To families looking for a more progressive, student-led education choice in Taipei, please consider Acton Academy Taipei. We are located in Beitou and currently interviewing families with children in grades 1-6 for the next academic year, starting September 2020. We have no homework, no grades, and no tests.
If this sounds like a good fit for your child, please get in touch through our website.
We are part of the Acton Academy network of affiliates, started out of Austin, Texas more than 10 years ago.
Tell me more. I’ve ignored other posts on this site about this school, but since someone mentioned it on the private schools tread, I now want to understand what it is. It sounds like Montessori but says it isn’t. A video I saw on the Acton Academy website (not the TW one) had Montessori math materials in the classroom. They also call teachers “guides”. Is this just Montessori rebranded plus use of screens? Does Acton Academy in Taipei actually follow the needs of the children and foster their independence, or is this yet another joke of a “progressive school” that’s really just out to make money off Taipei’s elite? Would I, and educator frustrated with schools that can’t follow their own philosophies, be allowed to observe for a day?
Well, as a parent with a kid on one of the established intern. schools here, I am also interested. Yet here is no reply and there is not that much to be found about Acton Academies. If anybody knew this school type please give information. Thanks.
Since asking for more info and not getting anything here, I’ve met a few people who work at Acton Academies around the US. All of them were Montessori-trained and experienced teachers who feel they were swindled into believing that it was like Montessori, but with the use of modern technology. The reality is that it’s all about collecting points (badges?) for finishing tasks on the computer, which then give you “freedoms” like being able to work with your friends. Compared to the Taiwanese, traditional education approach, it sounds great. No two learners are the same and this can be a way to adapt to each learner.
Compared to Montessori…yeah no. Montessori is all about “freedom within limits” and intrinsic motivation. There are no gold stars for Montessori learners because a gold star takes away the internal and already-existing motivation that all learners already have (before you start giving them external rewards like brownie points). In Montessori elementary, you never say “if you do x, I’ll let you do y”. You say “let’s think of our rules together, so that you have autonomy in deciding how this space is run”. Learners then have the freedom to move about the space as long as they are focused on their work, being safe, respecting themselves and others, and following the rules they established. In Montessori elementary, it’s recognized that children of that age NEED to work with their peers. If working with your peers is a reward for doing your independent, individual work well, children who need that social aspect of learning are missing out. What my teacher friends told me is that the children (“eagles”, they’re called) get so out of control when they “finally” have the chance to work with their peers that they end up needing to separate them.
Now, I say this as someone who has been to most of the Montessori elementary schools in Taipei now, and not one of them could be considered anything close to “real Montessori”, so I’m not saying Acton Academy would be bad, necessarily, just that it sounded like a nightmare compared to a real Montessori school (comparing both schools as implemented in the US). Since there’s no such thing as a real Montessori school in Taipei (actually, there’s one inside a public elementary school in Dazhi that I hear is real, but they wouldn’t let me observe), Acton Academy might still be better than traditional education, if your goal is getting away from traditional education.
Thank you for your interest in Acton Academy Taipei. We cannot speak for all the schools in the Acton Academy network.
As for Acton Academy Taipei, we respect and incorporate Maria Montessori’s philosophy, but we are not a Montessori institution. In addition to some Montessori methods, we also use the latest interactive technologies, hands-on projects, and the Socratic Method for discussions.
At Acton Academy Taipei, our students regularly work together in teams to tackle hands-on, real-world projects. And while teams do sometimes get very excited and chaotic during these times, we believe that is actually a good sign that the challenges we set are engaging.
Please check out our recent reviews on Google to get a more informed perspective into our work here at Acton Academy Taipei.
If you are a family looking for an alternative education choice, please feel free to get in touch through our website or by emailing us at hello@actontaipei.org.