About Me

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Yilan, Taiwan
I just returned back to the States after 11 years in Taiwan with my daughter. Taiwan is an excellent base for us explore Asia, while living in relative (gun free) safety, while benefiting from a cheap and efficient national health care system. The people are amazing too. I have Taiwanese friendships that are 20 years old and I'm always making new ones! My coworker here in CO is from Taiwan.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

School Drama Continues...Towards a Resolution

Its so interesting when the pot is stirred what rises to the top, and when whats shaken, that which (and who) still remains. Just an update from my previous post. This Thursday at lunch we all are having a meeting, the 2 principals, the English Teacher to translate, me and the Taiwanese teacher.

So I received an encouraging email from my daughter's school's principal #2:

Hi, K:
1. The statement that you gave me I had provide to the principal. If you have free time, you can come to the principal's office, and have a conference about this incident with the principal.
2.  I had ask the taiwanese teacher, your girl won't join this plan. Cancel the activity of taiwanese language at
10:10-10:30 everyday now. I had check the taiwanese teacher never film anything about your girl that day(May 30th). 
3. We have reported to the principal about the procedural neglegence of the taiwanese teacher. Her annual teaching performance will be critically reviewed according to this matter. Meanwhile, we will improve the process and procedure from the adminstrative side.
4. Obviously, it's not your girl's fault. The homeroom teacher will repeatedly instruct all kids about the importance of their personal safety.
5. Again and again, it is to our deep regret and apology that this incident has caused the inconvenience to the parents.
Best wishes,

I emailed him my reply:

June 9, 2014

Dear YiZai Principals,

I realize that the teacher and school are sorry, but I don’t think that’s an appropriate enough response. What happened should not have happened, simply because the teacher was unwilling to send the parent a consent form. I hope the school will take the next appropriate response, i.e., verbal or written warning to the teacher and the teacher can apologize in person to me, my daughter and to the students and parents involved in the film project. 我知道老師和學校很抱歉,但我不認為這是一個足夠合理的回應。發生了不應該發生的事,只是因為老師不願給父母同意書。我希望學校下一步採取適當的回應,即口頭或書面警告給那位老師,而且老師可以親自向我,我的女兒,並參與影片項目的學生和家長道歉。

I do have the right to press formal charges, but I sincerely hope it would not come to that. Instead I offer positive suggestions and I am very adamant that they be implemented into school policy as soon as possible, and the beginning processes start now as the semester is ending. If the school already has such procedures in places, then I ask they be updated and that everyone concerned including parents be updated as well. Obviously a breach in child safety requires some kind of reflection, assessment and revision on the part of the school. 我有權利正式起訴,但我衷心希望不至於到那樣。反而我提供了積極的建議,而且我非常堅定地認為這些建議盡快落實到學校政策,並從現在開始處理,由於學期即將結束了。如果學校在某些地方已經有這樣的程序,我要求每個有關的人,包括父母被要被告知最新的措施。顯然地,在這一個侵犯兒童安全的事件裡,學校方面必要作一些反思,評估和改正。

It my hope that through my daughter and I’s recent experience at X, that the school can learn from our experience too and become a role model in the community for school safety and student empowerment. I am asking that teachers, local police, school security, parents (PTA) and local community groups, including anchingbans to get involved. These are my suggestions: 但我希望藉由我的女兒和我的經這個經驗,學校可以從我們的學習到,並成為在社區中學校安全和學生參與活動的範例。我期望老師,當地警方,學校警衛,家長會和當地社區團體,包括安親班參與進來。這是我的建議:

Anchingban Plan:安親班方面
My daughter’s anchingban liaison could not find my daughter and she still left the school because she assumed I had picked my daughter up. I personally would have called the anchingban and let them know, but apparently this is quite normal behavior by parents. I ask that anchingbans send a memo to parents that if they are taking their child out for lunch, they need to call and let anchingban know before, first as a safety precaution and secondly as a respect issue. If a child is missing and is not at the school to be picked up, assume first that the child is missing, let school security guard know immediately and make an immediate intercom communication to find that child. Finally, that anchingban liaison may not leave the school grounds until the issue is handed over to the appropriate authority (principals, police). 我女兒的安親班聯絡人找不到我的女兒,她還是離開學校,因為她認為我已經接了我的女兒了。如果這樣,我個人會事先打電話給安親班,讓他們知道,但顯然這是父母普遍的行為。我要求安親班發送了一份備忘錄給家長,如果他們帶他們的孩子出去吃午飯,他們需要之前打電話,讓安親班知道,首先是為安全起見,其次是作為一個尊重的問題。如果一個孩子失踪,沒有在學校被接到,第一假設:,孩子不見了,讓學校保安馬上知道並作出即時內部連絡去發現孩子。最後直到問題被移交給有關當局(校長,警察),安親班聯絡員才能離開校園

Parents/PTA: 父母方面
Always let the school/anchingban know if you are taking your child out of their care. Realize that photographs and filming of children without parental consent is not just illegal, but potentially dangerous in this world of child predators. 如果你帶你的孩子離開學校,一定要讓學校或安親班知道,。一定要知道,未經父母同意的照片和孩子的拍攝不僅是非法的,在這個世代也是種潛在危險。

School Plan: 學校方面:
1.     Youth and parent survey of school safety: Meeting the needs of protecting children can start with asking kids and parent’s their concerns and perceptions of safety. Get the local high school and University involved in creating an objective survey. Include questions on bullying,  and the treatment of disabled and foreign/mixed race students. 1青年和學校安全的家長調查:為符合保護兒童的需要,可從詢問孩子和家長的關注的問題和對安全的認知開始。讓本地高中和大學參與客觀調查。包括對欺凌問題,以及殘障和外國種族學生的待遇。
2.     Anti-bullying program 反欺凌計劃
3.     A Crisis Management Plan that explains the procedures to follow in the event of a crisis, as well as regular school/security guard drills of the following scenarios: Alert Levels, Emergency Response, Fire/Explosion, Hazardous Materials, Alcohol/Drugs/Weapons/Fights, Shelter/Lock-Down, Natural Disaster, Kidnapping, Hostage/Person Out-of-Control, Blood borne Pathogens, Suicide Threat, and Bomb Threat. 危機管理計畫是在危機的情況下,正規學校/保安演習遵循的危機管理:警報級別,應急,火災/爆炸,有害物質,酒精/藥物/武器/戰鬥,避難所/鎖住,自然災害,綁架,人質/人外的控制,血源性病原體,自殺威脅,炸彈威脅。
4.     E-safety Community Outreach: Educating students and children on internet safety. 電子安全社區外展:教育學生和兒童在網路上的安全
5.     Inclusiveness Plan: The student body is diversifying; there are more mixed race, foreign children, as well as different mental disabilities, religions, single parent and mixed families. Educators need to be trained on how to appropriately and ethically handle such a diversifying student body. 包容性計劃:學生是多元化組成,有很多的種族混合,外國兒童,以及不同的心理障礙,宗教,單親家庭和混合家庭。教育工作者需要對如何正確處理這樣一個多元化的學生團體進行培訓。

My suggestion is the schools create an immediate Child Safety Board that includes members of staff, security, PTA, local law enforcement and local mental health experts. Thanks for your time. 我的建議是學校成立一個即時的兒童安全委員會,其中包括學校工作人員,警衛,家長,地方執法機關和精神衛生專家成員。感謝您的時間。

Kind regards,
KB

I admit, its definitely lofty and ambitious, but hey, child safety and not advertising your green eyed foreign kid speaking Taiwanese is priority.

1 comment:

Tony said...

Love it!