Taiwan OELP Day 2 Reflection

Gladys:
  Today we went to National Experimental High School at Hsinchu Science Park.

We were being allocated to different classes to learn and understand their education system. There were many differences in how the students study in Taiwan. Chalkboards are used as whiteboards for teachers to teach students. Students start class from 745 till 4 30 in the afternoon, thus there is a 30min break in sch after their lunch and everyone needs to sleep so that they have enough energy to listen in class in the afternoon. I also realise that they have an extra 10min before every next lesson, this is to allow students to have enought time to go to the next classroom and reduce loss of time in lessons. 

Students are allowed to eat in class and they usually eat 便当, that will be delivered to their classes. They would pour all of their leftovers into a bin and wash the box of the 便当 before throwing it into a bin in their classroom. I find them very eco friendly as they have practices of washing recycable stuff before recycling them. Later in the afternoon, we went to the Science Park Exploration Museum.

The guide was showing and explaining to us the different things the company created. There were many interesting inventions they made and I really learnt a lot from the museum.

Kheng Lon:

Today was our second day in Taiwan. The day did not start off well as I forgot to charge my phone. So, I was not really able to take pictures. In the morning, we made our way to the National Experimental High School located in Hsinchu. We were greeted warmly by the secretary of the school. Soon afterwards, we went to different classes based on our CID groups. When we stepped into the classroom, we heard loud noises coming from the students. Here are just some of the differences the students are compared to Singaporean students.

1) The students do not have to wear school uniforms unlike us. In my opinion, I think that the school uniform is very important. It gives us the sense of belonging in the school and give us the identity as students. The rules in NEHS probably did not require them to wear the school uniform.

2) Coming to rules, there is a major difference. The school rules there were not as strict as the ones in Singapore. Students were able to do almost anything they want, which includes sleeping in class, playing their phones or talking among themselves even when the teacher is speaking. The teachers did not really bother to do anything but carried on with their teaching. Students are allowed to keep long hair or even dye their hair. Compare it to Singapore, Singaporean students were not as carefree. They are required to cut their nails, hair and obey to the strict rules. 

3) Learning style: The students there are mostly energetic and lively. When the teacher asks a question, they respond instantaneously with enthusiasm. However in our school, when the teacher sometimes ask a question, we may not raise our hands to answer the question as quickly. Our teacher has to call register numbers in order to answer the question. So, this is one point we can learn from the students.

4) I also realized that the school emphasizes strongly on recycling. There are many different labelled bins such as : trash, recycling and leftovers in the classroom. Students are required to dispose accordingly. I think this is actually a good idea as it encourages the students to go green. In our school,  we do not really take this seriously and throw all our rubbish in a rubbish bin, sometimes ignoring the recycling bins around us. We should really learn from them and take recycling seriously so that we can all do our part in saving the environment.

Overall, the students there are quite friendly and easy to talk to. I could not wait to go to this school again tomorrow. Our next destination is the Science Park Exploration Museum. At the museum, the tour guide explained to us many interesting technologies. We came across a wireless scanner, many specialized speakers, a mini laptop which can also be used as a tablet and much more. We spent lots of time, trying out the different amazing technology and had a splendid time. The guide also shared with us many interesting facts. Finally it was time to go and we reluctantly left. The dinner we had was delicious, especially the crispy prawn and some vegetable dishes. Our behaviors was better today as we tried our best not to talk when the tour guide is talking. However some of us, including myself were lethargic and already starting to doze off. I think that we should all sleep early so that we will have sufficient rest and not feel so tired the next day. I hope that the rest of the days we spend in Taiwan would be just as great.

Claudia:

Today was the first time we stepped into the National Experimental High School, my first impression of the school was that it is extremely large, having seen the school campus from afar on the bus. Only later on then i knew that the campus accomodates to 14 levels of students, a vastly different amount as compared to RV's 6 levels of students which is in my opinion already considered alot of students. I was very surprised when i knew that students at the school start attending NEHS when they are 6 years old to when they are 18 or 19 years old, they spend most of their school life in NEHS instead of going through Primary/secondary/JCs which is the case in Singapore. 

We were warmly greeted by the department heads of the school and also, there was an led screen showing words of welcome in chinese. After a brief introduction and speech by the secretary of the school, we were split into our groups to attend lessons wifh different classes. 

Upon attending lessons at the classes, i noticed many differences between NEHS and schools in Singapore, the most noticeable one being that they are not required to wear a uniform everyday, only friday which to us RV-ians is TGIF and we would dress down on friday. There were girls in short shorts, guys in the jerseys of their favourite sports teams and people who wore band tees, personally, this allowed me to easily differentiate between students and also be able to know more about them without even speaking to them. 

Also, the students were very lively, even to a point where i could not really adapt to their noise and energy level, i expected that the teacher would respond negatively but i was extremely surprised that instead, the teacher did not scold them but instead would joke around with them. The classroom atmosphere was extremely jovial and was not in the lest way stressful. Through the noise, the students also participate actively in class, competiting against one another in answering questions, sometimes that we RV-ians do not always see. After speaking to the students, i came to know that their workload was not as heavy as compared to us and also their weeks were not packed with tests and CCAs. Their school rules were not as strict as singapore's, when the teacher is teaching, students who fall asleep or speak loudly to other students in class do not get caught and face consequences unlike us who may be "rewarded" with a CMD. They also did not emphasize alot on attire and grooming, unless in Singapore where we have attire checks. In a nutshell, instead of the stressful, competitive environment that i expected to see, i was taken by surprise by their carefreeness and fun-filled environment. 

The day's experience was a good one as i made many new friends, conversing to them in not only chinese but also english as they take up english classes. They were very curious about how our school life was and asked us many questions, We were sharing our own personal school experiences with each other and comparing the differences. Overall, it was an eye-opening experience for me and i look forward to attending lessons at NEHS again tomorrow. 

Emily:

Today we went to the National Experimental High School. Their school is really big but given that it has to accommodate people from the ages 6 to 18 or 19 years old, it isn't that surprising. However, their campus is huge compared to RV and they have quite a lot of facilities. The teachers their welcomed us warmly and after a brief introduction, our group went to our first class, led by our buddies.

The first difference I noticed was the timetable of the class. They all have standard 50 minute classes and between each class there is a 10 minute break for the students to travel to their next class. I find that very useful and I think that our school should have that too, so that if we need to go to another venue for our next lesson, we would have time to travel instead of eating into our lesson time and cause the teacher to dismiss us late for our next class and therefore continue the cycle. Their timetable also include a 1 hour lunch break for the students which comprises of 30 minutes of lunch and 30 minutes of nap time. If the students do not want to take a nap, they can roam around the school or eat outside. I find the nap time quite useful as most of us sleep quite late every night and the nap time might make us more refreshed for lessons in the afternoon.

The second difference I noticed was when lessons started. The students don't pay much attention in class and are generally very noisy and loud. Although our class might be very noisy too, we stop when our teacher scolds us. However, most of their teachers do not care and simply continue teaching; those who want to listen can listen and those who don't can continue to talk among themselves.

At lunch time, we ate in class and chatted with some of the students there. They were surprised that we don't have nap times despite on days when we could only leave school at 7pm due to CCAs. They were also surprised that our CCAs are 3 hours long and that we have CCA about 3 times a week. They only have CCA twice a week and for 2 hours only for each session. After we finished our lunch, the students told us that we had to recycle our lunch boxes. I was surprised that Taiwan was so eco friendly and that the students actually recycle after eating. When the next lesson started, I was surprised that the students are allowed to eat in class.

After a few more lessons, our group had to split up and join other classes as our class had a test coming up. At the other class, w had a little Q n A session and we found out that the class did not have to greet the teacher unless the teacher requires them to. We also found out that they weren't very strict regarding their behaviour in class and their attire.

Today was great as I experienced how its like to have every lesson taught in Chinese. I also made a few friends and I can't wait to go back again tomorrow.

Jing Yan:

We went to the Hsinchu Experimental High School today and attended a few hours of lessons with the Taiwanese students. We experienced the way how the students were taught and their way of life. It seems to me that the Taiwanese do not think that Singaporeans were good at the Chinese language as they asked us if we understood what they were saying. Its a pity we give them that sort of impression and i hope we would do better in the area of Chinese language. The Taiwanese students were extremely conscious about recycling and there were very few waste bins. After lunch, we had to pour away the waste food into a bucket and wash the containers before throwing them into the recycling bins despite the hassle. We should learn from their actions and help with the reducing of greenhouse gases. After the visit to the school, we went to the Science Industrial Park and learnt about the different types of technology that Taiwan has and the products they had produced using those technology. It was extremely interesting and we were all awed by the products. There was the super loud speakers, prosthetics and microchips etc. This showed us the advancement of Taiwan technology and I feel that Singapore should progress even further and look into these type of technology, enabling us to lead more convenient lifestyles etc.