BOUNTIFUL—A group of 15 students from the Davis School District and a small group of principals had the opportunity this summer to visit Taiwan and see what they’re doing in their schools and daily life. The visit was part of the Taiwan International Youth Exchange Association program that brings Taiwanese students here for 10 days during the school year and then students from the district go to Taiwan for three weeks at the beginning of the summer. 

“Students from Taiwan come to visit high schools in Davis County,” said School Board Member Alisa Mercer, whose family hosted two students. “They visit classes and learn about American culture. Local high school students are buddies for the students.”

Some of the Taiwanese students are not able to come on the trip to Utah so the organization invites a small group of students to travel to Taiwan and visit schools, she said. 

Mercer’s daughter Maya, a senior at Woods Cross High, was one of the students who went to Taiwan this summer for three weeks. “We taught English at the elementary schools and read and played games,” said Maya. “It was really cool. We were able to communicate pretty well. The kids there learn English at an early age. High school kids would come to the elementary schools to help translate.”

Maya said she stayed with three different host families while she was in Taiwan. “It was cool because I got three different perspectives. It was fun meeting them and going on an adventure.”

The schools seemed bigger, she said. “Maybe 2,000 students. At least it was bigger than Woods Cross. They spend a lot of time in school. That’s crazy to me, I don’t know if I’d be able to do that.”

The food was different, said Maya. “It took time to get used to it. I liked this dumpling called Xiao Long Bao. I made it at school and other treats. They don’t cook a lot inside their homes because they’re small. They mostly go out for meals.”

It was a great experience, she said. “They had a completely different lifestyle than mine. I would recommend that kids go.”

“We hosted 25 Taiwanese students in February,” said Bountiful High School Principal Travis Warnick, who went on the trip. “They shadow our classes then we get to go there.”

It’s good to see that they are like us, he said. “Teenagers are teenagers doing good things like we’re doing. The kids are very connected. The world is smaller than we think it is. They watch the same thing on Netflix, like the same music and fashions.”

They really focus on the purpose of education, said Warnick. “They go to school from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. for 220 days. We’re 180 days from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.”

From 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. is their regular school, he said. “Then from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. is cram school. That’s just test prep. They start at 8 years old.”

Every test they do is a placement test, said Warnick. “The highest performing schools only take the top scores.”

Warnick said they had a long conversation about cell phones in school. “One of the schools we visited had just outlawed cell phones. The students seemed upset. The students asked us if we allow cell phones. We said ‘no we don’t’ and they said ‘oh man.’”

One thing Warnick said he learned was that structure doesn’t have to mean strict. “It’s OK to have an expectation of excellence.”

It’s different because they don’t have extracurricular activities like choir, basketball, theater, etc., he said. “I can’t fathom that because it is so important to our kids to have outside things.”

Warnick said he loved how safe it was there. “I always felt safe. People were polite and kind.”

It’s a fantastic opportunity, he said. “We have a sister school there and we want to keep sharing kids.”