Reported by Lu Mei-Huei / County Government
The Schweitzer Program has been successfully implemented in all the elementary schools in Kinmen County. Yesterday the representatives of the Ministry of Education (MOE) and National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) visited and conducted a panel discussion with teacher education students at Gucheng Elementary School. All the elementary school principals expressed their wish to continue implementing the Schweitzer Program in order to bring new stimuli and ideas to the current educational environment and approaches in Kinmen.
Yesterday the MOE and NTHU organized a visit to teacher education students for the Schweitzer Program at Gucheng Elementary School. The MOE representatives, including Cheng Yuan-Chuan, Director-General of the Department of Teacher and Art Education; Chen Su-Yan, Executive Secretary of the Congressional Liaison Unit and Inspector; and Wang Yu-Jun, the person in charge from the Department of Teacher and Art Education, as well as Chen Sinn-Wen, NTHU Vice President, Prof. Liu Hsien-Hsiang, Prof. Tseng Wen-Chien, and Huang Huei-Shan from the Center for Teacher Education participated in the event together with Director Lee Chin-Cheng and Manager Huo Ding-Wun from the Kinmen Education Center. The elementary school principals and teacher education coordinators also shared their experience in implementing the Schweitzer Program during the panel discussion.
NTHU Vice President Chen Sinn-Wen expressed his gratitude to the principals for providing an excellent environment and making the program possible. He also gave his thanks to Director-General Cheng and the two professors who helped promote the program. He commended on the academic culture in Kinmen, and pointed out the connections between NTHU and Kinmen. For example, Huang Yi-Long, a member of Academia Sinica, came from Kinmen. NTHU has also had frequent exchanges with Kinmen Senior High School and National Quemoy University, the latter being its academic partner. Now that the Center for Continuing Education, the Intercollegiate PhD Program, and early childhood and elementary education programs have been established (and secondary education programs are likely to be organized in the future), Vice President Chen expected more opportunities to come in terms of cooperation and exchange with academic institutions in Kinmen.
Cheng Yuan-Chuan, Director-General of the Department of Teacher and Art Education, stated that the MOE would like to see theory connected with practice during the teacher training process and that teacher education students develop the attitude and qualifies of a teacher. He thanked the school administration for providing assistance for teacher education students during the implementation of the program, which in turn helped them examine themselves and gain experience. Director-General Cheng also mentioned their plan to organize seminars in the future so that schools can learn from each other and exchange ideas. Finally, he thanked everyone for their efforts to make the subsidies from the MOE worth more.
All the principals then took turns explaining how the Schweitzer Program has been implemented. Yang Cheng-Ye, Principal of Gucheng Elementary School, stated that the Schweitzer Program could create a win-win situation. On the part of universities, teacher education students were offered an opportunity to apply their knowledge to classrooms and to examine and modify how they apply their knowledge. Their enthusiasm and passion for education might also grow. On the part of elementary schools, children could diversify their learning, which may reduce the divide between urban and rural areas. Therefore, he hoped the program will continue in the future. He also suggested to include strategies or methods to help underachieving students so that children with low academic achievements may also receive care or intervention, and the effects of the program will be enhanced.
Yang Su-Jian, Principal of Sianan Elementary School, said that there are a number of students with special needs in his school. He would like teacher education students to learn how to deal with students with special needs and the opportunity to continue participating in the program in the future.
The elementary education coordinator of Gucheng Elementary School pointed out what makes the Schweitzer Program different from general academic guidance programs is that the Schweitzer Program lasts longer with a more complete curriculum and allows adjustments in the curriculum according to children’s needs. Moreover, the Schweitzer Program can improve students’ professional knowledge and allows diversity to flourish. The coordinator of Sianan Elementary School also stated that the three-week Schweitzer Program is different from general winter session programs because teachers could see how children made progress and grew, which is both an overwhelming and a touching experience. Since there were children with autism in the program, the members proactively sought suggestions or relevant solutions from their friends majoring in special education or special education teachers, and the process was really touching.
The early childhood education coordinator of Gucheng Elementary School said that participating in the program enabled him to really put into practice what he has learned and do what he has wanted to do. He extended his gratitude to his teachers and the school administration for their support and assistance. The coordinator of Sianan Elementary School added that through the program, they could not only share different experiences and teaching methods, but also witness how children transformed from being timid and reserved to becoming lively and outgoing because the program lasted a longer period of time. The children’s eyes would even sparkle when their motivation to learn increased. It was a very pleasant journey.
The coordinator of Sikou Elementary School stated that she wrote almost thirty lesson plans before joining the program. She then selected some of them for revision based on the comments and suggestions given by her teachers and seniors and prepared a lot of materials. She found that the school administration provided abundant support after joining the program. The principal was very thoughtful, and the director would introduce every parent and pick up and drop off the students with them. She was very moved, and she would like to thank her classmates for their efforts and the school administration for its assistance. The coordinator of Guning Elementary School said that it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to engage in teaching so that they could review their shortcomings and face challenges. The teachers gave them complete freedom and allowed them to brainstorm ideas, try to bring out their potential, and come up with better solutions. The coordinator also thanked the school administration for providing the equipment and caring about their needs every now and then, the students for being lively and considerate, the partners for their persistence, and the teacher team for their support. Most important of all, the teachers provided directions and insights when teacher education students did something wrong or failed, and allowed them to learn by doing and while doing. What matters is not what they bring to children but what they have learned during the process.
Lastly, Chen Su-Yan, Executive Secretary of the Congressional Liaison Unit and Inspector, provided a brief explanation on the MOE’s core philosophy and future development of teacher education. She also hoped that the Schweitzer Program will continue to be implemented so that the positive rationale of teacher education will remain valid. The panel discussion then came to a perfect end.