Oct. 17-23, 2011
Church Ministry News
Non-Christian school principal applauds Christian Life Education classes
Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan
Written by Lydia Ma
Former Hsiang-Tan Elementary School Principal Chen Te-hsing isn’t a Christian, but he appreciates and applauds church volunteers that teach Life Education classes at his school located in Pingtung County. “Churches are really concerned about moral education and the difference churches make in children’s lives through Life Education is palpable,” he said.
Last August, Chen was transferred to Nanhe Elementary School, another elementary school in Pingtung County. Because the school is located near a Paiwan indigenous group reservation, many indigenous children are enrolled in the school. In the few months that Chen has been at this school, he noticed that since indigenous children at Nanhe mostly come from Christian homes with healthy relationships, stereotypical problems such as gambling and drinking are rare.
During a recent interview, Chen said the atmosphere at his new school is even better than his former school. He credits this to the role of churches and their after-school tutoring programs, and cites examples such as beautiful handwriting and good grades among students. He believes their good performance is helped by attending after-school tutoring programs taught by church volunteers, which normally takes place at a nearby church.
When Chen was still the principal of Hsiang-Tan School, he was impressed by the work of Christian volunteers who came to his school to teach Life Education. He found these classes much better than the Buddhist alternative. According to him, Buddhist aphorisms taught by Tzu-Chi Foundation were no longer appropriate in this post-martial law era and much too fatalistic. He also had qualms with the organization’s caste-centered structure and overt proselyting. Hence, he denied requests by Tzu-Chi Foundation to send delegates to teach Buddhist aphorisms at his school, but welcomed Christian life education classes.
Chen also talked about a project called “Love Farm” at his new school, started by a retired professor who is also a volunteer at the school. In collaboration with volunteers from a church in Taipei, the farm offers an opportunity for students to learn about the rewards of work. Students who don’t have money to pay for school-related excursions can come to the farm and help grow produce. The produce is later sold and students get paid for their help. Referring to this project, Chen said it taught students to take initiative and become independent instead of always relying on other people’s help and handouts.
