The Homework Overload: Taiwan’s First Grade Demands Too Much from Kids

Since our six-year-old started first grade in Taiwan this September, I’ve experienced firsthand just how rigorous the academic environment is here. As a Polish parent, I never anticipated just how intense it would be for such young children. It’s only October, and he’s already preparing for a big test—a *big* test for a six-year-old! This past week alone has been filled with numerous smaller tests, seemingly non-stop. To add to the stress, there’s a looming typhoon that could potentially cause school closures, so what does the school do? They assign extra homework to cover the days off! 

In just one week, he’s been given a huge amount of work: usually, he has assignments in three textbooks (two pages each per day), but now he also has two extra A1-sized sheets to complete each day. I can’t help but think this is too much for a child his age. In fact, they’ve had to read since day one! The amount of work they’re given for these “off” days is overwhelming, and weekends and holidays are no exception—they all come with homework. Hearing from parents of older children, I worry about what winter and summer holidays will be like, as I’ve heard the homework load is enormous. So, when do they actually get free time? Next year, we plan to spend our winter break and Lunar New Year with family in Poland, but it seems we’ll have to carry lots of books and, instead of relaxing and enjoying time with family, we’ll be stuck doing homework!

This experience has shown me some surprising aspects of Taiwan’s education system, and as much as I respect the dedication to academics, there are things I just can’t get on board with. For one, school starts extremely early—our son has to be at school by 7:30 a.m., which is challenging for him. He rarely has time to eat a proper breakfast; sometimes he’ll manage just a small slice of bread or a banana before heading out, which I don’t think is enough for a full morning. Since he can’t bring food to school, he has to wait until lunch around noon. By the time he finishes after-school daycare around 5 p.m., he’s so hungry that he’ll eat two dinners within an hour of getting home. This can’t be a healthy routine for a growing child!

For a six-year-old, managing school and homework has become incredibly demanding. It’s a stark contrast to what I knew from Poland, where young children are given time to ease into academics without the stress of constant tests and heavy assignments. I don’t think we even had tests this early on, and elementary school in Poland doesn’t start until age seven, not six. 

Is this rigorous routine worth it in the end? Kids seem to lose their childhood, growing up to become busy, overworked adults with little freedom until retirement. It’s no wonder that the rate of depression here is so high.

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Typhoon Krathon in Taiwan

As typhoon season rolls in, Taiwan braces itself for the unpredictable force of nature that shapes its landscape and daily life every year. One of the recent storms to hit the island was Typhoon Krathon, a significant weather event that stirred concerns across the country. In this blog post, I’ll take a closer look at Krathon’s path, its impact on Taiwan, and how it affected our local area of Toufen, Miaoli.

Living in Taiwan we learn to coexist with the reality of typhoons. While they can be disruptive, Taiwanese society is well-prepared for these storms, and the government’s swift action helps minimize the potential damage. 

For us in Toufen, it was a relief to have dodged the worst of Krathon’s fury, but it’s always a sobering experience knowing that others around the island were less fortunate. 

In 2024, Taiwan has experienced several typhoons, including notable ones like Typhoon Gaemi and Typhoon Krathon. As of October, there have been around 2 to 4 typhoons impacting or coming close to Taiwan, which is slightly below the average for a typical year. 

Typhoon Krathon began as a tropical depression in the Pacific, gradually gaining strength as it approached Taiwan. Its path followed the typical route of many typhoons in this region, heading westward from the Philippines towards the South China Sea. As it neared Taiwan, Krathon was classified as a medium-strength typhoon, with sustained winds reaching around 120 km/h (75 mph). The storm first touched down in southern Taiwan, then swept across the island, bringing strong winds and torrential rain.

Typhoon Krathon was initially expected to make landfall in Taiwan earlier, but it hovered off the coast before ultimately arriving on Thursday, October 3, 2024. The storm finally made landfall around 12:40 PM local time in Kaohsiung, a port city on Taiwan’s southwest coast. It was originally forecasted to approach Taiwan’s coastline as early as Wednesday, but its path and timing shifted slightly before it came ashore on Thursday. As a result of the typhoon, Taiwan was shut down for two days, with schools, offices, and financial markets closed. Around 240 international flights were canceled, and domestic flights were suspended.

Typhoon Krathon has had a significant impact on Taiwan, resulting in 2 confirmed deaths, 123 injuries, and 2 people still missing as of Wednesday morning (October 3rd). The typhoon caused widespread infrastructure damage, particularly in the southern regions, with over 1,000 incidents of tree collapses and road damage. There have also been reports of landslides in Keelung, Pingtung, and Taitung. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated as a precaution, and multiple flights and ferry services have been canceled across Taiwan.

Following Typhoon Krathon, Taiwan announced school and work suspensions in several affected regions, particularly in areas hit hardest by the storm. Southern counties like Taitung, Pingtung, and Kaohsiung, which experienced severe flooding and landslides, had mandatory closures for public safety. 

Living in Toufen, Miaoli, we were fortunate to be just outside the worst of Krathon’s path, but we still experienced the effects of the typhoon. As the storm passed, the skies darkened, and the winds picked up. 

Here in Toufen, the local government prepared in advance by reinforcing flood prevention systems, cleaning drainage ditches, and warning residents to stay indoors. Schools were closed for a 2 days, and the markets were noticeably emptier as people stocked up on supplies in anticipation of the storm. We were lucky that the power remained on for most of the area, although a few rural sections experienced brief outages. It was much better than in the south, where schools and workplaces closed on Tuesday, giving them an additional three-day holiday this year.

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How is Life After Typhoon Gaemi in Taiwan?

July 24th was supposed to be the last day of our son's kindergarten, but due to Typhoon Gaemi, everything was shut down. We will have to go back another time to collect his things. 

Fortunately, the typhoon wasn't very strong in Miaoli, even though its path was just a few kilometers north of where we live. Other parts of the island weren't as lucky, with some areas experiencing over one meter of flooding. Many places in Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Yunlin, Nantou, Changhua, Hualien, and Yilan were inundated. Yilan and Kaohsiung were the worst hit, with the highest rainfall recorded. Watching the news, it looked really bad, with cars floating around and homes, even apartment garages, flooded. There were a few casualties (10 at the time I wrote this), which, considering the damage, seems surprisingly low—thankfully.

We didn't suffer much impact other than being stuck at home for a few days. We had two days off, which, of course, doesn't change much for me as cooking and cleaning never take a break. Recently, our son received UNO cards as a gift, and we spent about four hours a day playing. Sunday finally looked better, with the forecast showing a sunny day. Some areas of Taiwan still had days off even on Monday, July 29th, highlighting how severe the flooding was this time. Water reservoirs quickly refilled, so I hope we won't be facing water shortages this year. We also checked out Yongheshan Reservoir, which looked really lovely.

The damage from the typhoon rose to a few billion TWD, which is enormous. We quickly saw the impact, as even on Monday, there were no eggs and barely any vegetables in stores, despite visiting more than one. Luckily, I had prepared for this, so we aren't lacking food. However, I always seem to have bad luck; when there are no eggs available, I get cake orders that I have to refuse. Oh, my luck... The cake business is already challenging enough. Is everyone getting healthier these days, or are people just saving money on other things? I haven't raised prices, but the cost of ingredients keeps growing. I understand that cakes aren't a necessity.

We also did some accounting, and found that we’re spending nearly twice as much on food as we did last year, so inflation isn't that small.

Typhoon Gaemi was the strongest in eight years, and watching the news, it was clear how intense the rain and wind were. It's the biggest storm since I moved here in 2017. In recent years, typhoons have barely hit Taiwan, with more activity only picking up last year. However, we lived in the north then, and typhoons usually affected the south, so it was unusual to see this typhoon going north and passing through the island.

I hope everyone is well and that the damage will be repaired soon. I heard about the government offering subsidies to households where the water was over 50cm high, but compared to the overall damage, it doesn't seem like much.

Despite the tragedy, some people found ways to have fun during those days. Many videos circulated of people paddleboarding, swimming on their mattresses, playing with remote control boats, and one man playing the piano calmly in his flooded living room. The only real danger was a pet crocodile roaming around Chiayi, but at least it loved its owner and swam back home soon after.

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What is Kindergarten Like in Taiwan?

Starting the journey two years ago, our son was signed up for kindergarten. Our situation wasn't the easiest; our son spoke English and Polish, with only a few Chinese words. My husband was busy working, so our son had spent his days with me for the past four years. The kindergarten didn't see this as a problem and believed he would quickly learn, which proved true. Within a few days, they said he could understand a lot. He spoke less initially, but his skills improved rapidly. Now, after two years, the teachers say Adrian knows Chinese very well, even writing Bopomofo and doing tasks faster than other kids. So if you're worried about your child not speaking the language and attending a local kindergarten, worry no more! Kids learn incredibly fast. As for me, despite being home alone, I still don't know much of the language, but at least I have my little translator with me.

In the first year, he had teachers who spoke some English, making communication easier for me. In the second year, his teachers only spoke Chinese. This wasn't a problem initially, but it became one when they chose not to speak to me, preferring to call my husband or wait for him to come to the kindergarten. My husband mentioned this, and two months before our son's graduation, the teachers started being more proactive in speaking with me. To my surprise, I understood most of what they said, even though I could only respond with simple words like "yes" or "thank you." This made me very happy, and the teachers were pleased too.

His graduation day was June 29th, quite late compared to Poland. It wasn't his last day of kindergarten; that was on July 24th. Kindergarten here has fewer vacations than elementary school, with just two weeks off in winter and summer. Because of his graduation, he got five weeks off in total, which isn't great news for me as I will lose my free time! I used to spend hours daily making and editing cooking videos, and we also made travel videos. I feel I won't be able to do much work for the whole month of August.

Our son is pretty sad about finishing kindergarten, and so am I, seeing how much he loves it. He's especially upset about a girl friend who will go to a different elementary school. She took care of him since the beginning and helped him adjust, so I understand his sadness. I'm sad too, as she was a lovely girl who occasionally chatted with me and waved, unlike other kids who were probably shy around a foreigner.

Kindergarten costs vary by place, but I can say it's not expensive. He got to play with many toys, learn to draw, paint, and play with clay, which I never did in my kindergarten. They focus on learning from nature rather than just studying from books. They would raise caterpillars in class, and he even brought some home once. We had to search for orange tree leaves to feed them, learning they eat a lot more than expected. In his second year, they also sent books home every two weeks for reading and bonding with parents. This was usually my husband's job unless the book had an English translation. The kids also painted what they read.

They had regular exercise and naps, which initially worried me as our son didn't nap before kindergarten. However, he quickly adjusted and slept there, still being fine at home at night. I was worried after hearing stories from other parents of mixed kids struggling to adjust or being accepted. Adrian had no such problem; every child loved him and wanted to play with him, regardless of the language barrier at first.

I'm grateful he will finish kindergarten on July 24th, giving me an extra month to focus on my videos and blog. Now, I'm a bit nervous about elementary school, as he will have to go much earlier, sit in one place, study, and have homework I cannot help him with. I hope he adjusts quickly.

At least his elementary school is right next to the kindergarten. He's upset about not seeing his teacher anymore, but he can visit during his free time since the teachers have welcomed their former students to drop by.

Interestingly, the graduation wasn't held at the school but in a banquet hall at a nearby hotel, which was a surprise to me. Unlike the annual ceremonies we have back home, in Taiwan, they only have one big ceremony after finishing school. Maybe that's why it looked so fancy! The girls wore beautiful dresses, some resembling wedding gowns more than graduation outfits. They put on a little show for the parents to watch. 

Out of four graduating classes, they separated the ceremony into two groups: one in the morning and one in the afternoon, as the space would have needed to be much larger to accommodate everyone. After the graduation, the kids also received some gifts, which I think is super sweet. I never had such a nice graduation; he'll have great memories from that day (if he remembers it in the future).

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