With the changing of time, it is necessary for education around the world to undergo a series of reforms, but reforms must mean progress or improvement. They need to be further delved into.
      In 2001, Taiwan’s Government made big changes in the elementary and junior high schools’ curriculum of. Was the curriculum reform successful? There are many answers, depending on which issues you refer to. In my opinion, it failed when it comes to the integration principle / concept, which is highly acclaimed by the promoters and the officials of the Ministry of Education.
      The original idea was to “integrate” Physics, Chemistry and Biology, calling it “ Science and Technology”; to “integrate” History and Geography, making it “ Social Study”: to “integrate” Music, Art, and Performance to become “ the Art and Humanities. As a result, the titles exist while in practice it is not what the curriculum experts claimed would happen. Here it makes me think of a Chinese proverb, which says: “On the store door hangs a goat head while the store sells dog meat.” How funny!
      Another big issue also arises and is getting serious among the curriculum reformers. It relates to important teaching themes, which include gender education, environmental protection education,, human rights education, life education, home economics, information technology education, ocean education, national security education, moral education and ---. I heard that more than 20 extra themes are in line for a chance to be one of the themes. There are limitless challenges in life; consequently, there are limitless themes awaiting to be included in the curriculum. Facing these tough challenges, how can we, all educators, wisely deal with them? We, at least, have to give them consideration.
      With the experiences gained as an educator for more than 35 years, serving as a teacher, director and principal, I have a idea to handle this tough challenge. I strongly suggest that it is time to add a course entitled, “ Reading, Thinking and Discussing” to our curriculum.
      Once the “ Reading, Thinking and Discussing” course is included in the curriculum, recommended booklists, teaching manual, guidelines, suggestions and checklist of the themes and their reflections should also be provided in a timely fashion. In this way, all teachers might more be willing to accept the curriculum. The contents, the strategies, the flexibility and diversity would consequently be higher. On the other hand, the existing stress may disappear.
      In order to control the quality of these teaching hours/periods, every three to five years the administrators of various levels should give schools a periodical assessment focused on what every class has done instead of just evaluating the paper work. Using more refined assessment strategies and skills (for example, interviewing, polling and personal observing.) and longer time to find the facts, would, indeed, reveal the true facts. That’s what education is, isn’t it?
      Stripping away the names of all the subjects taught would result in the core notion of reading, thinking and discussing and practicing. Therefore the proposal I made to add “ Reading, Thinking and Discussing” to the curriculum of the elementary and junior high schools, can enliven the curriculum while bettering the basic→competitive→lifelong ability of students. One shot, two birds. Why not give it a try!

      Morris wrote it after attending the conference on moral education (An international perspective on moral education: a dialogue between a British scholar and Taiwanese educators) , which presided over by Dr. Monica J. Taylor, a British scholar and Professor Angela李琪明 in Hualien on June 18, 2010