East VS. West: The force-fed Taiwanese educational system vs. the free Canadian one “Ouch! … 8… 9… Ouch!” an Asian student bawls as he receives 10 strikes for his failure of only achieving 90% for Math.
Across the Pacific, a classroom full of laughter as the teacher announces that everyone has done a good job on his test: a B for everyone. What a contrast for the same age students! The Taiwanese educational system is cruel; the Canadian one, humane. The Taiwanese educational system and the Canadian one differ in what the teachers teach, how the teachers teach, school restrictions and how much the parents need to pay for tuition. The Taiwanese educational system is dull. The school board assigns everything. A standard timetable with the courses chosen by the officials is given to every student.
In the other words, students don’t have the privileges to choose the courses they want. There are 7 classes per day from 7: 00 AM to 5: 00 PM, including a cleaning session at the beginning of the day for the tidiness of classrooms and washrooms, and a noon break. Students have to learn various subjects but with a heavy emphasis on Math-related courses. This oppresses students whose specialty isn’t Math. The electives, such as Art, P. E, and Music, are temporarily suspended if examinations are near.
Time will be used to teach Math-related courses. The materials of the subjects are purely theoretical without any real-life practices. Therefore, students in Taiwan are mono-task, robot-like machines that don’t know how to apply the knowledge into everyday living. In contrast, the Canadian educational system provides courses for students with different potentials and interests. The students are allowed to choose electives that are interesting to them whereas in Taiwan, the students are not allowed. Photography, Woodwork, Cooking, Arts, or even Computer are among many electives people can choose from.
The school day is rather short in Canada, from 8: 00 AM to 2: 30 PM. Students are encouraged to apply what they learn from the courses into the real life through many individual and team projects. Also, the Canadian educational system provides courses that will help students to write their r’esum ” es, and to find their working experiences. Even though some Canadian students may have a hard time in mathematical calculations, their application solving abilities and analysis of problems are usually better than Taiwanese students. Teachers in Taiwan teach effectively but cruelly.
Their teaching is effective because they are cruel to students; they are cruel to students because they want the teaching to be effective. In general, verbal and physical abuse is used. Teachers are like Stalin in the classrooms, annihilating students with their batons. If the student does not meet the standard that is set by the teacher or does not complete the assigned homework, the teacher will strike him on the hands with a stick or smack him in the face. As inhumane as it may sound, it does improve the grades of students.
Teachers only browse through subjects in a serious cramming educational schedule of junior high; the students need to catch up on their own. Quite differently, Canadian teachers present the lecture with a lot of aids and kindness. English teachers will exhibit some films when teaching Shakespeare’s plays, Physics teachers will bring the whole class to the P. N.
E. to ride the roller coaster when teaching the effect of gravity, Chemistry teachers will demonstrate how HCL will corrode the clothes when teaching Organic Chemistry, and Geography teachers will take the whole class on a field trip to the Rockies when teaching the measurement of the age of rocks. Even though some students in Canada may not learn as much as students in Taiwan in a short period of time, Canadian students obtain much more practical experiences. Unlike Taiwan, verbal or physical abuse is strongly prohibited in Canada. Teachers could get expelled from the institutions. The Taiwanese educational system has more restrictions than Canadian one.
Students need to follow many rules: students need to have a certain hairstyle, uniform and backpack, and students should retain respectful manners toward teachers: address teachers as Mr. Teacher or Miss Teacher (addressing teachers with their last names is disrespectful and often punishable).
Students can’t go to video game stores nor play pool after the school is dismissed, because some teachers will patrol area around the schools. If students got caught in the restricted stores, the teachers would throw them out, and punish them. However, the Canadian one is freer in this issue. Students can dress however they prefer, have whatever hairstyles they want, and go wherever they want after school.
Furthermore, students in Taiwan need to take annual examinations if they wish to attend high schools or universities. No grades from junior high will count toward your enrollment-GPA to the high school except the grade of that exam. Unlike Taiwan, Canadian students don’t have to apply for high school, and even when applying to universities, participation marks through courses will count largely. Tuition charge is different between the Taiwanese educational system and the Canadian one. In Canada, education is basically free to all people till post-secondary education. The parents only have to pay very little for some electives.
Unfairly, parents in Taiwan, on the other hand, need to pay a lot more for the course fee even though the education is so-called free. Absurdly, Taiwanese parents also have to pay for the textbooks. Sadly, if the children are mentally or physically challenged, the parents need to pay more for the education because they need special care, whereas in Canada, those payments are not necessary. Both educational systems have advantages and disadvantages.
The overwhelming advantage that Taiwanese students have in the math-related fields compares to the artistic creativities and eloquence of Canadian, competing in a never-ending battle of which is the better method for education. For me, who has been through both educational systems, I think the Canadian educational system, like the peaceful heaven, is better for students who know what they want or have special talents; the Taiwanese system, like the torturing hell, is better for students who need discipline and nagging for their study.