The
Taiwanese English School
by Ieuan Dolby
English Education Culture in Taiwan
To see a classroom full of 5yr old and younger
children, safe and secure in their high chairs, being lectured to like
a group of final year physics University students would break the heart
of any western parent, teacher or educator.
The Desire………. Education is taken very seriously
in Taiwan, especially but not only for the male who tends to take pride
of place as dictated by culture and tradition. The average mother and
father see their offspring’s future prospects as proportional to the
amount of education that they will receive, not so much in quality as
quantity and so it is normal for children as young as the age of three
to be enrolled in private schools on top of normal daily attendance.
Saturdays, Sundays, evenings and holidays become periods devoted to the
continuing development of the children who will see their time spent
and shared between an assortment of foreign language orientated schools
or nurseries, music and dance lessons, etc.
From the day that a child is born and often before
one is conceived (future, intended or otherwise) parents plan, devise
and arrange their children’s education. Ideas are formed about what
style or type, what schools and extra classes their sons and daughters
can attend and how much they can afford to spend on the twenty year
plus development project. Schools are sounded out before the child’s
wets his first nappy and a future career/livelihood is mapped well
before the first word is said.
A western gentleman, proud to have just become a
father, was recently shocked upon being questioned by relatives-in-law
as to the educational route and policy that he was going to take with
his son. Stunned into shocked response he muttered, “I suppose my son
will go to school sometime” and “well yes, erm … learning something
will be good when he’s older”. Not the sort of replies expected from
people who expected educational theories and practices, school names
and dates and subjects to be trotted out in knowledgeable rotation.
This constant search for perfection is frequently
intermingled and confused with a parents desire to earn more money
(even though they have enough), thus the need to have their offspring
looked after externally during evenings and weekends. It can also be a
desire to win ‘face’, to look good amongst relations, other parents or
in the neighbourhood by having a child that performs better or who can
proudly be said to have studied this or that subject.
This trait of ‘face’ upkeep, the efforts made to
earn more money and the desire to have well-educated children all
produce one fact, that Taiwan is a nation built around educational
establishments. In contrast other nations might be seen to be based
around football pitches (as in the UK), restaurants (as in Italy or
France) or religious and racial harmony (as in Malaysia). It would not
be within the jurisdiction of this article to condemn or condone, apart
from suggesting that ‘all work and no play’ makes Jack a dull boy and
by raising the fact that even though children as young as five years
old start to learn English, Taiwan’s ability on the world stage as
regards English communication skills still stands at 138 out of 150
countries (as recently stated by the Taiwan Government and as published
in the Taipei Times and China Post Newspapers on 24th September 2004.
All work and no play…………. The western educational
system is by no means a model system to follow, most countries systems
being openly flawed. It would also be safe to say that the average
Western parents dreams of how their child is educated, emphasis being
placed on sport or theory without practical subjects seeing dawn, is
often wrong or misguided. But over-all it can be said that the average
child receives a fair share of varied education and that for the most
part, once homework is suitably dispensed with of an evening, the
children have free time to play or relax without the pressure of
‘achievement’ hanging over them. It can also be said that weekends and
holidays are times for families to be together, for work and the
constant pressures of earning money to be locked away till the alarm
clock rings on Monday morning. In comparison the Taiwanese way is
blatantly flawed with most children suffering from a lack of love and
attention at home due to the amount of time that they spend away from
it.
A child born in Kaohsiung in 2001 was within the
first month of its entry into the world sent to live with the mother
in-law during the week. A result of a complaint by the poor child’s
father who could not sleep at night! The same child, nearly four years
of age, now spends six days a week with the mother-in-law who herself
finds little time for the child as she has to run a busy drinks stall,
attends a daily nursery with an English theme and a Saturday
extra-class in piano. The parents themselves find the logistics of
delivering the child to schools, etc interferes with their respective
jobs so ………………life goes on!
The idea behind obtaining extra education for ones
offspring is certainly heading in the right direction. To wish the best
future for your own is admirable but not all of the time. Again,
stating recently cited facts by the Taiwan Government, the average
educational ability of Taiwanese Children is below that of their
western counterparts; despite the fact that allot more money and time
is spent on such.
Teaching time……. The principles of educational
theory tend to rely heavily on a communist style approach, to drum
knowledge facts and numbers into the brain to be regurgitated in times
of punishment, exam or for parents to impress the superiority of their
son/daughter to neighbours or family. This approach has been the
foundation of how schools operate, how curriculums and classrooms are
designed and how parents want to see their children being taught. This
approach may well have been and probably still is to blame for the
rigidness with which many Chinese approach life, the narrow mindedness
with which they see the outside world.
The future……………. It is hard battle that is little
won, but the idea of teaching using force and punishment and award is
the current method. There is though daylight ahead for the thousands of
children whose minds switch off during class through boredom or hatred
of the subject and/or drill sergeant at the blackboard. Many schools
and private educational establishments are seeing a flicker of change
in the form of western teachers who bring with them more relaxed and
participative methods of imparting information. Sadly, the speck of
light that can be seen at the end of this tunnel is small and not
growing larger for every step taken. Cultural differences, ideological
blocks and the fact that parents themselves view regimented teaching
styles as the only way to teach children, they themselves using this
style in daily life, hinder great steps in altering this style of
teaching.
Many parents will not send their children to
modern and culturally off-track schools where games and play are the
mainstream of life indoors. Through achievement and result and through
government initiative change is perhaps happening. More private schools
are opening their doors were westernised standards set the approach and
more parents are beginning to see that these schools have more to offer
than an equivalent military style approach. Maybe simply due to the
fact that children are coming home, happy and with a light in their
eyes causes parents to review the very fabric of the institutionalised
and narrow minded educational establishment that so restricts and mind
boggles every child who passes through its doors, themselves included
when once upon a time they were shouted at and punished by evil ogres.
Author and Webmaster of Seamania. A Chief Engineer in the
Merchant Navy having sailed the world for twenty years. Living in
Taiwan and between trips to sea he writes about cultures across the
globe and life as he sees it, mostly with a smile!
Ieuan Dolby may be contacted at http://www.seadolby.com
or seamania@seadolby.com
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