WHY do teens from poor backgrounds drop out of school or get arrested? New evidence finds that the answer lies in how, not what, they think. Keeping teens in school and out of jail may be as simple as getting them to think more slowly.
In a new paper, a group of researchers analyse results from a trial in some of Chicago’s toughest schools. Their theory is that everyone tends to go on auto-pilot, but that this has much worse consequences for teens from rougher areas.
For example: children from privileged backgrounds are constantly advised to do what they are told. If confronted by a mugger, parents say, hand over your phone: it's safer. Make eye contact with people to whom you speak. "Autopilot" behaviour from children from richer backgrounds is to do what they are told, and that translates into better behaviour at school.
But it does not work the same way for children from poor backgrounds. If confronted by a mugger, it may be better to resist, to avoid being seen as an easy target. Making eye contact may be seen as threatening. The problem is that auto-pilot behaviour on the street can have a big, bad effect on school performance. Uncommunicative, obstreperous students tend to land themselves in trouble.
If that theory is really true, then teenagers' lives could be improved simply by helping them to slow down...Continue reading
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