Recognizing good teachers
Reading your article about Yang Hsiao-wei (楊筱薇) was a delight, but it also left me with a sour taste in the mouth (“New York Times to honor Taiwan-born ESOL teacher,” March 6, page 2).
Having worked here for more than seven years, I have met my fair share of really good and really poor teachers. What I don’t understand is why a school would pay an unqualified foreigner more than a qualified local teacher. Yang is living proof that there are some very competent Taiwanese teachers of English that can teach effectively, but they leave because they get paid so poorly.
The “magic shortcuts” she mentions are actually standard methods of learning and teaching vocabulary. Someone who has completed a proper TESOL qualification would not only be aware of these methods but actually be using them. These methods are not taught in normal bachelor’s degree courses because they do not focus on teaching.
Bringing the language to life, using it to communicate and creating some form of excitement are common methods of student motivation, and they aid in language learning. I don’t understand why there aren’t more teachers applying these methods.
It is about time that a good Taiwanese English teacher gets recognized, but it is just a pity that it was done in another country. Well done, Yang Hsiao-wei.
GERHARD ERASMUS
Yonghe City
Alternative to death penalty
We emphathize with families who have suffered great pain resulting from the murder of a loved one. Thus, it is not difficult to understand why many Taiwanese believe strongly in the justice of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” and argue that a life forcefully taken away deserves an equal sacrifice by the murderer(s).
It goes without saying that life is precious, and every killing (even an official execution) deserves society’s condemnation. In light of this, I have two questions for Taiwanese society: Will taking away another life truly heal wounds? More importantly, will taking away another life bring back the deceased?
I detect two blind spots in the argument that executions serve as a deterrent to crime.
First, after a criminal has been executed, deterrence no longer applies to him. On the other hand, if he were kept in solitary confinement for life, he would not be able to harm society anymore; thus life imprisonment would be a better deterrent.
Second, to suggest that executions will prevent others from committing murder is naive and misleading. Executions will instill fear in many but not all. Laws familiar to us simply remind us of the price we must pay for our crimes. No law or official action can eliminate crime forever because these social misbehaviors find their origin in our genes.
Life imprisonment, in essence, allows criminals to spend the rest of their lives in solitude ruminating on their actions. Life imprisonment is a humane approach to serving justice without unnecessarily shortening another human life; it is an alternative to capital punishment.
MICHAEL TSAI
Tainan
Treating animals with care
Every year hundreds of dogs are found roaming the streets, homeless, abused and killed. This tragedy has been going on for a long time, but people are just slowly discovering the truth.
Reading your feature about strays, I was surprised to learn that permanent shelters for strays in the country are overcrowded (“Strays find no shelter in Taiwan: activists,” Feb. 14, page 2).
The latest statistics showed that about 133,000 stray dogs were picked up across the country in 2008. The dogs were caught by garbage cleaning teams and many were subjected to unfair treatment. People have argued over whether it was better to humanely kill them or leave them in temporary shelters that are dark, dirty and crowded.
In my opinion, pet owners should be taught to bear more responsibility for their pets. No matter how much their pets change, owners must love them as they love their own family. Authorities should also teach the public the importance of caring for animals as pets.
STEVEN CHANG
Taipei
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