Students urged to dream big

The Chinese Dream ideal will be the first academic lesson for primary and middle school students across China this year.

According to the Ministry of Education in a statement released on Thursday, their educational show The First Lesson of the New Semester will have a theme called "Flying with the Wings of Dreams". It will be shown to students in primary and middle schools across the nation on the first day of school. In 2010, the ministry's annual show had the theme "My Dream, Chinese Dream".

"We hope the theme could inspire students to think about what their dreams are and encourage them to work hard to realize their dreams," said Xu Mei, a spokeswoman for the ministry.

The TV program, which has been jointly produced by the Ministry of Education and China Central Television since 2008, will premiere on Sept 1.

In this year's program, half of the guests will be everyday people with inspiring stories.

They include Liao Zhi, a dancer who lost her legs in the Sichuan earthquake but still insists on dancing; Zheng Yabo, a female gas station attendant who teaches her autistic son to play the piano; and retired teacher Pan Qihua. Each will tell their own stories.

Several stars and celebrities, including pianist Lang Lang and female astronaut Wang Yaping, who flew in the Shenzhou X space mission this year, will also talk about how they achieved their dreams.

The ministry will notify all primary and middle schools across the country to inform students and their parents of the TV program. The show will be broadcast from 8 pm to 9:40 pm on CCTV-1 on Sept 1 and re-broadcasted from 9 am to 10:40 am on Sept 2 on the same channel.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn