As the new semester begins, a seventh-grade class at a middle school has introduced a creative incentive: the head teacher had each of the 35 students adopt a “virtual pet.” There is a wide variety of pets available: common ones such as cats, dogs, pigs and ducks, as well as “legendary creatures” like the Azure Dragon and Pixiu.
To take care of their pets, students must earn points through good daily behavior. They earn points for excellent homework or helping classmates, and lose points for misbehavior. The pets have eight growth levels, with a different appearance at each level. Students who reach the highest level can receive a small gift at the end of the term.
After nearly a week of the program, students’ enthusiasm for learning has risen noticeably. Some students are taking the initiative to correct their homework and finish tasks early just to level up their pets faster. Others have said that, for the healthy growth of their “e-pets,” they aim to get high scores this semester.