Being 5 in Taipei

Do you remember being 5 and alive?  I did a lot of playing with balls, bikes, and water.  In Taipei kids spent their time learning, and getting ahead.  During their kindergarten experience they have to prepare for the first grade placement test.  This test can determine if you have the intelligence to be with the top class. 

Learning is not a world where kids explore and experiment in school.  It costs money.  Kids are subjected to memorization, flash cards, and strict discipline early on.  You need this discipline at a young age because  Chinese demands it.

It is through memorization that kids begin their learning experience.  The student with the highest memory capacity is usually the most admired.  Your kid is so smart, at 5 he can do the multiplication tables up to 6.  Memorization is the trick to learning in Asia.  Endless testing and the weeding out of kids who can’t hack it in a competitive world is the next process.

Private schools in Taipei are notorious for their testing methods.  It is an effective way to see who will move up in society.  If you are left behind and you come from a family that cares about face and tradition, then you are in dire straits.  Everyone here can put you down unilaterally because they are all competing against each other. 

Pushing kids to write before their age requirement is done through endless copying and memorization.  It is common to see kids carry heavy school bags home because their wonderful perfection seeking teacher wants them to learn everything as soon as possible.  No wonder some take up smoking at 13.

Physical development is sacrificed which leads to learning obstacle in their educational life.  Kids that are not physically ready to handle a pencil or color because they haven’t reached their milestones, get quickly left aside.  Psychological and developmental issues that arise in school can be viewed negatively by the family.  It can be regarded as an insult to their honor.

Parents are more concerned about losing face, so they pile on the pressure to their kids.  They can use whatever language on their kids as they have been accustomed to using in their little family enclave.

The learning process is usually killed by the time the child reaches kindergarten.  It’s a race to  the best scores, which translates to the best schools with the most connections and the best jobs.

At five years old, a child is taught to read in Chinese and English.  Everything is done through memorization and repetition.  Exploration and time costs money.  If Chinese is learned this way, then English must be too.

It is an irony that some westerners don’t realize the negative effects of Asian education systems.  Sure people here are great at math and science, but they lack the imagination to create and innovate.  The envy of Asians being hardworking and loyal is a little over the top.

And then when you least expect, I have met teenagers that don’t have to go to 40 plus hours of schooling a week.  This includes cram school on Saturday and Sunday.  They tell me that their parents only wants them to do their best and to have a personal life for themselves.  Usually these type of people feel better about themselves and work toward enriching their curiosity rather than study for the grade.  We  will see how my son does when he enters into this environment.  Education starts at home.

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