Each year on the eve of the Teachers’ Day holiday, administrative teachers in the academic affairs office are extremely busy preparing celebratory activities. However, when it comes to making Teachers’ Day cards, only a handful of students write long and meaningful messages to their teachers. Most students simply go through the motions, writing a crooked “Happy Teachers’ Day” atop the card as if it is some kind of punishment.
Teachers need a friendly working environment. With a shortage of teachers throughout the nation, unreasonable hourly rates and working conditions chase substitute teachers away, making full-time teachers work overtime teaching classes for which they lack expertise.
Those at the top do not address the root of the problem — they just require that all schools have teaching positions filled before the start of the school year.
To fulfill students’ right to receive education, teacher recruitment has devolved into a system prioritizing quantity over quality — practically anyone with a college degree, regardless of their field of study, is guaranteed a position.
What teachers do not need are ineffective meetings and workshops. Workshops that teachers are forced to attend and meetings to discuss unnecessary topics are what I define as “ineffective.”
Last week, I received a notice for a workshop stating that schools with more than 40 percent of students needing exam score improvement must send representatives to participate.
Compare a teacher who has managed to lower the number of students whose scores need improvement from 60 percent to 40 percent with a teacher who increased that same metric from under 20 percent to 30 percent — it is obvious at a glance who the better teacher is. However, those at the top only see plain numbers, leaving grassroots level teachers bitterly disappointed.
Since the start of the semester, there have already been scores of ineffective meetings, with items dryly read line by line. Teachers are responsible for signing in and serving as a backdrop for photographs. Those who arrive at meetings on time must sit and wait for latecomers, much like how the dishes at a wedding banquet are never served on time.
What teachers need are adjustments to tutoring fees, special education bonuses and hourly rates. What they do not need are obligatory Teachers’ Day activities — you would ultimately find they do not make teachers any happier.
Lin Cheng-wu is a junior-high school teacher.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
Taiwan aims to elevate its strategic position in supply chains by becoming an artificial intelligence (AI) hub for Nvidia Corp, providing everything from advanced chips and components to servers, in an attempt to edge out its closest rival in the region, South Korea. Taiwan’s importance in the AI ecosystem was clearly reflected in three major announcements Nvidia made during this year’s Computex trade show in Taipei. First, the US company’s number of partners in Taiwan would surge to 122 this year, from 34 last year, according to a slide shown during CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech on Monday last week.
When China passed its “Anti-Secession” Law in 2005, much of the democratic world saw it as yet another sign of Beijing’s authoritarianism, its contempt for international law and its aggressive posture toward Taiwan. Rightly so — on the surface. However, this move, often dismissed as a uniquely Chinese form of legal intimidation, echoes a legal and historical precedent rooted not in authoritarian tradition, but in US constitutional history. The Chinese “Anti-Secession” Law, a domestic statute threatening the use of force should Taiwan formally declare independence, is widely interpreted as an emblem of the Chinese Communist Party’s disregard for international norms. Critics
Birth, aging, illness and death are inevitable parts of the human experience. Yet, living well does not necessarily mean dying well. For those who have a chronic illness or cancer, or are bedridden due to significant injuries or disabilities, the remainder of life can be a torment for themselves and a hardship for their caregivers. Even if they wish to end their life with dignity, they are not allowed to do so. Bih Liu-ing (畢柳鶯), former superintendent of Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, introduced the practice of Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking as an alternative to assisted dying, which remains
President William Lai (賴清德) has rightly identified the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a hostile force; and yet, Taiwan’s response to domestic figures amplifying CCP propaganda remains largely insufficient. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) recently confirmed that more than 20 Taiwanese entertainers, including high-profile figures such as Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), are under investigation for reposting comments and images supporting People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills and parroting Beijing’s unification messaging. If found in contravention of the law, they may be fined between NT$100,000 and NT$500,000. That is not a deterrent. It is a symbolic tax on betrayal — perhaps even a way for
RSS