In a primary school, students in Grade Five are learning how to cook a meal in the cooking class. Working in groups of four or five, the students take their work very seriously and make delicious food.

From Sept.1, 2021, students at primary and middle schools across China had a different new term. They were surprised to find there were more activities after 3:30 p.m. They could enjoy arts, traditional culture, science and technology activities without leaving school. They also found they didn’t have to bring much homework back home.

The changes came after the “double reduction” policy (双减政策) in July, 2021. It expects to solve the problems in school education, such as too much homework and after-school training.

One year has passed. Great changes in education have taken place all over the country. “My child finishes his homework at school, so we often read books and listen to music together in the evening. Sometimes we go out to play basketball,” said a parent of a fifth-grader.

The teachers’ teaching styles have also changed. “Since the introduction of the ‘double reduction’ policy, I always leave 15 minutes of each 40-minute class to my students. They can finish their homework and take in what they have learned that day,” a teacher said.

In your spare time, do you help your parents with chores around the house? Can you cook for your family?

In order to stress (强调) the importance of hard-working spirit education (劳动教育) among students of different ages, the government made a guideline (指导方针).

The guideline calls for students to respect labor work. Students should learn life skills and develop good working habits through such education.

The government has been trying to stress the importance of hard-working spirit education. But this has been overlooked (忽视) in recent years. Many teenagers don’t think working hard is important and aren’t interested in doing so. According to a study, only 22% of students help with everyday chores around the house.

“Families and schools play an important role in teaching students about the advantages of working hard,” the guideline says.

As children’s first teachers, parents could encourage children to learn how to do chores at home. Students should learn one or two life skills every year. These skills can include cooking, washing their own clothes, and tidying their rooms.

Schools should provide students with hard-working spirit classes every week, according to the guideline. Schools can also hold activities to give students real-world work experience.