptiles evolved the original reptilian brain. It has a simple structure, with only one primitive reflex module, which allows reptiles to react instinctively to the environment, such as fighting or fleeing when encountering danger, hunting when encountering prey, and desperately pursuing the opposite sex they like. Almost all their actions are based on simple instinctive reactions. The maturation of the reptilian brain ensures our basic survival. Because of their quick reactions, they not only survived, but also survived into our time, such as crocodiles and lizards,snake. Many brain scientists call it the primitive brain, basic brain, crocodile brain or reptilian brain. Of course, being called a reptilian brain does not mean that we humans evolved from reptiles. It is just a metaphor to illustrate the development process of the human brain. Gage was able to survive when his head was penetrated by an iron rod, precisely because the iron rod did not damage the reptilian brain, which is the \”life center\”. The picture below is an illustration. The mammalian brain affects various decisions in life. Above the reptilian brain is the mammalian brain (which only appeared after mammals). All animals that live in groups and feed their young have such a brain, which is related to emotions. , mainly responsible for appetite, sexual desire, short-term memory, etc. About 200 million years ago, mammals began to appear. In order to better adapt to the environment, not only can their body temperature be kept constant, but they have also evolved emotions. With the blessing of emotions, for example, fear can keep them away from danger, excitement can allow them to focus on hunting, and joyful emotions can increase the intimacy between companions or partners, allowing mammals to avoid harsh environments. Harmful. Correspondingly, a unique emotional area has developed in the mammalian brain, which brain scientists call the \”emotional brain.\” The existence of this emotional brain or mammalian brain is enough to have a significant impact on large and small choices and decisions in daily life. What do you like to eat, what music do you like, do you want to paint or go for a walk, who do you like to be friends with and who do you hate very much… The mammalian brain will grow rapidly after the baby is born, especially within 2-3 years after birth. . And, it develops through use—when the same bundle of neurons is activated over and over again, the brain remembers this activation pattern and returns it again and again. For example, if you always feel that you are safe and loved, your brain will be particularly good at exploring, playing, and cooperating; conversely, if you are always frightened, excluded, and attacked, your brain will be Particularly good at sensing fear and abandonment. The mammalian brain is influenced by the baby\’s own genes and life experiences. Whatever happens to babies, these experiences imprint their mammalian brain with a map of the world. In the world of brain science, the instinctive brain and emotional brain are the centers of the central nervous system, accounting for 70% of the entire brain. The cell organization and biochemical characteristics of the above two parts are very simple, so it can only make general judgments based on the similarity of the situation, and then activate fight or flight responses. These reactions do not require thinking and planning… until 2.5 million years ago. , humans stood out from mammals and evolved a neocortex in the frontal area of ​​the brain. This neocortex gradually developed into an unparalleled new brain area, responsible for impulse control and rational judgment. From then on, it has occupied absolute survival on this planet. Advantages: It is the command and control center of the brain, where higher-level thinking such as human decision-making and self-control takes place. This brain area is also called the primate brain, which is opposite to the \”instinct brain\” and \”emotional brain\”. The primate brain consists of three parts: frontal lobe, occipital lobe, and parietal lobe. Among them, the frontal lobe is responsible for those functions that are unique to humans: rational judgment,Various abilities such as correct decision-making, planning, prediction, and impulse control. At this point, the root cause of Gage\’s dramatic change in temperament came to light – his primate brain, which controls impulses and makes rational judgments, was injured! Many children\’s problems are related to the frontal lobe. Brain scientists have found that the frontal lobe controls children\’s language ability, abstract thinking, etc., and can help children think better rationally. A person whose frontal lobe is mature and active will perform better in terms of learning ability and emotional control ability. In the past, what the elderly said about \”growing up and being sensible\” probably refers to the time when the frontal lobe is mature. Generally speaking, the frontal lobe cannot mature until around the age of 25. With the popularity of electronic products, the age at which the frontal lobe matures continues to be delayed. Therefore, we have a common feeling: today\’s children\’s adolescent rebellion is particularly long. The frontal lobes of boys and girls mature at different stages, and the frontal lobes of children of the same gender also mature at different stages. The age at which the frontal lobes mature is slightly different between men and women, with men around 30 years old and women around 24 years old. Why are there such big differences between men and women? This may be related to evolution requirements. Women can give birth to children when they reach physiological maturity. If the frontal lobe has not yet matured and there is no judgment, it will be difficult to raise children. In order to successfully raise children, women\’s frontal lobes will mature earlier. And what about men? Human beings have lived a hunting life for a long time. Hunting requires sensitivity rather than rational analysis. Once danger is detected, one must run away immediately. Therefore, the male emotional brain will be more developed than the frontal lobe. Therefore, males and females are very different from the fetal stage. Male fetuses are more active and will be more active than female infants after birth. They like to look around and are very aggressive, as if they are looking for prey. Even if they are both girls, some of them have slower development of their frontal lobes. They also like to toss around like boys when they were young. They need to go through a long period of brain development and go through adolescence before they can learn, act, and speak like girls. Nowadays, the dominant education model in the world is unfair to boys who are naturally restless and have delayed frontal lobe development. In fact, asking boys with stunted frontal lobes to stay still is akin to torture. After all, boys who originally had to travel across fields, swim in water, and hunt various animals have to study in classrooms due to changes in times… Although the instinctive brain and emotional brain may seem very low-level, they control the brain cells Nearly 80%, so they have stronger control over the brain, while the operation of the rational brain consumes very energy and has very weak control over the brain. Therefore, most of the decisions we make in life often originate from instinct and emotion. Irrational. Now I understand that many children know in their hearts that they should study hard, but they want to play games as soon as they see their mobile phones; they know in their hearts that they must complete their homework first, but it is easier for them to feel comfortable playing with rubber and dog fighting… Children with overactive emotional brains , the most common words on his lips are \”I\’m so bored\”; ask him \”Why do you do that?\” and he will say \”just like that\”; ask him \”what\’s going on?\” and he will say \”don\’t know\”…What’s even more frightening is that if the instinctive brain remains active, the frontal lobe, which plays an important role in learning ability and character shaping, may be damaged, forming an unavoidable vicious cycle. When we see this, we should fully understand the kind of children who don\’t like to study. They are not stupid or stupid, but their frontal lobe area is slow to develop. We often hear that someone suddenly becomes enlightened in his twenties. It is just that his rational brain has matured and can judge which of his core interests belong to him, and direct his instinctive brain and emotional brain to take action. So, how to activate children\’s frontal lobe brain cells so that the three parts of the brain can develop harmoniously, so that the core nature can be nourished to the greatest extent, so that self-awareness can be sound and perfect, so that you can live your own happy life and achieve your own success. I will discuss this in detail in a future article.