Many Chinese primary and middle-school students can't do housework today and do not take such work seriously. As a result, some are unable to cook or wash their own clothes when they enter college.

The Ministry of Education has recently released the new curriculum standard(新课程标准) for housework education for students from Grade 1 to Grade 9, making it an independent course that students must take at least once a week. The new standard requires students in Grade 1-2 to learn to sweep the floor, Grade 3-4 to learn to plant cabbages, and Grade 5-6 to master the skills of cooking two to three dishes. Students in junior middle schools will learn to repair simple electrical machines. This new standard has been widely welcomed by the public.

Wang: We all know the importance of housework education. However, at home, some students are unable to do the simplest housework, as their parents insist they should devote themselves to study. Some of them gradually grow to be unwilling to do any kind of housework. Housework education is supposed to raise students' interest in labor, help them experience different kinds of housework and, most importantly, correct their attitudes toward labor. The housework course will become an important step to develop and improve personalities of students.

Li: In order for students to develop in an all-round way, it's absolutely necessary to add the housework course to school curriculums, which aims to encourage students in primary and secondary schools to progressively learn and love housework. It is important to make the housework class interesting, so that the students will really gain some practical skills. For this reason, schools should add professional(专业的) teachers to give the classes, instead of adding this new stress on parents and other teachers who are already busy with their daily work.

Zhang: Some people think it's unnecessary to waste time on learning housework. If you want to have a meal, you can order food online, and for electrical machine repairs, you can ask for specialized help. However, people with the basic skills for daily life can go much more confidently and smoothly through everyday life.

It is the first step in encouraging young students to develop a healthy concept(观念) of labor and to be able to take care of themselves in daily life.