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China Exclusive: Chinese Students Try to Have More Say in Course Planning

Posted on: Sunday, 2 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

China Exclusive: Chinese students try to have more say in course planning By Shan Chungang and Wang Ying ZHENGZHOU, Oct.1(Xinhua)- - Once addicted in playing Internet martial games, Wang Xiao, had been a longtime underachiever in school until he entered a special supermarket for curriculum and got his favorite-the course on weapon history. After two years of study, Wang Xiao, a second-year high school boy from the No.6 Railway High School in central China's Zhengzhou city,acquired not only a lot of military knowledge but also the growing interest in study. As scores rise, the longtime underachiever becomes history In fact,Wang Xiao is just one of the Chinese secondary school students who are seeing a reform of selective system and getting more say in study The curriculum supermarket was first introduced in the school two years ago as a new teaching attempt to reform the traditional state-planned curriculum system and inspire the students' potential by offering them knowledge they really need,according to Su Fang,the headmaster of the No6 Railway Secondary School of Zhengzhou,capital of Henan Province China has carried out a state-planned school teaching system in secondary education.Courses like Chinese,mathematics,and English have been made compulsory nationwide. The Ministry of Education advocated a reform on curriculum-planning in 2001.According to the curriculum reform,the old state-planned curriculum system is to be replaced by the three-layer management which grants the local government and school the power to make curriculum plans In the No6 Railway Secondary School,the curriculum supermarket runs in this way.First,teachers makes investigations on the study interests of the students.Then,the reference courses are decided.Finally,teachers will compete for opening the new courses.The list of courses and candidate teachers will be put on the campus network to let the students select their favorite.A course can be opened as long as there are 20 sign-ups

. Although courses offered in the curriculum supermarket are extracurricular,teachers felt stress too and took them earnestly, said Su Fang,the headmaster Yang Yang,a teacher who opened a course on weapons in the supermarket said he made intensive literary review,made slides and adopt flexible teaching method.Students can interrupt his teaching on class with questions and discuss with him,which is yet uncommon in the Chinese culture where teachers enjoy absolute authority in class The identities of teacher and students are broken.Anyone knows more can be the teacher.Thus, to conduct new course well,one have to keep enriching his knowledge.Otherwise,he might lose face before students, Yang said. The questions raised mostly by students include:Is the Patriot really able to block other missiles?What is the explosive equivalent of the American Tomahawk cruise missile? Why do ships always sink in the Bermuda Triangle? The students found the questions on the Internet and brought them to class. "The biggest benefit I get from the curriculum supermarket is to find my unknowing things.To answer these questions I need knowledge and study," said Yang Guang, a third-year junior high school student said,who registered in the class of Mystery of the World The selective courses have increased from 20 to 40 in two years.Yang Guang said,students like the curriculum supermarket very much,some popular courses are even hard to sign in. Besides some appreciation courses on poetry and film,there are many courses offering knowledge normally perceived as irrelevant with school education by Chinese parents ,for example,courses on How to Become Smart,the Mystery of the World,the Cultural Difference on Diet between China and the West. According to Su Fang,curriculum supermarket is not only welcomed by students but also received strong support from the parents.Zhang Dong,father of a junior high,confirmed the view. "My kid used to be addicted to the Internet but he likes the curriculum supermarket now," Zhang said."It is a fairly good plan" The Chinese old teaching method neglected the individual differences between students and the curriculum supermarket is to mend the defects,said Yue Yudian,head of the Educational Study Office with the Education Bureau of the Henan Province. However,the role of curriculum supermarket cannot be overstated, analysts said. The Chinese educational system is examination-oriented after all and the future of students are still decided by their scores of the compulsory courses But sources with the No.6 Railway Secondary School said, the school took the curriculum supermarket as a very successful trial and planned to file a special report to the educative administration. According to the relevant Chinese regulation, a new teaching method which has undergone three years of trial can be recommended to other schools if its feasibility is proved.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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