Starting this fall, primary and middle school students in China will have at least one weekly course on labor education, according to a new curriculum standard released by the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Labor education ranges from household chores to on-campus labor and community volunteer services, generally 3 types according to the new standards: the first refers to everyday chores, including cleaning, organizing, cooking, and using and maintaining home appliances (家电); next is productive labor, including agriculture, making traditional handicrafts (手工艺品), and applying new technologies such as 3D printing; the third type is service work, including volunteer work. The new curriculum also calls for a week of extra-curricular and off-campus activities designed for labor education once every school year.
A recent study showed that primary and middle school students in China only spend an average of 12 minutes a day on chores, compared to 72 minutes in the US, 42 minutes in South Korea and 30 minutes in France. Many countries start students' labor education at a young age. Finland begins to develop students' life skills in primary school. Spinning, woodworking, cooking and other craftsmanship classes are offered. In Germany, pupils have two labor classes per week. Electronics, office technology, sewing, housekeeping, and career guidance are all taught there.
Adding labor education was out of concern that the country's youngsters do too little housework and look down on manual labor (体力劳动) jobs. Due to great academic pressure, schools tend to put their academic curricula on the top, and parents sometimes see household chores as distractions. But, according to the MOE, labor education must be strengthened to help students develop social values, an interest in labor and finally an all-around development.
