陳淑惠校長

Brining Character Education into the Classroom

In keeping with the core values of the Canadian Education system, at Lio-Ho, all of our teachers believe in and are in the pursue of inaugurating Character Education into their classroom. What is Character Education? It is an explicit learning process from which students in a school community understand, accept, and act on ethical values such as respect for others, citizenship, and responsibility for self and others.” In other words, we as teachers continuously and tirelessly input these character values into our students and create for them through our thoughtfully planned classroom activities plenty of opportunities to put into practice—in the safe learning environment our nurturing guidance during the course of the students’ six-year stay here at Lio-Ho.

Similar to many top-ranking high schools in Taiwan, our dedicated and highly-qualified teaching staff offer vigorous academic training programs for students; and as a result, we have always received wonderful achievement results in terms of university enrollments—we have one of the highest national university enrollment rates in Taoyuan. To say the least, every year we had to send away many new junior high school applicants wishing to apply into our school, simply due to lack of available spaces each new school year.

Looking at the rationale and philosophy of Lio-Ho High School’s Character Education, our aim is simply to enable students to make well-informed, considered decisions and choices in all aspects of their lives and to develop behaviours and attitudes that contribute to the well-being and respect of self and others, now and in the future. After many conversations with our principal, Mrs. Shu-Hui Chen, I am fully aware and am also very convinced that our principal strongly believes in the power and impact of “decision making & personal choices” in an individual’s life. As the head of our school, she eagerly oversees that students are given the tools and opportunities to acquire skills and apply strategies that enhance their ability to think and act independently, and most importantly to build the confidence to trust in their personal abilities.

As a senior educator with over 40 years’ experience, and having been the superintendent of various other international schools in Taiwan, Mrs. Shu-Hui Chen is deeply concerned about the well-being of her students. To Mrs. Chen, her students’ well-being is closely reflected in the personal choices which they make, and such indicators showing their emotional, psychological, intellectual, social, spiritual and physical dimensions of health—all contribute to their personal well-being. Mrs. Chen believes that to become high achievers in the Taiwan society as well as a Global Citizen of the 21 century, it is essential that we as educators at Lio-Ho, aside from providing the best academic training, teach our students personal strategies to enhance creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

To her, it is the combination of positive attitude in one’s outlook in life and the importance of one’s self-confidence which give one the ability to cope with challenges and overcome obstacles in life—and most of all, to come out on top as conquerors in life. Such is Mrs. Shu-Hui Chen’s belief in Character Education, and to put this in simple classroom language, aside from earning good exam grades and enrolling into top universities, our principal Mrs. Chen expects her students to continue to work toward becoming “responsible, caring, creative, self-reliant, knowledge-based and contributing members of the future Taiwan society.”

Furthermore, Mrs. Chen is deeply involved in fostering her student’s capabilities to collaborate with their communities such as our own school authorities and other community-based agencies and organizations that can facilitate and promote our students’ lifelong learning attitude and well-being. Therefore, all graduating students at Lio-Ho are required to accomplish 32-volunteer hours of Collaborative Community Service before applying for graduation. Mrs. Chen is convinced this graduation prerequisite of 32 hours of community service encourages and fosters connections and collaborations between students and the communities around them, as well as teach them to become responsible, caring, creative, self-reliant and contributing citizens of tomorrow.