Blossoming Ties: Taiwan’s Educators Bridge the Strait with Seeds of Knowledge
Taiwan’s “Gardeners” Cross the Strait to Sow the Flowers of Cross-Strait Education
Walking into the Kangqiao School Kindergarten in Hefei Xinzhan High-tech Zone, the names of the Goldfish Class, Penguin Class, and Hummingbird Class come into view, and the corridors are covered with children’s paintings and handicrafts. Here, the head teacher Chen Xiuyan from Taiwan is leading her team of teachers to create a campus environment full of humanistic care.
Chen Xiuyan’s vision is to enable children to develop comprehensively in terms of bilingual ability, physical training, and cultural heritage. Since her arrival in Hefei in 2018, the kindergarten has grown from 133 students to 23 classes and 543 children, witnessing the integration and innovation of cross-strait educational concepts.
In this kindergarten, children performed “Journey to the West” in English. Chen Xiuyan lets children understand the history and culture of the Chinese nation through various theme activities. She often lets children experience the life of ancient poets through role-playing, learn intangible cultural heritage skills such as Peking Opera and martial arts, and feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture.
At Kangqiao Kindergarten, swimming is not just a sport, but an indispensable part of children’s growth. The kindergarten has developed a detailed swimming teaching plan for each child, dividing swimming skills into nine levels. The swimming course allows children to experience the joy of sports and grow in challenging themselves.
Not far away, in Kangqiao Primary School, Principal Qiu Xianglan, who is also from Taiwan, is busy in her office. In addition to daily work arrangements, the blackboard is covered with many children’s drawings. Through the tender brushstrokes, one can feel the close relationship between teachers and students. Qiu Xianglan has 30 years of experience in education and did not choose a comfortable retirement life after retiring in Taiwan, but came to Hefei to continue her dream of education.
Qiu Xianglan implemented a series of special courses, such as swimming, mountain climbing, study tours, etc. She took the children to the Yangtze River to look for finless porpoises. She believes that these activities can cultivate children’s team spirit and spirit of exploration. Education is not just book knowledge, but also the cultivation of life skills and attitudes towards life.
Qiu Xianglan’s educational philosophy is to value and care for every child. When you care for children, you won’t feel tired. Her educational sentiment is also reflected in her training of the teaching team. She often organizes exchanges and training for teachers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to improve the professional quality of teachers. Teachers are the soul of education. Only by constantly improving themselves can we better educate students.
Both Taiwanese teachers attach great importance to the inheritance of Chinese culture. Chen Xiuyan introduced that since 2021, the kindergarten holds theme activities every year, such as “Chinese National Expo” and “Greater China Cultural Feast”, so that children can have a deep understanding of Chinese traditional culture. Qiu Xianglan said that the school also has a variety of clubs such as tea art club, orchestra, choir, etc. to enrich students’ cultural life.
Chen Xiuyan and Qiu Xianglan are the epitome of cross-strait educational exchanges. They combine Taiwan’s educational philosophy with mainland China’s educational practice. Education on both sides of the strait has its own characteristics. We can learn from each other and make progress together. So far, there are more than 100 Taiwanese children and more than 10 Taiwanese teachers in Kangqiao School in Hefei Xinzhan High-tech Zone.
According to statistics from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Anhui Provincial People’s Government, as of now, Anhui has a total of 19 Taiwan-related parks, including cross-strait youth entrepreneurship bases and Taiwan Industrial Parks, with more than 3,000 Taiwanese businessmen and young people starting businesses and working in Anhui.
Source: China News Service
Editor-in-charge: Yao Sihan