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Sending your child to piano or violin lessons in a bid to boost their academic achievement is a waste of money, according to scientists.
科學家稱，為了提高孩子的學習成績而把孩子送去學彈鋼琴或拉小提琴，純屬浪費錢。
Although research has shown that youngsters who take music lessons are more likely to be top of their class, psychologist Glenn Schellenberg claims this link is misleading.
盡管有研究顯示，學音樂的小孩更可能在班上名列前茅，但心理學家格倫•舍倫貝格指出，將這兩者聯系在一起有誤導性。
Instead, improved academic performance may be because brighter children from privileged backgrounds are more likely to learn an instrument, rather than music classes helping to boost their intelligence.
事實上，更優秀的學習成績可能是因為這些家庭背景更優越的小孩更聰明，更可能去學習樂器，而并非學音樂有助于提高他們的智力。
‘Music may change you a bit, but it’s also the case that different children take music lessons,’ said Professor Schellenberg of the University of Toronto, who added that parents’ education was the most influential factor on musicality.
多倫多大學的舍倫貝格教授說：“音樂也許能讓你有些改變，但是實際情形是，學音樂的小孩本就不同。”他補充說，父母的教育是對音樂才能最重要的影響因素。
‘Children who take music lessons come from families with higher incomes, they come from families with more educated parents, they also do more extra-curricular activities, they have higher IQs, and they do better at school.’
“上音樂班的小孩來自收入更高的家庭，他們的父母受教育程度更高，他們參加的課外活動也更多，而且他們的智商也更高，在學校的成績也更好。”
In tests on 167 children who played piano or other instruments, they found their answer to personality tests could predict how likely it was for them to continue their music lessons.
研究人員對167個彈鋼琴或其他樂器的小孩進行了性格測試，發現從他們的回答可以預測出他們繼續學音樂的可能性。
Those who were more outgoing and conscientious were more likely to continue to play.
那些性格更外向、更認真的小孩更可能繼續彈奏樂器。
‘We were motivated by the fact that kids who take music lessons are particularly good students, in school they actually do better than you would predict from their IQ, so obviously something else is going on,’ Professor Schellenberg told the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in Boston.
舍倫貝格教授在波斯頓舉行的美國科學促進會年會上說：“我們因為上音樂班的小孩學習成績特別好的事實而受到鼓舞，實際上這些小孩在學校的學習成績超出了他們的智商讓人產生的預期，所以顯然還有其他一些因素在起作用。”
‘So we thought that personality might be the thing.
“因此我們認為這一影響因素可能是性格。
Asked if so-called helicopter parents were wasting their money sending their children to music lessons in the belief they could boost their school results, he said ‘yes’.
在被問及那些送孩子去上音樂班、以為這樣能提高孩子學習成績的“直升機父母”是否在浪費錢時，舍倫貝格教授回答說“是的”。
‘Clearly studying music changes the brain, but so does any learning. In fact, that is what learning is,’ he said.
他說：“無疑學音樂會改變大腦，但是學習其他任何東西也會這樣。事實上，學習本就如此。”
