服務故事

​Every student at the Junyi School of Innovation partakes in the three-year-long graduation project. The project allows them to explore their interests in-depth, which they will present to their peers in the 12th grade. Beginning in the 10th grade, 10th graders are supported to first identify their topics of interest. They earn knowledge, experience, passion, and inspiration through curiosity and research. Students are encouraged to ask questions, explore, apply what they have learned from class, reflect, modify, and improve their work. They learn to bring their ideas into reality.

In March 2022, each with a 20-minute time limit, 46 graduates presented their projects to fellow high schoolers. Not only were the projects a direct outcome of their three-year exploration, but Junyi believes it is the most valuable gift graduates could give themselves before embarking on their new journeys. The graduation presentation is a requirement to graduate from the school. Each week, students are asked to delegate self-learning and exploration time to work on their projects. Students also take the initiative to discuss their progress with their teachers. The role of the Teacher is to guide students without interference in opinions and to give students the space to determine their learning direction. This collaboration is the key to the project's success.

Self-Directed Learning Develops into a Career Path

Hanna Chien-Hua Wang comes from a family of farmers. When the project was first assigned, she immediately knew what her topic would be – farm marketing. Wang said, "My father grows the most beautiful fruit trees. It is not only during the harvest season that he enjoys his work; he deeply believes that growing a tree is his contribution to society and the environment. Because his expertise is in farming, expertise many are left unsold. After harvesting the fruits, I want to help solve this issue by creating a marketing plan for our farm."

Wang once brought two cases of her father's pomelo to share at school. Teacher Hsin-Hung Chuang remarked, "The pomelos are delicious – why aren't they packaged better?" After that, he gave her a book on farm marketing and suggested she make jam out of the unsold ripened fruits. "After a few days, Wang brought homemade jam for me to try. I was particularly impressed by her drive to take action." said Teacher Chuang.

Wang read the book cover to cover, and it eventually became the book she would refer to frequently in her process of developing a marketing plan. Wang said, "From the book, I learned that it is okay to not succeed in the beginning and to take the time to figure out what success looks like for our farm. I was inspired to identify the unique selling points of our farm to set us apart from others. I learned to use marketing to solve our problems. To tackle the issue of unsold ripened fruits, we developed 16 processed food products." Wang also followed the book's suggestion to get involved in the local farmers' market, and she built the courage to set up a stall. She aspires to create a platform to help uplift small farm businesses so that they can earn air income. In Wang's college interview, she proudly presented the brand and products she created for her family's farm. She was instantly accepted to the university's marketing program. Through the graduation project, a future career path was inspired.

Passion Inspires Diligence and Persistence

Andrew Hsien-Cheng Chu's chosen topic was his journey to master the guitar. Teacher Chuang said, "Chu is passionate about music. He exposes himself greatly to different types of music. He even asked if I would form a band with him – which I did, and we performed at the Tiehua Music Village. It takes an entire week for him to hone eight bars, which can feel repetitive and boring, but he does it with patience." Several students at Junyi are skilled at guitar playing, and some even requested to perform at school events; however, Teacher Chuang feels Chu's dedication, though not necessarily recognized by peers, is valuable and worth praising.

​Interest Turns to Passion

Josh Chia-Hsiang Chiang, who loves Japanese anime and manga, made this his chosen topic. In grade 11, Chiang remade the book, "The Missing Piece", into a film using stop motion technique. It was then that he discovered his strengths, and his confidence grew. Teacher Wan-Yen Hsu said, "The final product of the anime is short, but it took a lot of heart and effort on his part to create it, particularly because the stop motion software was in English. Though he experienced several failures in the process, he pursued his goal of creating a high-quality production. I can see his confidence flourish from the experience." In Chiang's 12th grade, he produced a 3D film for an online course – 24 seconds took three months to produce. Chiang said, "In life, there will be times where the amount of time committed versus the outcome are not equal, but never give up until you find your passion."

Dare to be Unique

Neona I-Chieh Yang's topic was the relationship between dreams and stress for female adolescents. When Yang first explored the connection between stress and the subconscious mind, she approached it with a survey examining patterns of peers who dreamed regularly. Yang believes that whether positive or negative, every dream has its meaning. Her findings identified several categories of dreams, from stress about the future and desire to wear from the subconscious. When Yang first pursued her topic, she questioned her decision – while others' topics could define clear results, hers would be open-ended. Teacher Chuang said, "Though your topic is rare, your findings will benefit some of your peers." After receiving feedback from other students, she was reassured that her findings did benefit some. After graduating from Junyi, Yang plans to major in anthropology and minor in psychology. Friends have always known her to support them in their downs; she hopes to contribute to society positively.

"We Are All Connected to the Land" – Creating Awareness Through Performing Arts

Demi Yun Tai chose land identity as her topic, emphasizing the current situation in her village and how her own awareness of the topic grew. She expressed her findings through a range of performing arts.

Tai's presentation started with a black-and-white film. It shows her watering a plant with water, coffee, and beer, ending with her pouring a bucket of water into the overflowing pot of the now-dead plant. Next to her is an excavator, which she operates to dig a hole deep enough for a person to lie in. She walks into the hole, lies down, and the film ends.

Tai, from the Paiwan tribe, grew up in Taitung. She said, "Because of my father, I have always had a deep relationship with the land. He often brought me to the mountains and villages to remember my roots. I grew up with the Pacific Ocean view. Yet, it is only in the last few years that I truly appreciate its beauty or consider the village situation – what the village faces in terms of crisis as well as cultural preservation. The situations we have grown used to do not equal ignorance, but they can slowly develop into ignorance." She asks, "How much of the environment you live in each day do you notice?" Tai aspires to create awareness through the arts. She sang a folk song that paints the beauty of Mount Kavulungan, and concludes, "You exist in the world, the land is connected to us all."