Web site offers thousands of jobs for new graduates

MORE THAN AVERAGE:Many employers advertising on Taiwan Jobs are offering high wages for untrained workers with no prior experience, the labor ministry said

Staff writer, with CNA

The Ministry of Labor yesterday said 15,000 full-time jobs for new graduates are being advertised on its Web site offering wages of NT$30,000 per month.

Employers have advertised more than 145,000 positions for new employees who are not required to have any work experience, according to the Web site.

The Web site, called Taiwan Jobs, is managed by the ministry’s Workforce Development Agency.

The job openings are a positive sign for the jobs market with an influx of new graduates.

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics on Friday said that the unemployment rate for last month rose 0.08 percentage points from a month earlier to 3.92 percent, due to a month-on-month increase in first-time jobseekers of 9,000.

The directorate said that the jobless rate is expected to continue to climb this month and next month before trending lower, as many first-time jobseekers are likely to start work in September.

Employers who are offering more than NT$30,000 per month to new graduates include flat-panel makers Innolux Corp and HannStar Display Corp, as well as High-Life and Family Mart convenience store chains, and fast-food chains McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the ministry said.

HannStar, which specializes in the production of small and medium-sized screens, is offering engineers NT$47,000 per month, the ministry said.

The ministry said that more employers are seeking part-time workers, with 30 percent of workers coming from the manufacturing sector and 20 percent from retail, wholesale and restaurant businesses.

Michelin-starred steamed dumpling restaurant Ding Tai Fung is offering NT$150 to NT$170 per hour for part-time workers, higher than the minimum NT$120 hourly wage, the ministry said.

As of the end of last month, employers in Taiwan posted 108,286 job openings on Taiwan Jobs, down by 15.22 percent from a month earlier, while the number of people who signed up for the Web site dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month to 63,342, the ministry said.

Last month, the number of jobseekers aged up to 19 years old increased 111.61 percent from a month earlier, indicating that the summer vacation has increased the supply of available workers, the ministry said.

Curriculum review group convener vilified by KMT

By Stacy Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday demanded that the Ministry of Education remove former ministry secretary-general Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮) from his post as convener of a curriculum guidelines review committee, citing what the KMT called his past “vulgar remarks.”

At a news conference in Taipei yesterday morning, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said education is vital for younger generations and is supposed to transcend politics.

“However, Chuang is not only notorious for his often vulgar and preposterous rhetoric, but also for his apparent political affiliations,” Wang said.

Urging the ministry to immediately dismiss Chuang and remove him from the committee, Wang also called on parents to jointly oppose Chuang’s participation in the committee.

Wang said the public would not accept the decision by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to appoint Chuang, who left the ministry years ago over inappropriate remarks, to serve such a significant post in the committee.

“Chuang is less deserving than elementary and junior-high school students of participating in the process of reviewing curriculum guidelines. Curricula could become unimaginably horrific if we let someone like him be a part of this endeavor or serve as the convener of the committee,” Wang said.

KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) last month at a news conference also criticized the ministry’s designation of Chuang as the committee’s convener.

“A teacher is someone who conveys the truth, passes on knowledge and clarifies doubts. Chuang is unfit for the job in terms of both his words and actions,” Hu said.

Hu said Chuang’s past remarks have proven him to be a man guided by outdated stereotypes and ideologies, hatred and obscene ideas, citing as examples Chuang’s use of terms such as khai tsa boo (開查某), a Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) term meaning “visiting a prostitute,” and xiao naonao (小孬孬), Chinese for “being a pussy.”

Groups defend curriculum convener

IDEOLOGUE:The Taiwan Hakka Society chairman said that the KMT’s ‘one China’ stance meant that the 228 Incident was downplayed in curriculum guidelines

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Union of Taiwanese Teachers director-general Hsiao Hsiao-ling yesterday speaks during a news conference in Taipei.

Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times

A coalition of pro-localization groups yesterday voiced support for National Chengchi University (NCCU) professor Chuang Kuo-jung (莊國榮), defending him against calls by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) that he should be dismissed as the convener of the Ministry of Education’s curriculum review committee.

Citing “vulgar” remarks Chuang had made regarding former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and Ma’s father and his political affiliations, KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) on Monday urged the ministry to remove Chuang from his post.

“What is the KMT afraid of?” Northern Taiwan Society Chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森) said at a news conference.

Saying that Chuang befits his job, Chang called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration not to give in to pressure from the KMT, otherwise it would become a “culprit” for passing up an opportunity for reform.

Taiwan Hakka Society Chairman Li Teng-hsin (黎登鑫) said that the “one China” stance adopted by Ma’s administration saw unification-minded academics such as Wang Hsiao-po (王曉波) and Chang Ya-chung (張亞中) put in charge of developing curricula.

The Ma administration also downplayed the significance of the 228 Incident in curriculum guidelines, he said.

“Taiwanese history should not be based upon the KMT’s China-centric views,” he said.

Union of Taiwanese Teachers director-general Hsiao Hsiao-ling (蕭曉玲) said that education is different from ideologies and that the KMT has attempted to pit its own ideology against education reform.

Chuang was recently named an outstanding teacher by the NCCU, which is largely considered a conservative school, as it was founded by KMT during the nation’s totalitarian past, and the award was “a slap in the face” for the KMT, she said.

Chuang is more than qualified for his post, she said.

National Taiwan University Graduate Student Association president Yu Min-ju (于閔如) said that the KMT had long adopted a “Greater China” historic view, and that it could be plotting to reinstate this view by attacking Chuang.

Education should be based on facts, Yu said, adding that the KMT should make known its desire to create history curricula based on a “Greater China” view and see if people approve of it, rather than attempting to “sneak it in.”

Wang said that the KMT has nothing to fear and is not attempting to obstruct the curricula review process.

“It is astonishing that the DPP has appointed such a “foul-mouthed” and biased person who lacks any discipline in gender equality to serve as the committee’s convener,” Wang said.

She said that out of thousands of candidates, the DPP picked Chuang, adding that society would form its own opinion on whether his appointment was fair.

Students elect curriculum review representatives

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Seventy-one students yesterday elected 22 student representatives to serve on the Ministry of Education’s curriculum review committee.

The convention at National Changhua Girls’ Senior High School to elect student representatives was the third of its kind.

National Taitung University graduate student Wu Lu-te (吳律德), National Chengchi University student Liao Hao-hsiang (廖浩翔), Soochow University student Liu Chien-ping (劉千萍) and National Changhua Senior High School student Hsiao Chu-chun (蕭竹均) were elected to serve at curriculum review committee general assemblies.

Eighteen students studying at senior high schools, universities and graduate schools were elected as members for seven subcommittees: elementary school education, junior-high school education, ordinary high-school education, vocational-high school education, special education, physical education and art education.

The election rules stipulate that the representation of male or female members should not be lower than one-third of the committee.

The rules also set aside three protected groups for student who are children of foreign parents, Aboriginal students and physically or mentally challenged students, and stipulate that at least one member be elected for each group.

Ministry official Tsai Meng-kai (蔡孟愷) said that 11 committee members are in a secondary school, while the other 11 are university or graduate students.

Tsai said that six students, including Hsiao and Liao, participated in last year’s protest against adjustments to high-school history curriculum guidelines.

He said that there were 36 candidates, the youngest a junior-high school student, adding that three abstained from voting.

Students aim to diversify materials on curriculum

MINORITY VOTE:With just four students voting at a general assembly of more than 40 members, students would be in the minority, a student representative said

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The mother of Dai Lin, a student who committed suicide during the protests against the government’s curriculum changes last year, second right, and Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung, right, attend a memorial ceremony for Lin outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times

The students who last year protested against the Ministry of Education’s controversial changes to high-school curriculum guidelines and were on Thursday elected to the ministry’s curriculum review committee said they hope to bring more pluralistic materials to curricula by voicing students’ opinions at the committee.

National Chengchi University student Liao Hao-hsiang (廖浩翔) said he was moved by Thursday’s election results that saw four students elected to serve at the curriculum review committee general assembly and 18 students elected to serve in subcommittees.

“I have been waiting for a year for this day to come,” Liao said, referring to last year’s protests, which turned violent when police arrested students who entered the ministry’s compound.

The outcome is the fruition of one year’s work, where students, members of the public and legislators discussed the amendments to the Senior High School Education Act (高級中等教育法) to include students in the curriculum review process, he said.

Liao said he and other students on the committee are planning to hold hearings across the nation to collect students’ opinions on learning materials, as the 22 student representatives on the committee cannot speak for all students.

He said he hopes to gradually change the nation’s top-down education system, in which students do not have a voice on education and are forced to accept whatever materials they are given, so that students can discuss curricula with the ministry on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

The curriculum for Taiwanese history has been largely predicated on a “Sinocentric” view, Liao said, adding that he hopes the curriculum can include Aboriginal perspectives to make history education more inclusive.

However, Liao expressed concern over the committee’s operation, saying that with just four students voting at a general assembly of more than 40 members, students would be in the minority when issues are put to vote.

National Changhua Senior High School student Hsiao Chu-chun (蕭竹均), who is also to serve at the general assembly, said that existing curricula are too “rigid,” as they were created without considering students’ opinions and therefore cannot nurture their passion for learning.

He said that students would be able to vote on issues regarding curriculum guidelines at committee meetings, but they would be excluded from the curricula development process.

“Even so, we will do out best to bring students’ opinions to the committee,” he said.

Separately yesterday, an event was held in front of the ministry in memory of Dai Lin (林冠華), a prominent activist in the campaign against the controversial curriculum guidelines last year.

Lin was found dead on July 30 last year — his 20th birthday — in an apparent suicide.

In a final Facebook post, Lin wrote: “Wish me happy birthday. 8 5 12 16. I have only one wish: then-minister [of education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華)] withdraw the curriculum guidelines.”

Additional reporting by Rachel Lin

Students aim to diversify materials on curriculum

MINORITY VOTE:With just four students voting at a general assembly of more than 40 members, students would be in the minority, a student representative said

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

The mother of Dai Lin, a student who committed suicide during the protests against the government’s curriculum changes last year, second right, and Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung, right, attend a memorial ceremony for Lin outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times

The students who last year protested against the Ministry of Education’s controversial changes to high-school curriculum guidelines and were on Thursday elected to the ministry’s curriculum review committee said they hope to bring more pluralistic materials to curricula by voicing students’ opinions at the committee.

National Chengchi University student Liao Hao-hsiang (廖浩翔) said he was moved by Thursday’s election results that saw four students elected to serve at the curriculum review committee general assembly and 18 students elected to serve in subcommittees.

“I have been waiting for a year for this day to come,” Liao said, referring to last year’s protests, which turned violent when police arrested students who entered the ministry’s compound.

The outcome is the fruition of one year’s work, where students, members of the public and legislators discussed the amendments to the Senior High School Education Act (高級中等教育法) to include students in the curriculum review process, he said.

Liao said he and other students on the committee are planning to hold hearings across the nation to collect students’ opinions on learning materials, as the 22 student representatives on the committee cannot speak for all students.

He said he hopes to gradually change the nation’s top-down education system, in which students do not have a voice on education and are forced to accept whatever materials they are given, so that students can discuss curricula with the ministry on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

The curriculum for Taiwanese history has been largely predicated on a “Sinocentric” view, Liao said, adding that he hopes the curriculum can include Aboriginal perspectives to make history education more inclusive.

However, Liao expressed concern over the committee’s operation, saying that with just four students voting at a general assembly of more than 40 members, students would be in the minority when issues are put to vote.

National Changhua Senior High School student Hsiao Chu-chun (蕭竹均), who is also to serve at the general assembly, said that existing curricula are too “rigid,” as they were created without considering students’ opinions and therefore cannot nurture their passion for learning.

He said that students would be able to vote on issues regarding curriculum guidelines at committee meetings, but they would be excluded from the curricula development process.

“Even so, we will do out best to bring students’ opinions to the committee,” he said.

Separately yesterday, an event was held in front of the ministry in memory of Dai Lin (林冠華), a prominent activist in the campaign against the controversial curriculum guidelines last year.

Lin was found dead on July 30 last year — his 20th birthday — in an apparent suicide.

In a final Facebook post, Lin wrote: “Wish me happy birthday. 8 5 12 16. I have only one wish: then-minister [of education Wu Se-hwa (吳思華)] withdraw the curriculum guidelines.”

Additional reporting by Rachel Lin

Education proposals voted down

‘NOT FAIR’:A proposal by protesting parents for follow-up recruiting could prompt complaints from students assigned to less-desirable schools, a Taipei official said

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

A proposal to adjust the high-school admissions system was voted down at a meeting between parents and Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung education officials on Thursday night.

On Thursday morning, members of several education groups staged a protest against the system in front of Taipei City Hall.

According to the 12-year national education system, students select groups of five schools based on their high-school entrance exam results and rank the groups based on how good they think their chances of admission are.

Parents at the meeting voted against the measure, Taipei Department of Education division chief Chung Te-hsin (鍾德馨) said.

Another proposal to cancel a rule deducting one point from a student’s overall score if they are not assigned to a school was also vetoed, he said.

Chung said the second proposal would have breached the Senior High School Education Act (高級中等教育法), which states that students’ ability to rank the groups of schools they are likely to be admitted to is one of three criteria governing their overall score.

Abolishing the rule would mean all students would receive full marks in that criteria, making it redundant, he said.

The protesters also asked that public high schools implement follow-up recruitment to ensure that admissions reach capacity at all schools.

However, Chung said that no public schools in Taipei met the requirements — such as minimum class size — for follow-up recruitment.

He said that as follow-up recruitment is aimed at students who fail to be admitted to any school, it could prompt students assigned to schools considered less prestigious, or to expensive private schools, to demand a chance to take part in a follow-up test as well, thereby compromising the admission system’s fairness.

Meanwhile, a member of the education groups said conclusions reached at the meeting should be invalidated, as some parents who voted were not qualified to vote.

Alliance on Obligatory Education director-general Wang Li-sheng (王立昇) said that at least one parent from New Taipei City should not have been at the meeting, as the parent’s children had already graduated from high school.

Wang called the conclusions unacceptable, adding that he would ask the Control Yuan to investigate the meeting’s legitimacy.

National Parents’ Alliance for 12-year Compulsory Education vice president Chen Chi-chen (陳綺貞) said some parents from Keelung opposed the proposals, because they believed the current rules satisfied the needs of students and schools in the city.

Chen said the parents probably opposed the proposal, because according to an alternative admission system introduced by the Ministry of Education, students who test better at school have a better chance of being admitted to higher-ranking universities.

She said that the parents probably opposed the proposal because they want their children to attend high schools in Keelung, where there is less competition.

Sex education still a taboo for many parents, teachers

By Chen Ping-hung  /  Staff reporter

A survey by the Child Welfare League Foundation released yesterday found that many parents and teachers avoided teaching children about sex, and that while most adolescents knew about birth control, many were misinformed about sex.

The survey on sex education for teenagers showed that nearly 70 percent of parents had never talked about sex with their children, and 25 percent said they were afraid to talk about it.

About 30 percent of teachers also said they avoided sex education, the poll showed.

However, 54 percent of fifth-graders and 70 percent of sixth-graders interviewed said they knew about birth control methods, but 30 percent said they did not know how to express their feelings about sex, foundation executive director Chen Li-ju (陳麗如) said.

The survey results are concerning, as teaching adolescents about sex and how to express their feelings to prevent misconceptions and abusive relationships is a pressing issue, Chen said.

Many adolescents had misconceptions about sex: About 10 percent of those surveyed believed that consensual sex between people less than 16 years old was not illegal, and more than 25 percent assumed that there was no connection between sexual activity and sexually transmitted diseases, Chen said.

More than 20 percent of adolescents believed sex education was unhealthy, the poll showed.

About 5 percent of respondents said it was acceptable to take revenge on ex-partners if the relationship had been an unhappy one.

Both parents and teachers tend to avoid sex education and more than 50 percent of parents avoided talking about sex, birth control and emotions with their children.

Teachers of older students are more likely to avoid sex education, with 25 percent of fifth-grade teachers saying they did not teach sex education and the ratio rising to 37 percent among eighth-grade teachers.

“It might be that sex education for older children is more complicated and embarrassing to teach, so more teachers refuse to teach it,” Chen said.

“Children need to learn more about social and emotional education than just about body parts and sexual activity. Thirty percent of children do not know how to express themselves or how to deal with a failed relationship or breaking up,” she said.

The foundation urged teachers not to skip sex education and encouraged parents to talk to their children so they are exposed to ideas about sex.

“To prevent abusive relationships, it is more important to teach children about emotional control than examining why they can be abusive. Parents and teachers should empathize with children and help them deal with emotional issues when they have a fight with a friend or get bad exam results,” she said.

The government should provide more sex education training to teachers or consider recruiting professional sex educators, she said.

DPP’s private-school proposal prompts protest

By Sean Lin  /  Staff reporter

Representatives of teachers’ and students’ groups hold a banner in front of Democratic Progressive Party headquarters in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

Students and education union members yesterday rallied in front of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei to protest against the party’s draft amendment to the Private School Act (私立學校法), with protesters accusing the DPP of proposing legislation slanted toward private-school directors and fostering corruption.

The protesters criticized the DPP’s proposition that only private schools that pass a threshold in the amount of subsidies they receive from the Ministry of Education need to assign one “director of public interest” to their boards of directors.

They also criticized the lack of provisions that would require schools to publish details on their expenditure and minutes taken at board meetings.

The draft amendment last week passed a first reading at a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee, as did a resolution stating that half of the members on private-school boards of directors should be qualified teachers and that the ministry should establish a database for picking candidates.

DPP Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) withdrew his draft proposal, which contained provisions close to appeals made by the National Federation of Teachers’ Union (NFTU) and the Taiwan Higher Education Union.

NFTU vice secretary-general Yu Jung-hui (尤榮輝) said that he does not trust the DPP’s draft, as it would grant the ministry complete authority over the vetting process for directors of public interest, compromising objectivity.

Taiwan Higher Education Union vice secretary-general Chen Cheng-liang (陳政亮) accused the DPP of flip-flopping on private-school reform after becoming the ruling party, saying its draft amendment clearly panders to private-school directors.

Chen denounced DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) for opposing a proposal requiring private institutes to publish details on their expenditure on the grounds that the rule would intensify competition among private schools.

Chen said that such information should not be regarded as commercial secrets, as schools are established to serve the public interest.

“The DPP has been hijacked by some of its own lawmakers, who are attempting to lead the party on a path that strips education of its publicness. This is a poison pill that will only aggravate problems concerning private schools,” he said.

The DPP’s stance on the act shows that not only the law, but also the ruling party’s lack of insight into education, needs changing, Chen said.

Tensions escalated as a man who identified himself as the head of the management committee of the building that houses the DPP headquarters demanded that demonstrators clear away from the front of the building and protest on the road instead, prompting a loud exchange.

Throughout the demonstration, the man held up a sign to block protesters from the public view, prompting some protesters to accuse the DPP of attempting to evict them through the building’s management committee.

The rally ended with protesters crumpling copies of the DPP’s draft and throwing them toward the party’s headquarters.

Hillary Clinton Booed by Teachers over Charter School Comment

JULY 06, 2016

HEADLINES

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton faced more criticism from teachers during a speech at the National Education Association’s assembly Tuesday, when she provoked booing from unionized teachers by suggesting public schools and charter schools work together to improve education.

Hillary Clinton: "When schools get it right, whether they’re traditional public schools or public charter schools, let’s figure out what’s working."

Teachers: "Boo!"

Hillary Clinton: "No, let’s figure out what’s working, and share it with schools across America. We can do that. We’ve got no time for all these education wars."

The National Education Association is the largest teachers’ union. Its leadership endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2015, despite protests from some of its rank-and-file members who supported Bernie Sanders.

Chungder JHS Weekend Enrichment

July 1-2, 2016 Friday-Saturday 

      I was driven to Yun-Lin County. Taiwan, to the township of Hu-Wei, to offer enrichment to a class of advanced EFL 8^th grade middle school students at Chungder JHS. The two day event (I am to return this morning to enrich the 9^th grade) was arranged by the textbook publisher a few months ago. It took almost an hour and a half for the driver to get to the remote rural school.

Before I arrived, I was not sure how deep the children were taken with the copies of  five activities from Housing Sense and “Kim,” the first story in Seedfolks, the little fiction about a vacant lot where Kim clears a small space to plant her precious bean seed and transform the dump into a garden.  The theme, “City Planning,” part of the Community Curriculum I created atFDR, was to be a cooperative learning activity culminating in reports.When I arrived, I found the twenty students fiveof whom were boys, that needed to be warmed-up. I introduced the word “home” and identified them as the students from home school, Chungder JHS, Hu-Hui, Yun-Lin, Taiwan. They were to identify themselves through a board contest. First, I demonstrated the pattern, “He is the boy with a black watch,” and we practiced. I then grouped the children into four teams of five players. On cue, I asked them to come to the chalk board when I called their number and identify themselves using  thispattern.

Each grade was given the same booklet of materials in advance but were uneven in their preparation. Ironically, the younger grade's teacher seems to have gone over the "Kim" story in Seedfolks (read the story at the end of this blog) while the higher grade's teacher hadn't. Although the materials were shared with each grade, the results were different; the higher grade had better command of vocabulary.     

The best and fastest answer won the most points; I even gave points for responses that were less than perfect. Once the ice was broken, I accessed the “Read the World” power point on the internet, projected it on a drop-screen, and gave a brief introduction of myself and my home. We ended the contest with questions about the first paragraph in “Kim” which I read aloud: “Who was Kim? Who was her father?” and brought them into the handout                                                            materials about “home.”

 After the break, each team was assigned one of the worksheets to brainstorm collaboratively: a reader, writer-compiler, grammar checker, spelling checker, and time-keeper. I demonstrated a model of the final presentation they would be giving using the “Home is a Feeling” work group. and urged each of students to participate by answering the questions on their worksheets and discussing them, in English. 
With the 8th grade class, I read aloud the motivation "A Place Called Home" after the break before they actually started brainstorming .

That Special Feeling

The students on this collaborative team discovered that home feelings were prevalent when they considered home through the five senses. "When I think of home, I see a computer because we are always playing video games," was a response to the sense of sight. "When I think of home, I smell my mom's cooking because she makes the best dinner," was a response to the question about smell. The group of five students used a bilingual dictionary and asked me what certain words meant as I roved around. 

Look Carefully!!!

This worksheet was made to be used on a walk outside the classroom in an investigation of the neighborhood to heighten the students' awareness of their environment and consider all the aspects of housing. Since the group chose to describe this junior high school, the question "how many apartments in the building" had to be changed to "how many classrooms." The most though provoking question was "How would you escape a fire?" The students had never considered this question nor had the school devised an escape plan. My wife, who attended a school such as Chungder's as a child, pointed out that there had been modifications made in the staircases from the upper floors for better fire security; notice the "X" pattern in the photo at the top of this blog. 

Housing: Houses, Services,  & Facilities 

This cooperative learning group categorized housing and realized the functional differences between services and facilities. Initially, they were content with merely identifying the vehicles and buildings but I asked them to dig a little deeper and give a brief explanation, and example, for each one they identified. This made for a much fuller presentation.  

                                           Choices & Consequences

The "Choices and Consequences" group had a lot of fun deciding what kind of building would be best to build in the space of vacant lot and abandoned building. Their consciousness was raised to the residual effects that their initial choices would confront. Each of the students in the group had different buildings in mind - hospital, movie theater,  and even a hotel "where people could make babies." We all had a good laugh about that. Finally, the group chose to make a park in the space if they were city planners; the residential community obviously needed a place for residents to relax and play.

Improve This Park 

The students in this group, had a lot of fun pointing out the deficiencies of the park in the picture. The broken equipment, trash, and noise pollution of inconsiderate park patrons was obvious. The solutions were to the point. "The girl should not pick the flowers," one student said. In the other class the group pointed out how a child in the park was naughty and breaking off a branch from the tree. "There should be more trees and flowers," the reporter pointed out, "not less." 

The township of Hu-Wei in Yun-Lin County is rural with minimal western franchise presence. There is a narrow gauge grade-level  sugar-cane railroad crossing just behind Chungder. The children come from farming families and small businesses. The grounds of the school are well-kept and clean. Ironically, the lack of industrial development in the area means better air quality.

     On the route from Freeway #1, our van passed some retainer walls and utility poles that had been painted in a tiger-stripe pattern. "Hu-Wei," the township's name, means "tiger tail." There is a potential for tourism that the city planners may want to investigate. On one old winding country lane, the red brick housing and traditional Taiwanese design are still present in sub-standard housing. I have seen such areas developed commercially to promote local foods and goods such as in the village in Punghu or even the abandoned sugar cane factories in Kaohsiung, Taitung, and Taipei. The history of their town is something the children at Chungder should be proud of. Hopefully, the Taiwan Community Curriculum, from which the workshop was culled, will act as a catalyst for such resurgence in addition to motivating the students to further practice English, a language that could be useful in their future. 

     My experience at Chungder was remarkable to feel the excitement and motivation the children had towards learning English. With great teachers, such as those who wished to enrichment their students by reaching out to the textbook publisher, English can become a living language, even in rural Taiwan, and not just a subject for examinations.