What shall I do in the winter vacation? Many children start to ask themselves as the fall semester comes to an end this week.

Sadly for most of them, parents have decided to keep them occupied as usual with extracurricular training on painting, chess, computer operation, English, piano or calligraphy so that they would stand out among their peers.

But China's younger generation who are getting used to high pressure at school and at home do not seem to mind having to work extra hours.

"No, I don't feel tired at all because I love what I'm doing," said fifth-grader Liu Guanyu in Kunming, capital of the southwestern Yunnan Province.

Liu said his weekdays were rather free as his teachers did not give many assignments. "My weekends, however, are stuffed with three half-day sessions on calligraphy, computer and accordion."

More than 90 percent of Liu's schoolmates said in a recent interview with Xinhua that they were attending at least two weekend courses, and were enjoying them.

But experts say the courses do not necessarily benefit the children in the long run, as these are designed to enhance a student's special skills rather than to build a whole man in the framework of the quality-oriented education proposed by Chinese educators in recent years.

"What our children need is all-round and quality-oriented education. It's not the same as specialty training," said Qiu Wei,dean of Xianfeng Primary School in Kunming.

It might be a waste of time if the children simply follow each other's suit by taking up one-sided training that would not enhance their overall capacity after all, Qiu warned.

"I don't mean to do away with extracurricular training, but it must be given in line with each student's interest and aptitude," said Qiu.

In fact, "to stand out" was the answer most children gave when asked why they were taking the courses, but most of them were unclear whether they would lose out in other, maybe more important, fields when they focused only on one or two.

Even their authoritative parents were not so certain of this. "It's good to learn something anyway," said a mother who accompanies her daughter to piano classes every Sunday.

Many parents admitted they were under a lot of pressure themselves. "Who wants his own child to lag behind, when everyone else's kids are picking up new skills?" said an uncertain father.

"Anything else besides painting?" six-grader Liu Guoqiang shook his head, "I don't know. I might take up violin and dancing as well," he said hesitantly.

Quality-oriented education should aim at nurturing the students' overall skills, including interpersonal, linguistic and independent thinking capacities, experts say.

"Parents in particular should help their children set up a proper attitude towards life and acquire some basic skills in order to prepare them for life in a fast-paced society," said Qiu Wei.

China is promoting a broad-based education among nationwide primary and secondary schools, which is aimed at training jacks of all trades and attaches equal importance to physical and mental health. The move is contrary to the traditional rote learning, the predominant way of teaching students and recruiting high-ranking officials in China's long history.

Holistic education has given birth to a large group of talented youngsters with marked individuality once taken as incompatible with traditional Chinese values.

Han Han, a teenage writer who shocked his parents and teachers by refusing to go to college, wrote a best-selling novel in 2000. The rebellious boy aroused widespread debate in China, but most people expressed understanding and tolerance.

"People out of the ordinary should always be given the chance to develop their talent -- that's what education is all about," said Huang Heran, an educationist based in the nation's capital Beijing.
 
(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2004)