Educational stories of seven Teacher Award winners: From TSMC to abandoned stations, how teachers open up children’s possibilities

He gave up joining TSMC and became a physics teacher; an old station that had been abandoned for nearly 80 years became a classroom for children; the communist army harassed Taiwan and fighter planes frequently took to the sky. The children found it "noisy", so the teacher turned the noise into national defense education. The Ministry of Education yesterday commended 72 Teacher Award winners. Teachers in different education settings are opening up more possibilities for children.

Xie Mengxiang teaches Hualien students about semiconductors remotely

Xie Mengxiang, a physics teacher at Sanmin High School in Kaohsiung City, originally majored in materials science. When he was in the master's class at National Taiwan University, he considered joining TSMC, but the university offered services in the Cihui class. With the encouragement of his teacher, he took an education course and entered the campus. The loss of a student's life while working as a mentor led him to reflect on how children who seem to fit into a class can still endure hardship alone. Since then, he has paid more attention to companionship and developed semiconductor literacy and cross-school distance courses so that Hualien students can also get in touch with the industry and find their direction.

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Li Suzhen turns an 80-year-old station into a classroom

Li Suzhen, the principal of Datong Elementary School in East District, Tainan City, turned the community into a classroom. The Nan Tainan Station, which has been abandoned for nearly 80 years, has no water or electricity. Students used solar energy and micro:bit programs to make the station automatically light up. They also developed "land, sea and air" courses using the railway, Zhuxi and the Air Force Base. During the Communist invasion of Taiwan, children complained that fighter planes were "very noisy," so the teacher talked about fighter planes taking off and national defense security from everyday sounds. She hopes that children will go out of school and learn about the community to care for the land.

Luo Wanzhen accompanies the injured child

Luo Wanzhen, a teacher at New Taipei City Fengzhu Middle School, has taught at Midway School for 12 years, accompanying children who have been sexually exploited or in conflict with the law. She has hugged students who cried because their family members missed appointments, accompanied children who injured themselves to seek medical treatment, and accompanied them through singing choruses, running, and hiking. These children, she said, teach themselves to become fuller, softer people.

Zhong Wulong from the cattle herding class realizes his dream of returning to his alma mater to teach

National Miaoli Agricultural and Industrial Teacher Zhong Wulong was the last in his class when he was in junior high school. It was only after joining Miaoli that he found his confidence with the encouragement of his teacher. In order to fulfill his dream of becoming a teacher, he retaken the exam for two years and served as a soldier for two years, four years later than his classmates. Finally, he returned to his alma mater to teach, bringing animal husbandry, pet grooming and life education into the classroom.

Lin Ruping lets the elders pass on food and agriculture education

Lin Ruping, a professor at the Department of Early Childhood and Family Sciences at National Taiwan Normal University, has been involved in family education for 39 years. She believes that not everyone has a happy family, but they all have the power to change their lives. She has also invested in rural elders, senior living and food farming education, so that the elders can pass on agricultural experience and local culture.

Cai Zhongyi brings rural children to the international stage

Nantou County Puli Junior High School teacher Cai Zhongyi took rural children to the United States to participate in a wind energy competition. The team was not notified to participate in the re-examination. The students thought they had lost until they heard the name of the team at the end of the award ceremony and found out that they had won the championship. The whole team cried with joy. He said that competitions make rural children believe that they are capable of standing on the international stage.