Liberty Times (LT): How are students at your school — regarded as an elite institution, both in terms of the academic performances of students and their subsequent dominance at the nation’s most prestigious universities — involved in the debate over the government’s adjustments to the high-school curriculum? What issues are you concerned with and to what extent are you working with protesters from other schools?
Ho Wei-tzu (何蔚慈): I was not actively involved in the Sunflower movement last year, but remained on the sidelines, as our students did not have a unified position on the cross-strait trade in services agreement, which requires an understanding of economics and Taiwan-China ties.
However, the “black-box” changes to the curriculum are set to impact all high-school students personally.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The most unacceptable thing to most high-school students is the manner in which the adjustments to the curriculum where made; the process was manipulated by a small number of academics without professional expertise, and there was no consultation with high-school teachers.
The adjustments were made to indoctrinate students with nationalist dogma and a China-centric view of history, and it seems that high-school students and schools are being forced to take sides over issues as significant as independence or unification with China — which is unreasonable.
Some adjustments — such as the reduction in the syllabus of Taiwanese literature and its replacement with classical Chinese literature, the increase in weight given to Chinese history, the removal of multiculturalism and the accent on Chinese culture are an unnecessary burden on students that has little connection with their daily lives.
Although classical Chinese literature is important, its representation on the new curriculum is disproportionate, as classical Chinese is no longer used in everyday life.
The new China-centric history curriculum is an oversimplification of the nation’s history, which leaves out the influence of the Japanese colonial period and earlier histories, which does Taiwanese students a disservice.
The government has foisted this biased curriculum on students via an opaque procedure.
The student groups protest the way the government brought about these changes vehemently, and demand the curricula adjustments be revoked.
Future curricula must be formed in accordance with the principles of pluralism, and consistency, and the curriculum development process must be open, transparent and independent.
The curriculum committee should be an independent and autonomous agency so as to avoid the interference of political parties and prejudices.
LT: Have students at your school faced obstructions to staging anti-curriculum protests?
Ho: We have studied civic education for years, and this campaign is an opportunity to experience and practice what we have learned in class.
Despite the outcome, the campaign gave high-school students a chance to exercise their citizenship and learn how to protect their own basic right to an education free of political manipulation.
This campaign is a test of academic freedom in high schools, as well as an examination of what teachers mean when they talk of education.
The inter-school campaign allowed me to see how open the academic body of National Taichung First Senior High School was toward student participation in public issues.
Students at that school did not have to campaign behind closed doors, and they held a public forum on the campus to allow students to openly express themselves.
The Taichung high school principal even supported students discussing the public affairs that they had learned in class.
This was why the National Taichung First Senior High School student association fired the first shot in the anti-curriculum campaign by organizing a protest by students at the school’s 100th anniversary ceremony last month.
However, teachers and officials at most high schools, even those at our school, still have a relatively conservative attitude, selecting textbooks according to convention and believing that the most important thing for students is to learn by rote.
The ministry ordered high schools to “maintain safety and stability on campus.” Our school respects the students’ right to debates on the curriculum, but has misgivings about these being made public in media reports.
Students in the anti-curriculum campaign are often challenged by those with a conservative mindset, and students must fight to ensure their demands are heard.
Students have to express their points of view articulately in order to win the respect of their teachers and other adults in authority.
I believe that the campaign will bring about changes at high schools.
Such black-box decisions cannot remain hidden in the Internet era; adults in power — of any political affiliation — should not assume that high-school students can be easily controlled or are prepared to accept without question what they are taught.
Translated by staff writer Chen Wei-han
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS