In a field people are busy doing farm work. Some are weeding, others in tractors are working with ploughs and several are operating seed planting machines.

 

 

What an inspiring scene! However, you may not imagine that they're just junior school students taking part in courses at a learning center in Qingdao, China.

 

Background

 

Located in the city of Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, the learning center is designed to make a contribution to the all-round development of students in elementary and middle schools. It covers an area of 308 mu (20.5 hectares) with an investment of 23 million yuan and an overall construction area of 9,000 square meters. It can accommodate 600 students at a time.

 

Over the past nine years the center has received 100,000 students. With the focus on agricultural work it combines environmental education, science popularization, survival training and offers plenty of room for a range of activities.

 

The Shandong center has set a good example for children's healthy development and growth. It has been widely recognized as a State-level camp venue of outdoor activities for youngsters and a provincial center for the popularization of science.  

 

Learning fun  

 

Through their work at the center students have a deeper understanding of social and cultural life as well as natural science which they can't learn very easily in closed classrooms.  

 

They're required to undertake various farm tasks such as grinding corn, picking pinecones and trimming the branches of trees. They've learned to make delicious dumplings and fresh bean curd with patience and seriousness.

 

Most of the students know nothing at all about work…much less perform it! But now they've tasted the fruits of their labors and overjoyed by the whole experience. They gradually realize the truth that labor creates wealth and generates a good lifestyle. At the same time they're developing their own physical and mental skills. 

 

The center also provides handiwork classes in the likes of paper-cutting, knitting, embroidery, molding and weaving. These activities are especially popular on rainy days!

 

Zhao Jishun, a student and skilled painter, has increased his sense of what art is through being at the center and made great progress. And perhaps as a result of his experiences at the center he won the gold prize in a Sino-Japanese painting competition.

 

As well as the agricultural activities the students receive self-protection training in such things as fire evacuation, emergency rescue, crime prevention and traffic security.

 

And the education provided by the center is certainly paying-off. According to a survey by the local working committee for women and children 96 percent of students show a greater interest in a range of activities and have s broader vision of things after their training.

 

It's not just the talented students who perform best. Those who are introverted become involved in making quite wonderful handicrafts and actively involved in class affairs. The center makes good use of the natural environment and successfully retains the attention of students.  

 

They're also encouraged to learn more about advanced technologies. They observe how wastewater becomes clean in a treatment plant, enjoy the warmth of a solar-cell-powered bathroom and learn about the agricultural technology behind an "intelligent" greenhouse.

 

Creativity 

 

Taking advantage of its geographic location the center has established 10 gardens. These include one for wild plants, two traditional agricultural areas, three exhibition gardens and four special agricultural zones.  

 

This display of nature at work, which the students regard as a book without an ending, has greatly invigorated them and increased their awareness of what the spirit of innovation and initiative actually means.  

 

The center attaches significance to students developing their consciousness of citizenship, discovering their potential for creation and attendance allows them to make up the demerits of normal school classes.

 

Habitats have been built for different animals and these include henhouses, various pounds and even birds' nests. These form part of a biological resource project.

 

Through feeding and caring for the animals the students can strengthen their concept of sustainable development. They also begin to form a sound way of thinking, observing and imagining through direct, vivid and creative visual images linked to their education.

 

They're encouraged to climb the hills around the center to improve themselves in an all-round way. Such exercises gives recognition to the qualities required, like perseverance, to overcome life's difficulties.  

 

And they're asked to name the hills using imagination and observation. They've created many interesting names such as "happy spring" and "semi-primitive forest." At the same time they're able to greatly strengthen their self-confidence and courage.

 

All the youngsters consciously pick up any rubbish on their travels around the center which teaches them a little bit about how to get along with nature.

 

"I feel surprised that they've done so well in composition classes," one elementary school teacher said. "They describe the campfire as a sculpture, a torch, a fairy and even a huge tree. They use vivid words they've never used before. They learn how to observe, think and make writing easier."

 

The students have written their thoughts down in notebooks. "At this center we learn how to be independent, to pursue our goals and to discover nature. This is really a paradise for our wonderful childhood." The words of a young person who very obviously is getting a great deal out of the center

 

(China Daily January 26, 2007)