It’s me, Pei-Hsuan! I have always dreamed of becoming a teacher, ever since I was a little girl. As a Taiwanese who received teacher-centered, lecture-based, and test-orientated education all along the way until university, honestly, the best ‘revenge’ is to become a teacher beating against the rigid educational system and it is also the symbol of respect, authority, and influence.

When I realized that I finally owned the learning agency, inspired by my professor, Grace Fang, who taught Multimedia English Language Teaching. I learned that teaching is not just a job but a profession that can impact many people. In the process of conducting the multimedia e-book project, she cast all her efforts and countless hours tutoring me and guided me with a growth mindset to achieve the project. She serves as not only my mentor but also my model. In the long run, because of my effort, persistence, and her devotion far and beyond, I accomplished the multimedia project, and thus, I am more determined to become a teacher.

Due to my enthusiasm for education, after accumulating some teaching experience, I decided to pursue my master’s degree in curriculum development & instructional technology at SUNY-Albany. The coursework equipped me with abundant professional knowledge; the diverse environment enabled me to make congenial friends; the growth mindset of the faculty allowed me to absorb the most up-to-date information in the educational field. This special experience has made me resolute about continuing my dedication to teaching, the action through which I believe I can extend my greatest capability to help others.

After pursuing my studies, I worked as a secretary at I-Shou International School (IIS). After interacting with the students from Grade 1 to Grade 12, I personally found working with students at an elementary age level to be most comfortable and enjoyable experience. Also, working here lead me to become familiar with the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and to see how it works in a real classroom setting. During my academic evening classes at IIS, where I taught two Grade 1 students, I had a very different experience than any I have had before.

In the inquiry-based curriculum, we encouraged students to explore their own learning adventures with teachers, built on their own knowledge, and learned at their own pace. Instead of test-oriented teaching and learning, we cultivated students to become thinkers, communicators, and open-minded, caring individuals. I learned to moderate my teaching tempo according to the students’ interests and learning situations. I was neither chased by the test/exam deadlines, nor stressed-out by the students’ test results. Instead, I was led by my students’ learning desires and motivations. It was at this moment that I suddenly realized that teaching and learning can be interesting and fun, not just rigid and traditional. Then, when it came to the end of the semester, I told my students that it was the last class before the summer vacation. To my surprise, their reaction was, “I don’t want the summer break. I want to learn more English!” This moment made me more than resolute to become a qualified teacher, who is the first teacher in my family.

Given that the government is aiming to develop Taiwan into a bilingual nation by 2030, my ambition to become a certified bilingual teacher is in alignment with the government policy and the latest education trends. My qualifications are in curriculum design, instructional technology, and English-Chinese oral and written translation. Ultimately, I achieved my goal of earning my teaching license and becoming a primary school teacher in a bilingual school in Taiwan.