Colleges to teach romance classes

Xinhua, April 18, 2011

Can romance be taught? Is falling in love so important that it has to be included in courses in universities?

These became common questions after Beijing education authorities released a draft teaching program for mental health in college, advising universities to teach students taking psychology courses how to love.

The draft sparked controversy immediately after its release for public comment last week.

"Romance can't be taught. You should experience and understand it by yourself," said Zhang Yu, a senior at Capital Normal University.

She said she might take the course, but mostly as entertainment.

According to the draft, the romance chapter is meant to help students comprehend the meaning of romance and its relevant theories, and guide students on how to handle problems and issues in loving relationships. The chapter will teach students how to express, accept, reject, maintain and let go of romance, and also introduce topics like homosexual romance.

"What if an ambitious and hard-working student who doesn't want any relationship in college takes the course? Is the romance instructor helping him or disturbing him?" asked a netizen named "Peter is coming" on the weibo.com microblog website.

Unlike universities under the Ministry of Education, the universities governed by Beijing Municipality recruit mostly students from Beijing. Therefore, 23-year-old Li Meng, a physics major, said romance courses are far less important than birth control or sex courses, as students living in the metropolis have already known how to love since junior high.

"It's better to make such courses optional. Our academic burden is too heavy to include such a meaningless class," he said.

Yang Dongping, a professor of education with the Beijing Institute of Technology, said it was absolutely necessary to provide courses on psychological health, and the romance part, which teaches students to love and to be loved, is also important.

"Like at Harvard University, where students are taught how to feel happy, teaching students how to communicate with their beloved will be popular. But it is the teaching method that counts," Yang said.