11 The Correlation Between Height and Education

Unit

Interesting Facts

Some people are not always satisfied with their height. To get taller, people drink milk regularly, while others work out. Yet, what if we can get taller by studying ? Oddly enough, education might be a helpful factor in making us taller in old age. A team of researchers at a few American universities discovered that people who completed secondary school shrank 2cm less than those who dropped out of primary school. It’s a very interesting finding, seeing as that people never thought there would be a correlation between height and studying. The researchers studied 17,708 adults over 45 years old, and figured out what things influenced their height. According to the research, it turned out that men who graduated from primary school shrank 0.9cm less than illiterate men.

For women, those who finished elementary school shrank 0.6cm less than average women who shrank about 3.8cm. It is commonly known that as we get older, we get shorter. We lose about 3.3cm starting in our early 30’s, which is about an inch on average before death. We lose height as we get older for various reasons. The main reason is in relation to our bones. As we age, our bones shrink, become more fragile, and lose their vital minerals and calcium. This is why healthy bones could make us taller. Yet, studying hard and getting a good education could do the same job as we get older.

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01

Intro

{ 키와 학업 수준이 상관관계를 가지고 있다는 조사 결과가 나왔다. 점차 키가 줄어드는 중년의 경우, 중고등학교

를 졸업한 사람들이 초등학교를 마치지 못한 사람들보다 신장 2cm가 덜 줄었다는 것이다. 과연 열심히 공부하는

것이 키에 영향을 미치는 것일까? 아니면 또 다른 요인이 작용하는 것일까?

* minerals : 천연광물 내에 존재하는 원소의 총칭이다. 광물질이라고도 하며, 단백질, 지방, 탄수화물, 비타민과 함께 5대 영양소의 하나

이다. 칼슘, 인, 칼륨, 나트륨, 염소, 마그네슘, 철, 구리, 아연, 코발트, 망간 등의 원소들이다.

Vocabulary in the Article

Article Read the article below to better understand today’s topic, which allows you to appropriately answer the questions your tutor is asking. If you are unable to read the complete article in advance, you may want to refer to the summary written in Korean instead.

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Key Expressions The below are some useful expressions from the article. Some are easy but some are tricky.

Whether it’s easy or not, please make sure that you freely use them in any way you want.

Reading aloud the sample sentences using the MP3 files can be a big help in mastering them.

what if ~? ~라면 어떨까?

What if we went to Brazil for the winter? That would be great.

oddly enough 아주 묘하게도, 이상하게도

Oddly enough, someone asked me the same question only yesterday.

seeing (as) that ~라는 점을 고려하면

Seeing as that I’m sick, I won’t be able to go to the party.

figure out 알아내다

I still haven’t figured out how cats always land on their feet.

in relation to ~와 관계하여

Children’s minds develop in relation to their environment.

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11 T h e C o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n H e i g h t a n d E d u c a t i o n Unit

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Short Questions

02 Practice Talk about today's topic with your tutor based on the different types of questions below. Make sure to look over the questions before class and think about your own answer. You may refer to the model answers. (In a 10 minute class, you will only talk about the first questions from each section.)

1-1 Are you satisfied with your height?

No. I’m actually very unhappy with my height. I’ve always been small. It doesn’t really matter now, but it was absolutely a downer when I was a school boy.

Model Answer

1-2 Did you study often in school?

Yes, I did and we all still have to. Korea is a country where it seems, there’s no choice but to study, no matter what your interests are. Go to a good university and that sets you up for life. You have no choice.

Model Answer

Talk about Your Experiences

2-1 How tall are you?

Ha-ha, this is a very personal and lousy question for me, so I’m not telling. I know it’s not something I should be ashamed of, but I’ve never told anyone how tall I am and you’re no exception. I will just tell you I’m just on the small side.

Model Answer

2-2 How many hours a day did you usually spend studying?

In elementary school, I didn’t really study. I just had a quick read through the textbooks for tests the previous night. That was enough. In middle and high school, I had to put in a lot of hours every day. Especially in high school, I literally spent all my time studying for the university entrance exam.

Model Answer

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Giving Specific Information

3-1 Why do you think you’re small/average/tall?

First of all, I blame genetic factors. My parents are about average height, so genetically, there was little chance of me being tall after all. Secondly, my mom says I wasn’t a good eater. I still don’t enjoy eating. Anyway, if you eat properly, you’ll stand a chance. That’s for sure. I should’ve eaten more to maximize the potential.

Model Answer

3-2 Would you please describe your family and relatives in terms of height?

Actually, I’m the smallest among my family members. My parents are not tall, but my sisters are sort of tall and my younger brother isn’t small at all. It’s only me. My parents tell me that my sisters were good eaters. But as I said, I didn’t eat a lot, so I had it coming. I shouldn’t be moaning about it. I’ve got several cousins as well and the men are all tall like somewhere around 180 centimeters. They do look like men for their heights and well-built bodies. I sometimes wish I was like them and think to myself, ‘would life ever be different?’

Model Answer

Pros & Cons Questions

4-1 Do you agree that studying could make you taller?

Could it? I don’t think so. It may be true statistically, but what they say is basically that studying could help decrease the shrinkage happening to the bone as we get older rather than actively trigger or increase the growth. I think they should find out how studying and growing are directly related. I will then change my mind and believe what they say. Statistics only give us a possibility and ground for further research. I’ve also heard a lot of reports that studying at early ages can actually prevent boys and girls from growing, so I think their findings are just one of those possibilities.

Model Answer

4-2 Do you agree that we shrink as we get older?

Yes, I do. I hear that the soft tissues at the joints gradually wear out with age like soles and heels on our shoes. So, that’s going to add up. But, I think it’s more to do with our posture that plays an important role than the actual shrinkage in the bone. As people grow older, a lot of them find it difficult to stand up straight. So they’re always kind of hunching their back. They look like a cat curling up in the corner of your room, which means we literally shrink. I think this is what makes people look smaller than before. It may be true that we shrink as we get older, but it wouldn’t take 10 centimeters off you, would it? The difference would be minor. We would look as tall as before no matter how old we are, if we could keep a good posture when sitting or standing.

Model Answer

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