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  Channel NewsAsia 15 Aug 06
Taiwanese parents opting for less stressful "forest" schools for children
By Channel NewsAsia Correspondent Taiwan Ken Teh

TAIPEI : Taiwan's education system is facing mounting criticism for being too stressful. A recent survey found that more than 25 percent of Taipei's primary school students have had suicidal thoughts.

Channel NewsAsia visits an alternative school that's radically changing the education landscape.

For 10-year-old Teresa Hong going to school is literally an uphill task. But not in the way you'd expect. She loves attending her new school, which is located high in the densely forested hills of Taipei county. Student life there is far less stressful than at her previous public school in the city. There are no uniforms, no exams and no strict hierarchy at her new school.

"Here, teachers, students and animals are equal. No one bullies the dogs here," said Teresa Hong, a student at Forest School. Humans are animals too, so we're all equal," reasoned Ellen Wei, also a student at Forest School.

It is one of Taiwan's experimental 'forest' schools, which offers a radically different style of education focusing on creativity, harmony with nature and independent thinking. The school's town hall meeting is chaired by the students themselves. And in one of the classes, students learn sign language through music to broaden their understanding of the world.

Because the syllabus is very flexible, teachers often take students outdoors and teach using examples from nature.

Students at Forest School enjoy a great deal of freedom. Teachers won't force them to go for classes they don't want to attend.

And should they misbehave, they won't get punished for it because the school does not believe in any form of corporal punishment. Instead students they say can only be taught through love, respect and honour.

Teachers believe discipline should be an interactive process rather than a heavy handed top-down approach.

"The best way to cultivate independent thinking is to avoid harsh discipline. If the children fight, we don't punish them but we help them to understand why they fought," explained Chiang Chin-Song, who teaches at Forest School.

The demand for such alternative education has been growing in Taiwan as parents and students find public schools too exam-oriented and stressful. There are now about a dozen such "forest" schools but with fees averaging US$10,000 dollars a year, these schools are still only for the elite in Taiwan.

But educators say their techniques have proven so successful that public schools are adopting them for the masses.

"Nowadays, many schools take their students to mountains and to the rivers for fishing. This sort of teaching conducted outside the classroom is similar to what is done in the forest schools. Many public school teachers also avoid corporal punishment," said Lin Yu-Tee, Professor of Education at Taiwan Normal University.

And that's fortunate for little Teresa, who will have a lot less adapting to do when she and her friends leave the forest behind and return to a mainstream school in the city for their secondary education. - CNA /ls
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