Newsletter (2017-2018) November 2017 Newsletter | Page 8

BEWARE! THE NEXT STRAY
TEACHER MIGHT BE YOU!
By Julie Lin Chia Lien
How learning about teaching has influenced my
views on the education system in Taiwan
From studying education, I finally came to realize that
the education system in Taiwan is a disappointment.
Since I entered the University of Taipei, I have studied
English education for three years and taught primary
students English in private cram schools now and
then. Yet the more I learn about primary education,
the more I get worried about the working environment
that I am going to encounter in the near future.
First of all, the biggest problem is that some parents
nowadays do not trust teachers the way parents used
to. To some extent, our society does not see teachers
as professionals, especially in preschools and primary
schools. Parents always think they know how to teach
and interfere with teachers’ instructions in every
aspect of their work, from teaching style to class
management. You name it. But the truth is that they
know very little of education and seem to only know
how to spoil their children rotten.  
Knowing how to raise a child does not mean knowing
how to teach one.
 When it comes to parenting, parents only need to care
about their own children, while teachers have to deal
with at least 25 individuals at the same time and make
sure the course goes smoothly. Thus, how could you
expect a teacher to meet every students’ needs? We’re
teachers, not babysitters. Unfortunately, the only
thing dinosaur parents know is how to blame teachers
and seldom give teachers support, which often make
things worse.  
Moreover, things are even more difficult when your
students are spoiled. If you can’t satisfy these little
princesses and princes, you’re doomed. You never
know how they whine about you in front of their
parents. That’s why we also have classes in university
to learn how to build good parent-teacher
relationships and how to communicate with parents
effectively.
Some of you might think if teachers cannot handle so
many students at a time, why don’t we split the
students into smaller classes? Well, here comes
another issue—the budget. Public schools do not have
enough money to hire more teachers, while private
schools want to reduce costs to earn more profit. As a
result, there are about 70,000 “stray teachers” in
Taiwan each year. These are teachers who have
teaching certifications but do not have an official job
offer; they have to move around between different
schools like a stray dog. 
According to Insight magazine, “Only 44 percent of
t