A bevy of alternative schools in Taiwan take novel approaches to learning.

The News Lens
Date: 2018/12/07
By: Kathy Chen, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

Credit: Depositphotos

Lunchtime is approaching and 18-year-old Tsai Jia-hao and his classmates are cooking seafood noodles in the sleek, open kitchen. Jia-hao expertly tosses the pasta in the pan, while other students chop cabbage and carrots for stir-fry. Their teacher looks on, finishing off the noodles with a sprinkle of Thai basil.

Jia-hao, a lanky kid in T-shirt and baseball cap, slides the noodles into a serving bowl, and his classmates gather around to serve themselves. “I love to cook,” he says.

It’s all in a day’s classes at Taiwan’s Xue Xue Institute. Xue Xue isn’t a culinary institution, though, but rather an experimental school where teachers use cooking as a way to help students get in touch with their senses. It is also one of several dozen alternative schools that have opened on the island in recent years, as educators and parents seek to engage the younger generation in learning that will prepare them for the 21st century workplace.

Although Taiwan’s first alternative school was set up in 1990, the government didn’t codify its policy on experimental and home schools until 2014 when the Enforcement Act for School-based Experimental Education and two related laws were passed. An amendment last year paved the way for experimental education initiatives to be expanded from K-12 to include higher education.    [FULL  STORY]

The News Lens
Date: 2017/07/10
By: Central News Agency

The 13-year-old wants to devote himself to the research of rare diseases.

Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像

A Taipei high school student was recently accepted to two prestigious U.S. universities: New York University and University of California, Santa Cruz.

At the age of 13, Chiang Ching-liang (江璟亮), a student of Taipei Municipal Ming Sheng High School, has become the youngest to be admitted by NYU and sets the record of being the first Taiwan-educated junior high student to have been accepted to top-notch universities.

Chiang, who has decided to choose NYU, said that when he received the admission notification, he was elated with “grateful feelings beyond description.”

He thanked NYU for admitting him despite his young age, and said that others can realize their dreams as long as they don’t give up.    [FULL  STORY]

More and more students are dropping out of Taiwan’s most prestigious colleges to follow their passions — and it may not be the worst financial decision they make.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/06/22
By: Rosemary Chen

“Growing up in Taiwan, it’s hard to find our fields of interest before entering college because we are bombarded with exams and grades in high school and middle school,” said Jing Yien-liang (金彥良), 20.

Two years ago, Jing dropped out of college midway through a degree in statistics at National Chengchi University (NCCU, 國立政治大學). He left because it was difficult to juggle the numerous graphic design projects he was working on and maintain a good academic record.

Jing is a self-taught freelance designer. But while he has left university, he hasn’t stopped learning.

He has hosted many design workshops, been contracted to design sales kits and launched an online graphic design course — the course has already had close to 2,000 purchases at NT$1,500 (US$50) each, roughly 10 times more than the average salary for college graduates.    [FULL STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 21, 2017
By: Tammy Liu

TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Mr. Hsieh Ching-yun Culture and Education Foundation (謝清雲先生文教基金會)

Second Credit Cooperative of Keelung Founding Chairman Hsieh Hsiu-ping, front row center, Second Credit Cooperative of Keelung CEO George Hsieh Guo-liang, third left, Keelung Mayor Lin You-chang, fourth right, and Mr. Hsieh Ching-yun Culture and Education Foundation President Li Bor-yuan, right, pose for a photo at the ceremony in Keelung on Friday, Jan. 20.(Tammy Liu, The China Post)

held its 58th Scholarship Awards Ceremony on Friday.

The event was held alongside the 40th anniversary celebration of the Second Credit Cooperative of Keelung (基隆二信合作社).

Second Credit Cooperative of Keelung Founding Chairman Hsieh Hsiu-ping (謝修平), CEO George Hsieh Guo-liang (謝國樑) and Mr. Hsieh Ching-yun Culture and Education Foundation President Li Bor-yuan(李伯元) invited local celebrities to attend the event. George Hsieh is also the chairman and publisher of The China Post.

Hsieh Ching-yun, father of Second Credit Cooperative Founding Chairman Hsieh Hsiu-ping and grandfather of CEO George Hsieh, devoted himself to aiding poor students throughout his life. In 1976, the foundation was established by Hsieh Hsiu-ping to continue his father’s wishes for social responsibility.

According to the foundation president, the foundation has given more than NT$20 million in scholarship grants to over 2,000 students in need.    [FULL  STORY]

The China Post
Date: January 7, 2017
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s teachers have threatened to go on a de facto strike next week to protest the

Taiwan’s teachers have threatened to go on a de facto strike next week to protest the government’s pension reform plan that promises to delay their retirement.

government’s pension reform plan that promises to delay their retirement.

Leaders of the National Federation of Teachers Unions on Friday called on its members to “collectively” take a leave of absence on Monday. Taiwan’s teachers are forbidden by law to go on a strike.

The NFTU leaders said they expected 100,000 teachers nationwide to respond to their call to action, which will also include flooding President Tsai Ing-wen’s Facebook page with messages and organizing demonstrations at local government offices.

The pension reform is seeking to delay teachers’ retirement age to 60. The current system allows most of them to retire in their early 50s.    [FULL  STORY]