I felt both happy and sad to hear that the Ministry of Education is setting up a "life education committee" (
員會), and naming this year "Life Education Year." I am glad that the social focus of educational reform is gradually extending from structural issues toward concerns for the value of life. This is indeed a very inspiring change. A variety of problems that have drawn Taiwanese society into a pandemonium are, undoubtedly, rooted in the confusion or distortion of life values.
The promotion of "life education" implies that we no longer spend time complaining about the deterioration of education or criticizing the evil minds of modern man. Instead, we begin to seriously consider what kind of education Taiwan needs in order to cultivate a generation of youngsters with depth and "wide-ranging views."
We must roll up our sleeves and begin to work, so that our vision may come true as soon as possible. There are no shortcuts to making this dream come true. It is fortunate, however, that we have already launched our first step.
What is worrisome is the fact that it takes time, sometimes centuries, before the fruits of education may be harvested. Only if we keep up our efforts can we accomplish our goal. But are we ready for the task now? Furthermore, does our first step bring us closer to our goal? And what, indeed, is the purpose of "life education?"
If we fail to get clear answers to these questions, "life educa-tion" will turn into empty words. Even if we are able to find the answers, we may not be able to move ahead because there may be obstacles that prevent us from continuing in the right direction. If that is the case, the "Life Education Year" is likely to pass quietly after some short-lived sparks.
I don't mean to dampen people's spirits. On the contrary, I say this because education is like planting trees for the benefit of future generations. Those who planted the tree won't be able to enjoy the shade of the tree and must possess wisdom and passion based on "foresight." Only then can an educator gather strength from his vision and persevere before seeing any result.
If educators come up with only short-sighted ideas and the government officials in charge of educational affairs only worry about elections and votes, education in Taiwan is bound to be managed like a short-lived and speculative venture.
Ironically, education should be regarded as a "sustainable" career. This probably is the most dreadful problem facing Taiwan now. I maintain that anyone dedicated to the implementation of educational reforms must iden-tify the obstacles. They do not have the right to worry and feel discouraged.
I recommend readers interested in grasping the spirit of "life education" to visit the Web site http://life.ascc.net for easy reference. Several viewpoints from the Web site which I consider to significant are:
First, life education is not a just a momentary, festive event, but an ideal that should be incorporated into our educational systems. What's more, it should be treated as one of the values inherent in education, and a spirit to be realized in the school environment.
Second, how can we confirm the goals and essence of "life education?" Today's Taiwanese society, is a place where focus is placed on the diversification of values. On the other hand, all residents in Taiwan are still destined to experience sadness and joy, departure and reunion, life and aging, illness and death.
Accordingly, the goals and substance of life education should be both diversified and generalized, as well as all-encompassing and in-depth. The advocates of "life education" must not depart from the essence of human existence and the essence of education in their analyses. How do our current utilitarian and technocratic educational systems alienate the next generation? How could we right such wrongs through ideals about life? And how could we bring up a generation that will live with dignity and humanity?
Third, in order to achieve the above-mentioned ideals, we are compelled to grapple with issues from various perspectives. Therefore we must aim to rally people from all walks of life in a bid to have a more striking impact on education. Since Rome was not built in a day we should constantly broaden our points of view while being cautious about taking each step on the way to hit the bull's-eye of "life education."
I hope that the "life education" year will be like a story that never ends, and a point of departure for both thought and action.
Sun Hsiao-chih is an associate professor of philosophy at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Gatian Wang
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