78-08-B8

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Education

Transcript This ~won't be another installment in the story of our recent travelogue I did about our trip to Asia but it is about one of the nations we visited. It just happens to be about someone else's trip. Last fall a group of west coast editors visited the Republic of China on Taiwan. One of them, Joe Gendron of Pomona, did an article on the tour they made of an elementary school on their final day in Taiwan. For almost 10 years now free public education has been compulsory for all Chinese children through the 9th grade. Japan is the only other Asian nation where such educational opportunities are offered. Beyond 9th grade, high school and college education is provided on the basis of competitive exams. This does have a tendency to make the children a bit serious about their school work. The school day starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. The students also go half a day on Saturday. There is, of course, a summer vacation such as we have here in our schools but with a slight difference. Once each week during the summer the children return to school to hand in their homework and keep the teachers posted on what they are doing during the summer. The teachers get about $200 a month and are paid year round even though their summer work is only part-time. But hear this--there are very few administrators, unlike our own schools where non-teaching employees have been increasing twice as fast as the number of teachers. There are no custodians in the Taiwan schools. Mr. Gendron says all the housekeeping chores are done by the students and teachers during the noon break. Incidentally, they all bring their lunches. There is no cafeteria in the school. Great emphasis is placed on physical education. The school has a large outdoor swimming pool and the students swim every day during the school year. The pool, by the way, has no heating system--just sunshine. Mr. Gendron says their group arrived at the school just in time for the start of the day's routine. On a voice command, 5,000 boys and girls poured out of classrooms and lined up in the outside corridors facing on the school yard. Another command and they started marching to the music of "It's a Small World". Gendron said it was a moving experience to see this number of children take their positions in ranks in the school yard. Students all wear a distinctive uniform which keeps down the clothing expense for parents. Standing at attention they doffed their hats and sang their national anthem as the flag of the Republic of China was raised to the top of the flag pole. Then an instructor led teachers and children in calisthenics. I know the picture of uniformed students marching and obeying commands will be denounced by some as regimentation and authoritarianism. It really isn't when you recall the news photos of Chinese children on the mainland, also in uniform but learning how to throw hand grenades and use a bayonet. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-08-B8 Production Date 06/05/1978 Book/Page RPtV-316 Audio Youtube? No
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