Sunday, April 12, 2015

Social Studies in Taiwan

Taiwan has a wide range of Social Studies textbooks, and students are required to study this subject from the first grade onwards.  I don't know if every public school is the same, but kids in our school have Social Studies three times a week.  Grades 1 and 2 refer to this subject as 生活 (Life), and grades 3, 4, 5, and 6 refer to it as 社會 (Society).

The book outlines below are for the second semester.  Not every school would be using the same series of books.  There are of course variations between publishers, though every publisher is required to follow the central government's curriculum guidelines.  The books I used were the ones published by 康軒文教事業.

Below are the unit headings for these six textbooks, taken from their tables of contents.  Below the chapter headings are excerpts from the books.  I should add that I have translated 家鄉 below as "hometown," though the way these books use the term is often closer in meaning to "homeland," as in "Taiwan is my hometown/homeland."

1. 1 生活(下)

一   開學相見歡 Welcoming Each Other at the Start of the Semester
二   美麗的春天 Beautiful Spring
三   把聲音傳出來 Let the Sound Be Heard
四   我愛我的家 I Love My Family
五   影子變變變 The Shadow Changes and Changes
六   奇妙的水 Amazing Water

"寒假過後, 第一天見面, 你和同學聊什麼? After you see each other on the first day after winter vacation, what do you talk about?

Student 1: 過年的時候, 我們全家一起大掃除. As the year passed, my whole family cleaned the house.

Student 2: 你的頭髮剪短了.Your hair has been cut shorter.
Student 3: 我回外婆家住了好幾天. I stayed at my (maternal) grandmother's house for many days.
Student 4: 小琪好像長高了. It seems like Little Chi has grown taller.
Student 5: 我們全家一起出國去玩. My whole family took a vacation outside the country.
Student 6: 過年的時候, 有好多人來我們家玩." As the year passed, so many people came to our house to play.

2. 2 生活(下)

一   開學了 The Semester Begins
二   奇妙的植物 Amazing Plants
三   感恩與祈福 Blessings and Thanks
四   雲和雨 Clouds and Rain
五   和風做朋友 Making Friends with the Wind
六   夏天的生活 Summer Life

"常見的民俗活動 Commonly Seen Festivals

你認試哪些民俗節日呢?  人們通常會在這些節日做什麼事情? Which festivals are you familiar with?  What do people usually do during these festivals?


農曆一月  元宵節 First Month of the Lunar Calendar: Lantern Festival

國曆四月  清明節 Fourth Month of the Solar Calendar: Tomb-Sweeping Day
農曆五月  端午節 Fifth Month of the Lunar Calendar: Dragon Boat Festival
農曆七月  中元節 Seventh Month of the Lunar Calendar: Hungry Ghost Festival [Ghost Month]
農曆八月  中秋節 Eighth Month of the Lunar Calendar: Mid-Autumn Festival
農曆九月  重陽節 Ninth Month of the Lunar Calendar: Chong-Yang Festival*

*This last one was news to me!  Maybe because it's in September?

 3. 社會 3 (下)

一   家鄉的生活 Hometown Life
二   居民總動員 The People in the Community
三   生活要更好 Life Should be the Best
四   家鄉風情畫 Hometown Portrait
五   地名故事多 The Stories of Names are Many
六   守護我家鄉 Protecting our Hometown

在我們區內建德里的山坡上, 有一塊大石頭, 遠遠看過去很像一隻鸚鵡, 大家稱它"鶯歌石".  後來就用"鶯歌"做為本地的地名. There is a hillside within our area, which is called Jian De Li.  This hillside has a rock, and this rock looks like a parrot from far off.  Everyone calls this rock the "Ying Ge Rock," [to signify its likeness to a parrot].  After a while Yingge [the ceramics center] became the name of this place.


 4. 社會 4 (下)

單元1   飲水思源 The Source of Drinking Water
單元2   家鄉的人口 Hometown Population
單元3   家鄉的產業 Hometown Industry
單元4   產業與生活 Industry and Life
單元5   家鄉的運輸 Hometown Transportation
單元6   天涯若比鄰 The End of the [Old] World or the Beginning of the Next

"家鄉人口的出生與死亡 Births and Deaths Within the Hometown Population

早期家鄉居民的農業業生產方式需要較多人力, 因此, 出生率較高; 近年來, 受到生育觀念的改變, 養兒育女費用的提高等影響, 出生率普遍降低.  另一方面, 家鄉人口的死亡率, 則隨著衛生保健觀念和一療技術的進步而下降. In previous times the people engaged in agricultural production had a greater need for manpower, and because of this, the birth rate was higher.  In recent years the attitudes toward family planning (fertility) have changed, as has the cost of raising a child and other factors.  [For this reason] the birth rate has dropped.  On the other side, the hometown death rate has seen a corresponding decrease in response to improved sanitation, an understanding of health concepts, and improvements in preventative medical techniques.


出生率下降, 使得幼年人口減少.  醫療保見進步, 使得平均壽命提高, 老年人口增加.  因此, 近年來家鄉老年人口的比例有逐漸增多, 幼年人口的比例有逐漸下降的趨勢."As the birth rate drops, the younger population also decreases.  As preventative medical care improves, the average life expectancy increases.  The older population is growing, and because of this, within the last few years we have seen a trend within our hometowns toward more older people, and less younger people.


 5. 社會 5 (下)

第一單元   臺灣的先民 Taiwan's First People
第二單元   世界發現臺灣 The World Discovers Taiwan
第三單元   唐山來的拓荒客 The Wild Man from Tang Mountain
第四單元   臺灣現代化得起步 The Beginning of Taiwan's Modern Era
第五單元   東來的統治者 The Ruler from the East
第六單元   戰後的臺灣 Taiwan After the War

 "葡萄牙人遇見臺灣 The Portuguese Arrive in Taiwan

自十五世紀以來, 歐洲人不斷在尋找到達東方的新航路.  最早航行到東方的葡萄牙人, 在經過臺灣時, 發現島上山川壯麗, 不禁讚嘆為"福爾摩沙" (Ilha Formosa), 意思是"美麗之島".  不久, 並用武力和宗教統治臺灣" During the 15th Century, European people kept searching for a new route to Asia.  The Portuguese were among the first to arrive in Asia.  As they passed by Taiwan, they discovered the beauty of Taiwan's magnificent mountains.  For this reason they wanted to beautify it with the name "Formosa" (Ilha Formosa), which means "island of beauty."  Not long after, they used  religion and military force to rule Taiwan.*


*I've got to say, the notion of the Portuguese controlling Taiwan through violence and religion is ridiculous.  At best they held a couple of outposts here, and these not for long!

 6. 社會 6 (下)

第一單元   科學的啟蒙 The Enlightenment and Science
第二單元   現代科枝與生活 Modern Technology and Life
第三單元   從台灣走向世界 Moving from Taiwan to the World
第四單元   參與國際社會 A Tour of World Societies
第五單元   放眼看世界 Setting Your Eyes Upon the World
第六單元   關心我們的地球 Caring About Our Earth

"臺灣與中國大陸的交流 Exchanges Between Taiwan and Mainland China

民國三十八年, 中華民國退守臺灣, 由於政治因素, 臺灣與中國大陸長期不相往來.  民國七十六年, 中華民國政府開放民眾到中國大陸探親以後, 兩岸民間互動日趨頻繁, 臺灣和中國大陸也各自成立了海基會和海協會的民間中介機溝, 協助處理兩岸交流的事務.  The Republic of China was forced onto Taiwan in 1949, and for this reason Taiwan and Mainland China did not have contact for a long time.  In 1987 representatives of the R.O.C. visited China to see their relatives, and  from this time cross-strait interactions between relatives became more frequent.  Taiwan and Mainland China also created the S.E.F. and A.R.A.T.S. associations to facilitate such interactions, and to mediate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.


近年來, 除了探親, 旅遊之外, 兩岸的民間團體, 也紛紛組團從事學術, 體育, 音樂, 表演等文化交流.  中國大陸低的工資, 廣大的市場, 更吸引許多台商到當地投資設廠, 使得兩岸的經貿往來密切.  民國九十七年低, 兩岸更開放直航, 為彼此的交流立下一個新的里程碑." In recent years, with the exception of family visits and travel, there have also been delegations formed between the two sides for the purpose of study, athletics, music, performances, and other cultural exchanges.  Mainland China's lower wages and huge market has also attracted many Taiwanese businessmen to invest in Mainland factories.  This has brought the economies of both [countries] much closer.  As of 2008, direct flights were implemented [between the two countries], and this has been a milestone in exchanges between the two [countries].*


*At no point in this article is Taiwan referred to as a country.  I am adding this word for the sake of clarity.

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