Should teenagers get up and boogie sometimes?

To me, this is a no-brainer. China's primary and secondary schoolers are spending so much time poring over books that anything - well, almost anything - that takes them off the books is good for a change.

The Ministry of Education has just announced an unprecedented program of group dancing for these students. And to show how media-savvy they are, they put on a demonstration for the cameras and selected a pair of photogenic kids for the spotlight.

I thought this would be greeted with hurrahs of welcome. But no, aside from a few upbeat soundbites from students, the press quoted several parents who sounded off their misgivings.

The top concern is there will be an increase of boys and girls falling in love once they have more chances for physical interaction.

I don't know what's going on in the minds of these parents, but I suspect they are still living in the Middle Ages, or the feudal era in Chinese equivalent. Teenagers may start dating no matter what - even if you lock them up in two separate rooms. The only thing that will prevent the young is to keep them malnourished. With the kind of diet they have nowadays, they'll be physically mature earlier than the previous generations.

There is nothing wrong with youths engaging in puppy love. It could be a beautiful experience. What parents and teachers should do is provide proper guidance so that the kids won't dash into hasty decisions and let everything else, such as education, fall into disarray.

The notion that youths will study better when nobody of the opposite sex is around is misguided. We Chinese have always treated the school as an ivory tower, somehow isolated from the topsy-turvy world, including sexual attractions of every kind. But growth in such an artificial vacuum could only lead to disasters when kids graduate into the real world and encounter real world problems.

The new dance also poses a threat to the old virtue of school diligence. Students are traditionally praised for incessantly cramming textbooks into memory. This is hallowed in the old saying of "hanging your hair from a beam and stabbing your buttocks with an awl".

These are two stories that exemplify model behavior: In ancient times when men had really long hair, a student tied his hair to a beam so that as soon as he dozed off he would be dragged wide awake. The other guy would stab himself when he felt drowsy.

What horror stories! It is high time we recommended stretching, jogging, calisthenics or dancing as an alternative to those masochist practices. I bet they'll score higher this way.

Dance is also a great way of teaching youngsters the importance of poise, grace and performing arts. Girls in metropolises are taken to after-class ballet schools, but group dancing, though less rigorous, could be seen as a positive trickle-down. Kids who are exposed to dance training are more likely to patronize the art form when they grow up.

The new dance is a much-needed addition to the morning exercise routine on campuses all over the country, which was inaugurated more than half a century ago and has evolved over the years. As a starter, it is well choreographed. For example, it does not pair one boy with one girl, but has them move around with several others, not unlike a square dance. That way, it will less likely give rise to teen romance, but will build coordination and camaraderie.

There is nothing unusual about weird feedback to the announcement of the program. Some American parents object to their sons learning dance for fear of turning them gay. Not all good policies are met with cheers.

Email: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/16/2007 page4)