Slowly, so slowly that we never even noticed how it happened, our family stopped talking to each other. Our own worlds opened up to us through the computer or the cell phone or the CD player.

Family Night was born when Mom called us for dinner. Jessica and I came and sat down. Dad loaded his plate and started to rise from the table.

“Where are you going?” Mom questioned.

“To the living room. I have some work,” Dad replied as he hurried away. Mom’s face got tight, but she said nothing. About two minutes later, my cell phone buzzed. Jessica kept her earphones on during most of the meal. Mom was clearly upset.

Family Night started the next week. Mom established three rules: no phones, no music, and no leaving the table. Everyone would eat together and play a game together “like a real family.”

All seemed to be going according to Mom’s plan until the first buzz of a cell phone. After dinner, we had been playing the board game for only ten minutes when another cell phone let out a shrill scream. This time the phone belonged to my father.

“Work’s calling. I have to answer,” he whispered as he hurried out of the room.

Mom sighed, but she forced a smile and encouraged us to continue with the game. We kept playing through every interruption afterwards: the beeping of Jessica’s phone, the buzz of another text message from Darnell, the soothing voice announcing the arrival of an e-mail on Dad’s computer. When the game was over, Mom released us to our rooms.

That first Family Night was not a success, but Mom soldiered on. Every Monday evening we silenced our electronics and gathered around the table; and each time, setting aside our technological toys became a little easier. The next two months my father would be taking business trips. We wouldn’t be able to have Family Night every Monday.

To my surprise I realized that I would miss those few hours each week when the house was filled with my family’s laughter and conversation. I was also glad to know that when we really wanted to, we could silence the electronic buzz and just be a family again.

Two friends have an argument that breaks up their friendship forever, even though neither one can remember how the whole thing got started. Such sad events happen over and over in high schools across the country. In fact, according to an official report on youth violence, “In our country today, the greatest threat to the lives of children and adolescents is not disease or starvation or abandonment, but the terrible reality of violence”. Given that this is the case, why aren’t students taught to manage conflict the way they are taught to solve math problems, drive cars, or stay physically fit?

First of all, students need to realize that conflict is unavoidable. A report on violence among middle school and high school students indicates that most violent incidents between students begin with a relatively minor insult (侮辱). For example，a fight could start over the fact that one student eats a peanut butter sandwich each lunchtime. Laughter over the sandwich can lead to insults, which in turn can lead to violence. The problem isn’t in the sandwich, but in the way students deal with the conflict.

Once students recognize that conflict is unavoidable, they can practice the golden rule of conflict resolution(解决): stay calm. Once the student feels calmer，he or she should choose words that will calm the other person down as well. Rude words, name—calling, and accusations only add fuel to the emotional fire. On the other hand, soft words spoken at a normal sound level can put out the fire before it explodes out of control.

After both sides have calmed down, they can use another key strategy (策略) for conflict resolution: listening. Listening allows the two sides to understand each other. One person should describe his or her side, and the other person should listen without interrupting. Afterward, the listener can ask non-threatening questions to clarify the speaker’s position. Then the two people should change roles.

Finally, students need to consider what they are hearing. This doesn’t mean trying to figure out what’s wrong with the other person. It means understanding what the real issue is and what both sides are trying to accomplish. For example, a shouting match over a peanut butter sandwich might happen because one person thinks the other person is unwilling to try new things. Students need to ask themselves questions such as these: How did this start? What do I really want? What am I afraid of? As the issue becomes clearer, the conflict often simply becomes smaller. Even if it doesn’t, careful thought helps both sides figure out a mutual solution.

There will always be conflict in schools，but that doesn’t mean there needs to be violence. After students in Atlanta started a conflict resolution program, according to Educators for Social Responsibility, “64 percent of the teachers reported less physical violence in the classroom; 75 percent of the teachers reported an increase in student cooperation; and 92 percent of the students felt better about themselves”. Learning to resolve conflicts can help students deal with friends, teachers, parents, bosses, and coworkers. In that way, conflict (冲突) resolution is a basic life skill that should be taught in schools across the country.

Bouncier running shoes may be bad

Despite regular changes in running shoes over the years, it is estimated that every year at least a third of runners get muscle or joint injuries caused by repeated striking of the ground. Many sports shoe-makers have begun adding extra material to running shoes, to try to soften the impact on the legs — so-called maximalist footwear. 【小题1】

A new study suggests this is because the extra cushioning alters the spring-like mechanics of the legs of a runner in a way that means their legs experience a greater impact with every step.

Juha-Pekka Kulmala at the University of Helsinki in Finland and his colleagues studied the biomechanics of 12 healthy men aged between 22 and 32 as they ran in two shoes types.

The first wore regular running shoes with 33 millimetres of cushioning under the heel and 22 millimetres under the forefoot, and then highly-cushioned shoes with a heel 43 millimetres thick and a forefoot of 37 millimetres.

The participants ran at two set speeds — 10 and 15 kilometres per hour — along a 30-metre platform that measured how hard their feet hit the ground. They also wore reflective stickers that allowed video cameras to capture their motion for analysis.

【小题2】 The peak impact force was 6 percent higher on average at the slower running speed and 11 percent higher at the faster speed.

Normally when we run, our legs act like springs, with the ankle and knee joints bending, so that the leg as a whole compresses (压缩) as the foot lands, says Kulmala. But because highly cushioned shoes already compress under the feet, our bodies subconsciously respond by no longer bending the leg joints as much. In other words, our legs become stiffer (更僵硬的). 【小题3】

Kade Paterson at the University of Melbourne in Australia says the findings make sense from a biomechanical point of view. 【小题4】 I’ve seen patients who have reported improvements with maximalist running shoes and others who have got injured in them, so there probably isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” He says.