American School in Taichung (AST): Excellence, Integrity, and Responsibility:
Date: April 11th, 2018
Taichung American School (AST) prepares their students to choose their path and to lead lives of multicultural, rapidly changing, and sustainable consequence. Students often feel like they are “invisible” at large schools with big classes. Sometimes, smaller truly is better. As a small school, AST is able to cultivate a shared sense of belongingness to their community that further enriches the environment for learning. Their American-based educational program is mainly focused on fostering self-directed learning and development and also, achievement. Through their academic program, the values of responsibility and self-discipline are strongly instilled in their students. They also serve as a bridge to connect the best American colleges and universities, and also colleges around the world to help their students to create a better future.
Director Anthony Keen:
“If you are not passionate about it [your job], don’t bother.” This quote truly captured Director Keen’s passion for the education industry.
It was interesting to discover Director Keen’s career vision was really different from where he is now. When he was in college, his goal was to be a Software Engineer and he achieved that. But, he was not happy. Once he got into the education industry, he knew that he wanted to make a difference. “I really want to change the education world. I still have that goal", he said. Under Director Keen’s leadership, sustainability and community engagement have become core parts of AST’s culture.
Interview:
One powerful theme that emerged from our interview on April 11th, 2018 was the role of education in the 21st century. Below is an edited transcript of our conversation:
Why did you choose education as a profession?
Because I want to change it. I really love teaching. I love working with young people. They have that spark of curiosity. They have the ability to become passionate and the willingness for change. That part is just like a passion that I took for granted. But, the other part is just that I want education to change. I want to look very different and refocus on what’s important. Like I said, we are in the age that knowledge is everywhere and if you want to know how to do something -- the skills --, those pieces, they probably have a video for it.
What is the essential value of education in the 21st century?
The value of a current situation in the education system is bringing people together to have discussion or conversation and sharing it. It’s not the same as sitting around the room and seeing each other’s faces and reading emotions and seeing those little smiles and all that. The value comes from working together. Everyone has to work with people to accomplish anything. And so, the value of working together, coming together and learning to work together is huge.
I think when you look at the world where Youtube and Wikipedia exist, you have to really challenge the classic classroom experience. This is a better experience --The SAGE Project--. We are sitting around and having a conversation and debating it, there’s a value there. There’s a reason for us to come together. The lecture doesn’t give you that. I think technology has greatly impacted the education world and the education world has to change. That’s where we are now.
What are the factors that influence critical thinking development?
I do think we have really done a lot in developing critical thinking skills and logic skills. I think the education world has done a lot, our school has done a lot. I think that at some level, we are handcuffed by two very bizarre things: one is colleges, where a piece of a system and colleges are still saying, “Well, you can come to our school if you can pass this test”. It demonstrates you can have these skills but that you don’t need them. The other side is parents’ perception. There’s a lot to with “I learned it when I was a kid, so you are going to learn it as well”. Like I was bitten, and you are going to be bitten as well. At some point, when will we stop the circle of torture? And so, what’s the point?
Do you think cross-cultural studies are beneficial for students?
It’s huge. We have done some of that in our school. For example, one of our teachers here started an organization called “Know my world” --a class that collaborated with Mexico’s students which working on the subject of Math--. Cultural clashes are very real. So, if we integrate more cultural experiences into the education system, students are more prepared for that kind of transition.
Can American schools adopt education practices from Taiwan?
The grass is always greener on the other side. America is trying to be like Taiwan, and Taiwan is trying to be like America. There’s always this kind of war between nations. It started going back to what people mean to learn. Over there (America) is looking at critical thinking, problem solving and communication. Those are important. So, on a larger scale, America focuses on those things, Taiwan is not focused on this core that much. What happened was that somebody created an international test and Taiwan’s score was doing well in Math. In America, our score was very low. So, they asked the government (not educators) try to change the policy, where they thought there’s a need to increase the scores on Math. It’s their perception. It’s the different focus. We are trying to teach critical thinking, and giving people multiplication tests, so it doesn’t make any sense. I think Taiwan is starting to say “Wow, we need to do critical thinking”. I do think Taiwan is lacking of critical thinking development now and English too.
Our Reflection:
The SAGE Team was amazed by Director Keen’s ability to not only prepare students to be effective learners, moral and ethical citizens, and life-long learners but also to help them understand the importance of sustainability, discernment, and ability to dynamically impact the world. To nurture the knowledge of sustainability, Taiwan must contribute to transforming its education system as well. Why? Education is a key factor to bring about the necessary awareness and understanding to meet sustainability challenges. So, we look forward to experiencing the new culture towards sustainability through education.
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