All schoolchildren should have "happiness" lessons up to the age of 18 to combat(fight) growing levels of depression, according to a senior Government adviser.
Pupils should study subjects such as how to manage feelings, attitudes to work and money, channeling (引导) negative emotions and even how to take a critical view of the media, said Lord Layard, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics.
The proposal comes only days after the Government said that lessons in manners—including respect for the elderly and how to say "please" and "thank you" should be taught in secondary schools to combat bad behavior.
Lord Layard said, "Learning hard things takes an enormous amount of practice. To play the violin well takes10,000 hours of practice. How can we expect people to learn to be happy without massive amounts of practice and repetition?"
It is believed that at least two percent of British children under 12 now struggle with significant depression. Among teenagers, the figure rises to five percent. AUNICEF study involving 21 developed countries showed that British children were the least satisfied with their lives, while the World Health Organization predicts that childhood psychiatric (精神)disorders will rise by 50 percent by 2020.
In a speech at Cambridge University, Lord Layard said the Government's lessons in manners did not go far enough. "We need a commitment to producing a major specialism in this area, with a serious teacher training program," he said.
However, happiness lessons have been criticized by academics. Frank Furedi, a sociolog
y professor at Kent University and author of Therapy Culture, said, "In pushing emotional literacy, what some teachers are really doing is abandoning teaching. They are giving up and talking about emotions instead, so that children value all this non-discipline-led activity more than math, English or science. What is amazing about this is that time and time again, research says that it does not work. "
小题1: Frank Furedi believes that ______.
A．happiness lessons should be taught to children
B．happiness lessons are just a waste of time
C．formal teaching can go side by side with happiness lessons
D．formal teaching should not give way to happiness lessons小题2: We can conclude from the passage that _______.
A．the British Government hasn't fully realized the problems with British students
B．Lord Layard thinks little of the Government's lessons in manners
C．British students are not well-behaved enough
D．lessons in manners have brought about positive changes in British students小题3: Which of the following methods does Lord Layard use to show learning to be happy takes practice?
A．Comparison.
B．Description.
C．Argument.
D．Analysis.小题4: What does Lord Layard think of the Government's lessons in manners?
A．They are quite enough to solve the present problem.
B．They can hardly meet the special demands of education.
C．They are only focused on a major specialism.
D．They will probably end up in failure.小题5:What do we know about British children from the passage?
A．They are the least happy among 21 developed countries.
B．They suffer depression at an earlier age.
C．They are the easiest to suffer childhood psychiatric disorders.
D．Their standard of living is the lowest among 21 developed countries.
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