Failings in Taiwanese higher education

[quote=“Icon”]That’s my point, they have courses that are useless, so they have to pay outside the same profs to teach them at cram school so they can have a test on what they did not learn at school…

sigh

OK, maybe not trade publications, but for Pete’s sake, how are you going to read a Rolling Stone, a gamer’s manual, break the iPhone computer code, without English?! Motivation, folks, we gotta find the right buttons to get these kids into the program. :wink:[/quote]

I’m agreeing with you Icon, I really am.

But wait they don’t read Rolling Stone, the gamer’s manuals are in Chinese. The Chinese WWW is huge and that is all they look at. Various BBS and Yahoo.com.tw is where they get nearly all they need (oh and facebook, plurk).

I know this, I do webquests in the computer lab. They have very little idea what is out there in English. I introduced them to the world cup website, to various police websites, all kinds of others. They had no idea that resources like this even exist, or how people might use them.

I use these tasks to try and motivate them, yes (and I certainly don’t teach outside in a buxiban, and nor do any other professors I know). But in Taiwan, without systemic change, it’s a lost cause.

That’s why I’m going to go teach in China. But that’s another story.

This part I understand. But is it true?

You mean you don’t understand the other parts (note to rest of world: I, not Icon, am going to China).

Anyway, yeah, I thought you knew. Was starting to think about plans for a final piss-up: how does Friday 13th sound to you? Leave Sunday 15th.

[quote=“smithsgj”]You mean you don’t understand the other parts (note to rest of world: I, not Icon, am going to China).

Anyway, yeah, I thought you knew. Was starting to think about plans for a final piss-up: how does Friday 13th sound to you? Leave Sunday 15th.[/quote]

Does this mean we would start on Friday and finish on Sunday? I doubt I could drink for that long. I would even have trouble staying awake so long. Are you talking about having a meth party? I have never done drugs like that.

Check yer email. Sarky.

You have spoken. I will come.