New curriculum, text books as Chinese schools start academic year

Children run after getting new textbooks at Xuyi Shiyan Primary School in Xuyi County, east China's Jiangsu Province, Aug. 30, 2017. Schools in China opened recently after summer vacation. [Xinhua/Zhou Haijun]

As millions of Chinese students entered new primary and middle schools on the first day of the academic year on Sept 1, they received newly-edited books and a new curriculum, adjusting the educational emphasis toward different subjects.

Yi Mide, a grade one student in the No 2 Primary School of Qigong Street, Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning province, said he did not have English on his curriculum like older students, but had science, which was new to grade one students.

LESS ENGLISH

Previously, studies of Chinese and English had the same weighting, and Chinese students started English study from grade one in primary schools.

The revised curriculum followed a slew of reforms announced by China's Ministry of Education last year on the National College Entrance Exam, or the gaokao, asking universities not to base their judgement of applicants solely on the gaokao scores of three major subjects -- math, Chinese and English -- but take consideration of selective classes as well as evaluations of morality, physical health, art cultivation and social practices.

English will now not begin before third grade.

"It is not necessary to start school study English language with too much emphasis on grammar and spelling," said Zhu Lamei, an English education researcher in Wuhan Education Science Institute in central China's Hubei Province.

She said that juniors could access a large number of English-language picture books as well as video and audio products on the market.

Jiang Rui, an English teacher at the No 2 Primary School in Qigong Street, Shenyang, said junior students were likely to be confused when they started the study of both the English alphabet and Chinese phonetics from grade one.

"I think it would be good for students to start the school education of a foreign language from grade three, after they have a solid foundation of their native language in the first two years of their primary schools," Jiang said.

MORE CHINESE

The Chinese textbooks for primary schools have added more traditional Chinese articles and poems, 129 in total. In three-year junior high schools, students will learn 132 ancient Chinese articles. The articles were selected from classic prose, essays, historical records and poetry dating back to the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. Students are required to learn how to make rhyming couplets.

Some parents questioned the added emphasis on classical Chinese, which is no longer in use. Others welcomed it as a wise decision. "At a time of fast pace, many people, with a mind to utilitarianism, seem to have lost the ability to enjoy the aesthetics of language, literature and life," said Wei Jing, mother of a first-grader.

"I think it is pretty clear that the revised textbooks on Chinese, ethics and law, and history in primary and middle school embody China's national consciousness, legal awareness and the passing on of Chinese traditional culture," said Shen Lin, a textbook researcher with the Guangdong Academy of Education.

He said the more students were be immersed in Chinese classics and history, the better that they could understand how peace was restored in China through revolutionary history.

Although the topics are serious, contents are presented in a simple and lively way.

"The new illustrated Chinese textbooks are very lovely and favored by both teachers and students," said Du Bei, a Chinese teacher in No. 2 Fruit Lake Primary School in Hubei. She said that her school had launched several rounds of teacher training to help them prepare for the new textbooks.

EARLY SCIENCE

Apart from literature and history, science has also been stressed as never before to early students, Zhang Rui, science teacher with the No. 2 Primary School in Qigong Street, Shenyang, said starting from this semester, science classes started from grade one. "In the past, science class started from grade three when students had a better comprehensive ability. But the new curriculum allows junior students access to natural sciences earlier," Zhang said. Although there is no unified textbook for science classes, grade one children will learn about famous scientists, natural phenomena such as how wind, rain, thunder and lightening is formed and seasonal changes. Students will also be guided to make hands-on experiments.

"In science class, students can learn to take notes on their observations, and their curiosity for science problems can be trained to become scientific inquiry abilities," Zhang said.

Zhang Yonghui, headmaster of Haishou Primary School in southern China's Foshan City, said science classes in primary schools covered a variety of subjects ranging from physics and chemistry to biology and geography. Zhang Xingying, father of a grade three student in Beijing, said schools did not offer science classes when his son was in grade one, so he often took his son to the city's science and technology museum to cultivate his interest.

Zhang is a satellite remote sensing expert with the State Meteorological Administration, and gave a lecture at his son's school last year combining seasonal description in Chinese classics with modern scientific observation of natural phenomena.

"It is important for children to learn to respect natural law at an early age. It can affect their understanding of the world, and the nation's cultural literacy," Zhang said.

HEALTHY APPS

Sun Xiaoying, a grade two student in a junior high school in Jinan, capital of eastern China's Shandong Province, is glad that her father finally understands that cell phones are a useful learning tool rather than a harmful "toy."

Her school has recommended students download several teaching-related apps, on which there are exercises and tests related to their textbooks.

"It is good to see children access healthy content when they use cell phones," said her father Sun Jidong.

Zhang Tao, headmaster of Yucai Middle School in Jinan, said electronic devices were used more and more in teaching and outside the classroom. "New educational apps are very lively and interactive for students to grasp abstract knowledge. New technology applications in teaching are an inevitable future trend," Zhang said.