Starting from the new term, students in primary and middle schools will have at least one lesson every week to learn basic household skills such as cleaning and cooking.

The Ministry of Education recently set up a new curriculum (课程) standard for labor education in compulsory education. The standard has three types of tasks: everyday chores, including cleaning, organizing, cooking, etc; different and helpful labor, including agriculture and making traditional handicrafts; and service, including volunteer work.

Primary school students in first and second grades need to do basic cleaning, wash vegetables and peel fruit, and learn to raise one or two kinds of plants or small animals. Third and fourth graders should clean their classrooms, wash their socks and shoes, and know how to make cold dishes. Fifth and sixth graders should have the skills of cooking two or three common dishes.

For middle school students, they are encouraged to cook three or four dishes by themselves, learn how to make one or two kinds of traditional handicrafts, and experience new technologies, modern service or volunteer work.

Schools should use different ways to help parents realize the importance of labor education and help them make household lists to improve students’ abilities.

The curriculum has been widely discussed on social media and became the top topic on the Internet. Many people think it is necessary to teach young students basic skills. Some have regretted not learning such skills during their school days. However, some think such forms of family education harm the development of children by taking away opportunities to experience life, develop necessary skills and become independent people.

At 63, Jerry Valencia was determined to get his college degree—and his master's degree too.

The student arrived early, sat front and center, and stood out in my classroom in more ways than one. I'd say that he was about 40 years older than his classmates in my undergraduate communications class at California State University, Los Angeles. He eagerly jumped into class discussions, with his humor. And he was always respectful of the other students' opinions, as if each of them was a teacher. Jerry Valencia walked in with a smile—and he left with one too.

"These students gave me the confidence so that I didn't need to feel bad about my age," Valencia said. One day, I saw Valencia on campus. He said he would have to stop taking classes that term and reapply for next year. By then, he hoped to have earned enough money from construction jobs and have his student-loan papers in order. But he said he was still coming to campus to attend events or see friends. He asked whether he could still sit in on my communications class. "Sure," I said, "but you wouldn't get any credit." "No problem." he said.

Soon there he was again, back at his old desk. front and center. A lot of Valencia's classmates obviously knew he couldn't afford that term's tuition but was still doing the homework.

"Here he is willingly taking a class for the joy of it and benefit of learning, "said Jessica Espinosa, a 25-year-old junior. "You don't see that in our generation." Valencia showed up and took the final exam too. Later, I heard that Valencia said he wanted to stay in school until he earned a master's degree, but it had taken him 12 years to finish community college, so he had a long way to go.