Schools change class ring to "therapeutic"

BEIJING, March 27 -- The "call to the classroom" - a chime, a bell, a buzzer - it may energize some. But among many, the sound, in whatever form it takes, evokes a sense of dread as it signals an end to playtime. A middle school in Shashi city, in central China's Hubei Province has replaced its old monotone with sounds intended to be "therapeutic."

Students at the school in Shashi are the beneficiaries of some research undertaken by the school. The old monotone call-to-class has been replaced with music. Administrators believe the new arrangement will serve as therapy, helping to ease the students' minds and relax their bodies

Students say they feel a sense of calm when the music plays. And the music becomes a catalyst for inspiring enlivening images in their minds.

The teacher in charge of the project, says the standard, sonorous ring, evoked feelings of ennui and entrapment among students. The light music that students hear now, extends a sense of coziness all across the campus. There's another benefit too. Students will learn music appreciation, by listening to world famous music everyday.

There's a trend among Chinese elementary and middle schools to change the traditional call-to-class. Some schools have adopted music. Others are trying out readings of poetry and prose, to alert students that it's time to go back to class. Some schools even let students compose their own versions of the old classroom bell. The tinkling of the traditional school bell, is fading away and soon will be remembered only, as a part of the past.

(Source: CCTV.com)