On Monday, April 13th, after an uneventful Easter for us (we slept most of the day away, having awakened early to say good bye to Chris, Neot and Maya), Ted and I had another school interview, this time at the Fuxing Elementary School. Once again, we were delighted at the reception for us; each school we have visited, without exception, serves us tea and munchies during our conversations!
The school, like all the ones we had seen previously, is arrayed with colorful outdoor courtyards, beautiful and lush tropical plants and warm and gracious people. And the principal's office, where we typically have our interviews, is always large, decorated, in this case, with the lines from a famous Chinese poem, and arrayed with comfortable chairs and a table.



I love the little chairs for the little people,and notice how, even in the elementary school, backpacks and shoes remain outside the door to the classroom; slippers are donned and in the kids go! Also, we noticed the use of stair risers again as a teaching tool, only in this school, the instructors use the English alphabet to teach the children the pronunciation of their Chinese characters!!!




Our observations are becoming clearer as we learn more from each set of teachers we interview. For one, it is clear that more and more schools in Taiwan are making the transition to inclusive classrooms from a full resource room pull-out model. These changes are particularly prevalent, so far, in the two major regional centers in the country, Kaohsiung and Taipei, as each is headed by a regional Minister of Education who has the main authority to issue "certificates" when a youngster is deemed, as a result of a series of tests administered by professionals, teacher recommendations and so on, to be a "special needs" student and so entitling him/her to special services in school. Funding,since education is primarily controlled at the federal level, is from one of those two centers which, in turn, are under a Department of Education.
Two, the right to an education is explicitly stated in Taiwan's federal constitution, whereas in the USA, the word "education" itself does not even appear in the national Constitution. However, the reality is that both societies, being democratic, support the right for all kids to a free education. Two amendments to the US Constitution have been widely and consistently interpreted by our courts, among other issues, to guarantee education to all our learners. The interpretation of the Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution gives all rights not specifically given to the federal level to the states, so that educational curricula etc is decided on the state level in America, whereas in Taiwan, as noted, such decisions are made on the federal level . The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution promises "equal protection of the law," and that too is a major legal underpinning for the right of all students to a free public education, no matter what state they live in.
The mandate to change to an inclusive model of teaching (whereby all students, to the maximum possible, should be educated in the least restrictive environment possible (LRE) and not pulled away often to a separate, more isolated resource room), is written in very similar laws of each country: the 1997 Act of Special Education as amended in 2004 in Taiwan, and the PS94-142 1975 law as amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) of 2004 in America. In fact, our interviews with almost every school yielded the information that the Taiwanese liked the IDEA law and so basically incorporated it into their legal structure too, even using some of the same language (such as "least restrictive environment," which typically translates to mean, place all learners in a regular classroom and bring the special assistance services to him/her rather than isolating the child and pulling him/her out to the services.)
Three, it seems to us that on the elementary level, almost all students are primarily placed in a traditional classroom, with a very limited pull-out resource room for kids with special needs, on an average of 4 or 5 classes per week maximum. The pull-out option is used as a reinforcement for regular classroom work, but also is the primary tool for teaching kids three subjects: mathematics, Mandarin (both of which meet 4 to 5 times a week)and Life Skills (once a week). On the secondary level, the inclusive classroom also is being phased in, though perhaps the resource room pull-out option is used a bit more frequently, again for those same three required subjects.

Four, it also appears to us that the degree of working closely with the special ed teachers is highly influenced by the principal. In some schools, the cooperation between the traditional and the special ed teacher was fantastic; a "contact book" for each child of special needs, detailing the work done, the concerns felt, etc of both teachers is recorded and goes with the student as he/she travels from a traditional to a resource room and back every day. The students' IEPs (Individualized Educational Programs, as developed by the special ed teacher, required by law)is part of that book in some schools. And not surprisingly, those were the schools where the principal played a strong supportive role for the rights of all kids to be educated in the least restrictive environment. In other schools, the cooperation seemed less intense; regular classroom teachers at one place said they had very little input into the IEPs of their special needs students.

So, we continue to learn, we continue to be, on the whole, very impressed with the Taiwanese public school system, though we have been told that in the rural areas outside the two major regional centers, the educational quality is far less. Overall, the more we travel, the more impressed we are with the similarities and basic human kindness of people in general What a wonderful experience we are so fortunate to be able to have!