Taiwan’s religious organizations salvage screwed education system

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

      Taiwan Church News

      3057 Edition

      September 27~October 3, 2010

       

      Taiwan’s religious organizations salvage screwed education 
system

       

      Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong, Lin Yi-ying

      Written by Lydia Ma

       

       



      In a recent high-profile murder case in Taiwan, Liao Kuo-hau, a 
17-year-old allegedly 

      responsible for the murder of Taichung gang leader Weng Chi-nan 
on May 28, was quoted as 

      having complained that he was a victim of Taiwan's education 
system. Liao alleged he was 

      discriminated against in school because he came from a broken 
family. 

       



      This tragic story and his statement sparked discussion across 
Taiwan and shed light on many 

      illegal practices inside many Taiwanese high schools. As 
Christians with children in public or 

      private schools in Taiwan, it’s imperative that we be as 
concerned about where our children 

      are headed as whether they’re lagging behind the rest of the 
pack.

       



      Three of these illegal practices include: Discriminatory 
placement of students at the beginning 

      of the school year when they are assigned their classes, 
restrictions on students’ hairdo that 

      breach basic human rights, and dissemination of personal and 
private information, such as 

      grades, without prior consent and for non-educational purposes.

       



      According to reports, more than 50% of schools have engaged in 
the first illegal practice 

      mentioned above while more than 80% have committed the second 
and third illegal practices. 

      If these numbers are any indication, many students are 
ostracized as early as junior high school.

       



      Yeh Ta-hua, Secretary-General of Taiwan Alliance for 
Advancement of Youth Rights and 

      Welfare and deacon of Peace Island Presbyterian Church in 
Keelung, underscored that these 

      trends merely exacerbate the number of high school dropouts and 
burden society with 

      teenage delinquents forced to choose between gangs or 
unwelcoming school environments 

      just because they are slow learners or don’t excel in academics.

       



      In response to this problem, some churches began to reach out 
to troubled teens and high 

      school dropouts in recent years, including Chu-Tang 
Presbyterian Church in Changhua. The 

      church, in partnership with local government agencies, founded 
Sunflower School in 2003 and 

      began offering classes to students according to their own needs 
and learning abilities. It has 

      graduated 56 students to date, with 34% of them entering the 
workforce and 66% moving on 

      to higher education.

       



      However, Chu-Tang Church’s pastor, Rev. Chuang Hsiao-sheng, 
would like to see more 

      preventative measures in place in high schools across Taiwan 
before teens become 

      dropouts, including: Early detection of domestic violence, 
better counseling for teens mixed 

      with the wrong crowd, more flexible school regulations, and 
more emphasis on morality.

       



      “A healthy country needs sound ethics, morality, philosophy on 
life, and these are all lacking in 

      Taiwan,” he said, convinced that religious entities are called 
to stand in the gap.

       



      From PCT Education Ministry Committee Secretary Lian Yan-yan’s 
point of view, one of the 

      root problems is Taiwanese society and education’s over- 
emphasis on hard sciences and on 

      making the education system to fit the job market’s demand. “If 
we want to correct Taiwan’s 

      education system, we must first re-evaluate the purpose of 
education,” she said.

       



      To compensate for this skewed social and education system, PCT 
has been working hard 

      with schools to provide Life Education Classes. Not only does 
PCT write the curriculum for 

      these classes, which start from kindergarten up to senior high 
school, it also writes a similar 

      set of curriculum for its Sunday Schools and has many 
volunteers throughout Taiwan.

       



      “Our vision when we began Life Education Classes was to help 
people live happily and 

      healthily and teach them to respect one another’s uniqueness,” 
Lian said.

       



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