Xu Rujun with his classmates in Shanghai did something special this year. They worked in groups with traffic police at different crossroads in the city. Holding small red flags, the students helped keep order and stopped people from jaywalking (乱穿马路).
As part of the school project, Xu's school has told its students to do more community work.
After the half day of exhausting (筋疲力尽的) work, Xu told himself not to jaywalk any more. "I think through community work, we get to help others and more importantly, we grow a sense of responsibility (责任感)," he said.
Community service is an important part of education for teenagers around the world. In the US and Canada, high school students need to finish 40 hours of community service before graduation (毕业). For those Americans who have finished 1,400 hours of community work. They can be awarded (奖励) nearly ¥5,000(33,000 yuan).
Chinese students today do more community work, too. For example, starting from 2010. Sichuan high school students have been asked to do 10 days of community work. It will become part of their school grade.
Qian Lijun, 16, and her classmates in Suzhou, Jiangsu went to a local elder care home this winter. They put Spring Festival couplets (对联) on the walls and cheered up the people living there.
Li Xiaotian, 15, of Anshan said he used to clear flyers(小广告) from telephone poles(电线杆)with his classmates. They brought tools, towels and buckets and worked for three hours under the summer sun. "It was tiring, but seeing the clean poles without ugly ads-we really felt proud," he said.