“It is very interesting to give a class to these kids! They are so smart that most of them can learn new things immediately! I feel very proud to teach them!” Each week, the members of TKU Taekwondo Club, Harmonica Club, and Green Club go to the neighboring elementary schools, sharing their learning with children. If you are also interested in it, maybe you should join them as well!

Taekwondo Club

“By teaching these children, we can not only practice the knowledge and skills we learn from the club, but also learn how to teach. Since the kids’ mood is more unstable, it is an art to attract their attention and make them understand what you say,” said Wang Yueh-fen, the leader of Taekwondo Club.

TKU Taekwondo Club has been doing community service for six years. Each week their members go to four neighboring elementary schools (including Tamsui Elementary School, Sin Sing Elementary School, Sanzhi Elementary School, and Wan Hua Elementary School) and teach children Taekwondo. Through this kind of activity, the members can not only help kids learning Taekwondo, but also immerse themselves in Taekwondo more deeply and thoroughly. In addition, they also get good grades during the contests because of more practices.

TKU Taekwondo Club does the community service on every Wednesday and Saturday, two hours each time. Because the learning condition varies from kid to kid, hence the Club will send a black belt player and a color belt player to teach these elementary students. The coach will go with them, too. “Many children are really very naughty,” said Wang smilingly, “so sometimes we still need to yell at them to make them quiet.”

Actually, many members of Taekwondo Club cannot accommodate themselves to the community service at the beginning because on the one hand they have to sacrifice their holiday and on the other they also need to look after their own school work. But every time when they watch these children learning, making progress, and even getting good grades in the contests, they would feel gratified and forget all their hardship. They know that while they are teaching these little kids, they not only prove their love for Taekwondo, but also gain progress from the teaching experience. Moreover, for the new members, it is a great opportunity to practice their newly-learned skills. Therefore, Wang hopes that Taekwondo Club can pass down this good tradition forever.

TKU Green Club

TKU Green Club also actively engages in community service, teaching elementary school students the idea and know-how of recycling, such as turning a plastic bottle into a pen pot. “It is very interesting to give a class to these kids! They are so smart that most of them can learn new things immediately! I feel very proud to teach them!” said Ts’ai Yao-chou (Junior, Dept. of Chemistry), the chief of public relation section of TKU Green Club.

This year, TKU Green Club chooses Tian Sheng Primary School of Tamsui as their site of community service. The Green Club members tell the children what things they have to recycle one week in advance, and then during the class teach the kids how to turn these recyclable objects into cute little things or stationery. Originally, they only give one class per week, but because their teaching style is too relaxing and interesting, the school teachers decide to let them give two classes each week since the kids like this course very much. Some children even hope that every class can be as interesting as this one, which moves the members very much.

Facing so many children, these “teachers” from TKU Green Club do not feel nervous at all. All of them have special ways to get along with kids, and their interaction is pretty good, too. Tsai says that in addition to the course during the semester, they also hold recycling camps every summer and winter vacation. He indicates that many elementary schools promote the idea of recycling, but many children still do not know why they should recycle waste. That is why they want to go to elementary schools and tell the kids the importance of recycling. “Our course is just like an interesting art and crafts class,” Tsai said proudly, “The kids will definitely love it!”

Harmonica Club

Under the encouragement of Ministry of Education and TKU Extracurricular Activities Guidance Section, many of our clubs step into community, and one of them is Harmonica Club. Lai Chun-yu (B Class, sophomore, Dept. of Mechanical and Electro-Mechanical Engineering), the leader of Harmonica Club, points out that, apart from giving public performance at Tamsui Elementary School and Sin Sing Elementary School of Tamsui, they also go to Tamsui Elementary School to teach children playing harmonica every Tuesday morning this semester.

Lai says that teaching these elementary school students is just like teaching new members. The only difference is that the kids are quite naughty, so sometimes the members have to yell at them to discipline them. But they have no other way out when they meet some really unruly brat. Fortunately, since there are only 10 persons in each class, students’ efficiency of learning is quite good, and most of the members enjoy the sense of achievements.

The most recent public performance of TKU Harmonica Club was at Tamsui Art Festival, held by Carrie Chang Fine Arts Center and Tamsui Administration Office. Lai said, “It was like joining a contest, and most of the audience was the tourists. But we had a great performance, and the response of audience is quite good, too.” ( Amanda Yen )