Roman Catholic Good Shepherd Foundation Establishes Continuation School Care for Dropouts, 

because Love Never Drops Out

Reported by Uidy Kao, Written by David Alexander

Taipei, 29th April 2001

 (Taiwan Church News)

The burden of school dropouts grows heavier each year in Taiwan. Ministry of Education statistics for 1997 showed 7,600 secondary school dropouts and 1,300 of elementary school age. More recent figures were not made available, but the general consensus among school counselors is that the number and percentage have risen.

The Roman Catholic Good Shepherd Foundation in Taipei has opened Good
Shepherd Continuation School to give opportunity for dropouts to have a safe and stable environment in which they can receive love, counsel and education towards reintegration with mainstream society. In April the foundation held a seminar to introduce its work and gather advice and counsel from educational professionals and scholars.

Other church agencies in Taipei have initiated ministries focused on the needs of dropouts. These include the Protestant Churches Cooperative Neighborhood Youth Center and the Youth Growth Center at Bread of Life Church. These, like Good Shepherd, seek through love, support, protection and education to draw dropouts back from the social margins where they encounter underworld influences.

Yen Kwang-cheng, who is the director of counseling at Wan Hwa Middle School in Taipei, said, "Dropouts comprise a fixed portion of the youth with whom our society has to deal. The ratio of dropouts indicates a need for direct concern and guidance. We can't merely tell them to 'come back to school' because it is not that easy. The campus is no bed of roses. Dropping out is not merely a matter of disliking study, it is the result of many forces which have resulted in a decision. When counselors look at cases we find family life, teachers' attitudes and classmates' treatment all figure into the choice to quit school. If a dropout returns he or she is labeled as tainted and there are classmates who engage in avoidance behavior to prevent becoming stained by association."

Wu Fang-li, an associate professor in the Department of Educational and Psychological Counseling at National Normal University in Taipei, says, "The problem of dropping out is not simply attributable to academic failure or inability to fit into school life. The gap between many students' learning styles and schools' pedagogical styles is vast. At times an individual student may be singled out as the victim of other students' harassment, or may herself/himself be the instigator of harassment against other students. Dropping out is not merely a means of evading school life. We cannot be simplistic as we seek to understand the phenomenon. Individualized approaches must be taken. The decision to drop out is a daring one. If a student was brave enough to drop out, he or she probably has the courage to return. It is the duty of counselors to find and stimulate that courage."

Good Shepherd's continuation school was established in 1999 under a contract from the Taipei Municipal Department of Education. In its second year of operation it expanded its facilities and curriculum and  obtained accreditation. The program differs from that of traditional schools. In addition to instruction in languages and mathematics, there are courses on self development, confidence building, sex and gender education, spiritual counseling and career planning. The school's approach to the use of time also differs from that of typical schools. The school day begins at an hour more in tune with the natural body rhythms of middle school age youth, 1 PM. Time and space are also generously given for preparation, that the school experience might be transformed from a negative to a positive one.

The school also takes psychological consultation and behavior modification guidance seriously. Liau Hong-shin, the school's director, says, "The guidance we offer to dropouts aims at stability and seeks to put distance between these young people and the vagrant street life that many have led between the time they dropped out and came to us." Good Shepherd offers its skills and perspectives to counseling centers at traditional schools. Mr. Yen of Wan Hwa Middle School praised this openness. "Typical schools pay little attention to helping dropouts. The model and mission of Good Shepherd are what we need because our human resources are inadequate to cope with the problem. What we see here is that problems we previously thought insolvable are both manageable and have the potential for resolution."

For more information: Good Shepherd Service Group +886 2 2932 5710 Bread of Life Church +886 2 2362 3022