Are there any private junior high schools in the Taipei area that are not TAS/TES and also not religious? (Or am I looking for a unicorn? 
) We are looking for English language instruction and a more progressive curriculum. Thanks in advance.
Cambridge (Kang Chiao) isn’t religious.
What are you looking for with more progressive?
Thank you. We’re actually in a public elementary school in Taipei and while it’s great for the short term, we acknowledge that the Taiwanese public school system can be very rigid and has too many homework/tests based on rote memorization. We hope to put my son in a more progressive school for junior high where he can exercise independent thinking and creativity.
At the price range you’re looking at VIS (Very Interesting School, believe it or not) might give you what you are looking for. I don’t rate it very highly because I felt discipline was questionable. but it’s certainly experimental and not test-driven.
It’s also considerably LESS progressive than TAS or TES.
Fair point.
Are you ruling out TAS and TES because they’re not progressive enough? If so, I’m afraid you might be SOL in Taiwan.
Not at all. TAS and TES are just at the higher end of our budget, so trying to see if there are other options.
Interesting, I was just looking at VIS! Can you elaborate what you mean by the discipline was questionable? Let me know if you prefer me to PM you instead. 
I see. You probably know that TES is significantly less expensive than TAS, then. Slightly over half the cost, I believe.
No, I’m happy to make it public. I have never worked for VIS full time, so take what I say with a fairish pinch of salt. I’ve only worked there briefly on a part time basis.
The learning environment there was a bit too free and loose for me. However, it is progressive so I suppose that’s to be expected. I’m in my 50s, the other teachers were in their 20s/early 30s, which might offer something of an explanation. I wouldn’t write VIS off.
In Taiwan, I take these statements to mean “the biggest bully always wins and is always justified in their behavior no matter what” and “parents will not hesitate to report teachers to the education bureau as ‘abusive’ if they so much as use the words ‘no’ or ‘stop’ directed at their precious baby doing something dangerous or inappropriate”
True, TES is about NT$800K a year, and TAS is NT$1M a year. Cheaper, but I’m just curious if anyone knows of another hidden gem.
Thanks for sharing! I’ll at least do a tour and check it out.
I didn’t get that feeling at all. I just felt basic student discipline was lacking in terms of showing up for class on time, showing respect etc, and it wasn’t appreciated (not from the parents - I’ve no idea about that) when I demanded it.
Again, it might be a combination of my age and not being progressive enough.
“Progressive education” has been co-opted to mean “let the kids do whatever the heck they want because it’s the best way for them to learn”, but the reality is that it’s rooted in clear and firm boundaries that must be enforced. So, probably not that you’re “not progressive enough” so much as the admin doesn’t know what that word even means.
I don’t think you should blame yourself here! While I said I’m looking for a more “progressive curriculum”, I still expect schools to enforce respect for teachers, timeliness, etc. That’s just common decency.
Vis uses project based learning which means that they have to use projects as their assessments. These projects are built from the ground up from students and they must have tangible outcomes that they present and hopefully implement within the community. They do this accross subjects. Of course there is also instruction.
That sounds pretty cool! I’ll check VIS out. Thanks for sharing.
Indeed. I don’t want to portray VIS totally negatively. For a short period of time I wasn’t the right sort of teacher for them. Which happens.