Since the beginning of this term, primary and junior high schools in Shenzhen have carried out a new measure(措施) to make sure that students have daily PE classes. Shenzhen is the first city in the country to require schools to provide daily PE classes for students at the compulsory(义务的) education level.
Buxin Primary School in Luohu District uses a"3+1+1" model, which includes three regular PE classes, one music- based exercise class, and one sports game class. As a result of the new measure, the number of PE classes at the school has risen to 200.
The number of PE teachers isn't enough for all the new classes, so the school has to ask teachers of other subject s to give some of the PE classes. Liu Xunhua, a Chinese teacher at the school, has taken on the role of a part- time PE teacher." Everything is for the students' health, and we support the new measure," Liu said.
Yuan Yinuo, a sixth grader from the school, believes sports activities help reduce stress, especially considering the pressure graduating students are under. However, some parents are concerned about the reduced learning time of other subjects though they agree on the importance of daily PE classes.A physics teacher who has been working in Shenzhen for over 20 years has the same worry. He made a comment online," Adding daily PE classes is a good thing, but it's hard for me to complete normal teaching tasks because some of my classes have been replaced by PE classes."
In a reply, the city's education authority (官 方 ; 当 局) said schools can independently decide the number of weekly class hours and the time of each class for each subject, and that schools can also reasonably arrange(安排) the courses of each subject.
