https://goddard-edu.zoom.us/j/94272664457Although Goddard is far from Taiwan, why did I choose it? It has to do with the fact that I was born in Taiwan, which is considered a model of democracy in Asia.
However, is Taiwan really democratic? In recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as the ruling party, used "localization" and "democracy and liberty" as the direction to cultivate the Taiwanese community. However, ethnic groups and political parties are still competing and confronting each other and seldom see the thinking and practice of seeking the common good, which is needed for a sense of community. What are essential elements still missing in deepening Taiwan's democracy to nurture the sense of common good?
In addition, democratic education is an important foundation of a democratic society. But there is not much research and practice on democratic education in Taiwan. Nowadays, the direction of education in Taiwan is toward autonomous and pluralistic democratic education. However, the learning goals and contents are still led mainly by others, such as the market, the government, parents, and teachers, with limited learner autonomy. The unequal teacher-student and parent-child relationships and the hierarchical management style can also be seen often. In addition, everyone competes in a single elite standard, ignoring the fact that all people have different talents and are not born equal, and the culture of the competition lacks a sense of community. It is still challenging to implement freedom and equality in education in Taiwan. Still, instead, the emphasis is too much on responsibility as a community member, which makes education more collectivistic. As an educator who has experienced Taiwan's formal education and democratic schools in Taiwan and the U.S, I feel that the essence of democratic education is not impossible to practice in Taiwan and can support one's self-realization and happiness. But why is that, and how to make democratic education happen?
Through this presentation, I will identify the essence of liberal democracy and the elements of democracy needed in Taiwan. Then, I will reconceptualize democratic education and explain why it has not been successfully implemented in Taiwan. Finally, based on the research, I will introduce my practice of democratic education, the Dao Dao Learning Community project (
https://resources.daoedu.tw/), which is a new try to break away from the school mentality and provide everyone with equal access to educational resources and opportunities through collective intelligence, and to allow participants to experience two essential elements of democratic education: self-directed learning and democratic community, and to re-experience and understand the spirit of democratic coexistence.
