Paare streiten immer gleich viel
Seit dem ersten Tag scheint in Ihrer Partnerschaft die Sonne und kleine Schmetterlinge flattern auch jetzt noch in Ihrem Bauch herum? Und gestritten wird sich in Ihrer Ehe nur selten und eher leidenschaftslos? Dann können wir nur gratulieren, denn laut einer neuen Studie der amerikanischen Ohio State University wird dieser schöne Zustand auch im weiteren Verlauf Ihrer Beziehung anhalten.
Um zu untersuchen, ob das sich das Streit-Level im Laufe einer Beziehung, insbesondere im Laufe einer Ehe, signifikant ändert, hatten die US-Wissenschafter rund 2.000 verheiratete Paare und ihren Umgang miteinander in den Jahren zwischen 1980 und 2000 intensiv beobachtet. Die Eheleute wurden je nach Streitverhalten in leichte, mittlere und hohe „Konfliktgruppen“ eingeteilt.
Flogen gestern die Teller, fliegen sie auch morgen
Die Untersuchung kam zu einem sehr interessanten Ergebnis, das ein lange für wahr gehaltenes Verhaltensmuster widerlegt: Anstatt dass eine Ehe sehr verliebt und harmonisch startet, sich mit der Geburt der Kinder rasant verschärft und sich erst nach deren Auszug wieder entspannt, bleibt das Streit-Level in einer Partnerschaft immer gleich. Flogen also schon vor der Hochzeit die Fetzen und gleich danach die Teller, ging auch nach 30 Jahren noch so manches Geschirr zu Bruch.Was man aus den Ergebnissen lernen kann? Claire Kamp Dush, Leiterin der Studie, bringt es auf den Punkt: „Wenn man es schon in den Anfängen der Beziehung schwierig findet, mit einem gewissen Streitlevel zu leben, sollte man vielleicht nicht heiraten.“ Wie wahr.
I am an avid magazine junkie. I devour magazines such People, US Weekly, and Cosmo. I find them to be my escape, something mindless that I can just enjoy! For this reason, I chose an article from the German version of Cosmopolitian magazine. I had thought naively that I might be able to find meaning even translate a portion of this piece. I had not had any prior exposure to German but thought that enough root words would be shared that I could easily develop meaning.
Unfortunately, I was greatly mistaken. Upon attempting to read the article the first time, the only words I recognized or could build upon were Ohio State. I began to read (at least attempt to read) the article with a fine tooth comb searching for words that I could recognize or at least form an educated guess on. I have highlighted these words in the article above. From my vague translations I began to guess at meaning. I guessed that partnerschaft meant partnership, amerikanischen = American, intensiv = intensive and studie =study.
Alone these words still held little meaning for me. Putting them together I couldn't even form a sentence: Intensive American study partnership 1980 - 2000 Hollywood and Ohio University. Next, I began to look at the images to help me gain context and understanding. The article was accompanied by a photo of a couple arguing as well as a photo of Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, both looking very happy. Again alone these two images held little meaning nor offered much insight. The two photos shared few similarities minus the fact that both displayed couples. I could not make meaning with just the photos.
When I placed the photos and few recognizable words together I could begin to create my translation of the article. I think the article is about relationships, possibly marriage and divorce. I know that in the first photo the couple is upset and in the photo of Tom Hanks they are happy. I also know that Tom Hanks is happily married. This piece of background knowledge gives me the insight to assume the article might deal with marriage and divorce. I also think the article is reporting on a study of couples conducted by Ohio State University from 1980 - 2000.
I found my attempts to read and reread this article and make meaning out of it very frustrating and isolating. I desperately wanted to know what the article was about but felt alone in my quest. There was no one I could ask to help me. My husband was at a loss for what the article was about as he does not have a background in German either. I became frustrated leaving the article and revisiting it only to quickly walk away again. I found excuses to avoid my translating guessing game. I became agitated and distracted. I think this aspect of my experience is key for teachers. So quickly we decided a student is lazy, unfocused, easily distracted, not trying and the list goes on. It is much easier to blame the student rather than the situation. We, as educators, forget to look at all aspects,to examine the pieces of the puzzle before we guess at the picture.
"Language is the air we breathe and the water in which we swim." (Hill and Flynn, 2006,p.1) Without my language I felt as though I was drowning. I couldn't swim. I couldn't even doggy paddle. I didn't know how to succeed and didn't know where to get help. I wanted to give up. It is a shocking revelation to realize that a child, a student is struggling with this daily, when I wanted to quit after struggling for a few hours.
Strategies I used:
Finding words I knew, Guessing the meaning of words that looked familiar, Looking at pictures for context and meaning, Activating background knowledge,
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