Zhejiang Education Observation: More and more tree climbing classes, what are they climbing?

　　China News Service, Hangzhou, November 9th, Question: Zhejiang Education Observation: More and more tree climbing classes, what are they climbing?

　　Reporter Tong Xiaoyu

　　Universities, middle schools and elementary schools are all taking tree climbing classes.

　　Recently, Xuezheng Primary School in Qiantang District, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province has opened a tree climbing class and it has become a hot topic.

According to reports, this class has arrangements for grades one to six.

The Qiantang District Education Bureau stated that the tree-climbing class will be promoted throughout the district, and every student will be able to climb trees in the future.

　　Liu Shifan, vice-principal of Xuezheng Primary School, said that this class is very popular with parents, and they even hope to set up a parent-child class on tree climbing and learn how to climb trees.

Photo courtesy of Qiantang District Education Bureau for the tree climbing class offered by the school

　　Climbing trees is also a class, in fact, it has long been no news.

　　Cornell University in the United States is regarded as the originator of the university tree-climbing class.

In 2012, Xiamen University's "Tree Climbing" course started.

Last year, Hangzhou Dianzi University also offered a tree-climbing class.

　　Are so many schools offering tree climbing classes to follow suit?

What is climbing in tree climbing class?

　　From the reporter's point of view, the tree climbing class not only conforms to children's playful nature, but also is a combination of physical strength and intelligence, not a physical education class in the traditional sense.

　　It does not seem to be very different from rock climbing, but there are differences between the two.

Rock climbing needs to be fixed at three points, while tree climbing is to challenge different trees through ropes, which requires a lot of skills, and requires high strength of the upper and lower limbs and coordination of the human body.

Where to crawl, where not to crawl, where to crawl, and where the next foothold is, all need to be considered.

　　Climbing trees also allows students to experience the joy of being challenged.

Liu Shifan said that people will feel different when they climb up a tree and look into the distance.

Many students mentioned that they felt a lot happier when they climbed to the top of the tree.

"Climbing trees helps students understand nature, get close to nature, and let them see the world from a different perspective."

　　Even in the face of sudden disasters, the skills learned in the tree-climbing class can help them escape from the wild.

Perhaps, this is also the reason why tree climbing classes are popular abroad.

　　Netizens commented, "This class is perfect, and the moral, intellectual, and physical need to develop together." "There should be more outdoor classes like this, instead of writing questions every day."

　　From the reporter's point of view, netizens praised not only this course, but also the school's attitude towards physical education.

　　In the past, physical education was regarded as a vassal of culture, which could be sacrificed.

Especially in primary school classrooms, students often hear the phrase "the physical education teacher has taken a leave of absence".

They ignore that physical exercise is also an important part of education, resulting in an endless stream of small glasses and chubby piers.

　　But as people's consciousness changes, changes in physical education classes are also happening fast.

In June 2022, the revision of the Sports Law of the People's Republic of China was completed, adding a lot of content to ensure students' physical exercise time, and actively responding to the people's new requirements and expectations for sports health.

　　Judging from the trend of policy changes, the "sports fever" in schools may have just begun.

The popularity of tree-climbing classes also inspires the present: physical education classes are not only about running and playing football, there should be more choices, but also to stimulate children's nature and interests.

We are also looking forward to the appearance of a different kind of "sweaty" gym class.

(Finish)