To “set things right” for his close friend, a New Taipei City junior-high school student last month stabbed a classmate to death with a knife. Generally, children with violent tendencies show signs in the latter grades of elementary school. Those indicators could include a relatively low motivation to learn and poor academic achievement, and the student could feel like an “outsider” in the classroom.
It would be even more difficult for them to keep up with classmates in junior-high school. They would hardly benefit from the learning process. Worse, they might not receive a fundamental education in morality, intellect, physical training, community and aesthetics.
If families and schools are unable to keep an eye on such students, they might follow the path of violence, drugs and crime. At that point, neither their parents nor their teachers could correct their behavior. Eventually, the students would make some serious mistakes.
Child care in schools and communities should be available as early as elementary school to prevent dangerous or criminal behavior in adolescence.
For example, the community co-learning center I work for creates a child-friendly space to cater to young students in need from the elementary-school stage onward. In this space, education is different from a school’s emphasis on academic performance, so that children can realize their strengths and potential, establish confidence in learning and self-awareness, and try to find their own goals in life. In doing so, they would be able to further develop when they enter junior and senior-high school.
It is important to start the program from the elementary-school level, given that children establish intimate relationships at that stage, and those ties are often closer than those created in adolescence. With some intimate relationships established earlier, troubled teenagers could be guided and supported by “good adults” in their communities.
For many reasons, some families and parents cannot play their roles effectively, and such families and parents are unlikely to be reached by the government’s “family education” programs.
The co-learning center for children and young adults has developed activities such as “real-life storytelling” and “mom-dad lecturers.” By sharing real-life stories, so-called disadvantaged families and parents can share their experiences with their children and children in the community. In doing so, they can feel heard and understood.
The center also invites parents and primary caregivers to serve as lecturers, helping other parents and children learn about the importance of family education.
News reports said that the family of the New Taipei City student who killed his classmate have a background in “temple” business, which is often associated with gangs. Nevertheless, children raised in such families can become literary and historical workers who celebrate temple culture.
Additionally, single parents are not necessarily disadvantaged in raising children. Many children from single-parent households are hidden gems. When parents are willing to connect with the community, they can be seen and supported. Not only could their children be cared for, but the whole family could have a chance to turn around their situation.
To empower children, more attention should be paid to the insufficient cultural and leisure activities, and development space. Bring together school education, family education, social work, student counseling and community development for further collaboration. This would create more approaches and spaces to engage with young Taiwanese, so that they can be supported in this time of constant change.
Teng Ming-hung is a lecturer at Yilan Community University.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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