Science education is far less popular among Guangzhou students than the arts, with some parents saying there was little chance of becoming an astronaut. ��What can my child do after learning science and technology? It is of course good to be Yang Liwei, but there is only one in the country,�� the Southern Metropolitan News quoted some parents as saying. Yang became the first Chinese astronaut when China��s first manned spacecraft went into space in October. He returned after a one-day journey and has been hailed as a national hero, but that has not encouraged pupils to follow him. A lot of parents say its is more likely for their children to obtain fame if they learn fine arts and music well as they may be chosen as students with special skills by good schools. Students also think the sciences are not so useful for a career. Of the 11,000 attending 26 extracurricular classes at the Children��s Palace in Dongshan District, more than 3,000 chose fine arts, more than 1,500 learn writing, and more than 1,500 study Olympic mathematics. There are only 156 students in seven science classes including aerodynamics and computers. ��The situation is the same all over the country generally,�� says Huang Kesheng, vice chief of the Dongshan palace. Science education is not interesting enough and is not keeping pace with the times, says Liao Yubin, a child education expert at the provincial academy of social sciences. There is too much emphasis on teaching skills which may result in fostering engineers but not masters, he says. He advises educators to lead children out to nature to observe and think. (Shenzhen Daily)
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