This year, both of my kids were accepted into the Nostalgia for Taiwan (戀念臺灣) program. During our trip, they had the chance to attend a public school in Beitou, where my family lives. Growing up, I didn’t get to attend school in Taiwan. My kids having this experience in a local school felt proud and bittersweet. Although this is not something they want to do, I hope one day they will appreciate the lengths I go through to give them these experiences.
Beitou was my top choice school because it was close to family. We learned that there was only one other visiting student attending the school through the OCAC program. I met her mom during pickup, and she shared that they are from Japan. I imagine that if I had chosen a school in a district more popular with overseas families, such as Tianmu, Da’an, or Xinyi, there would have been more OCAC students and possibly lower chances of getting selected!
Although I had the option to enroll them for 30 days, I decided to sign them up for just one week. I wasn’t sure what to expect and was especially concerned about one of my children, who struggles in traditional (old-fashioned) education settings. I worried they would hate it and be really upset with me! I’m glad I chose the shorter term because, while one child had a positive experience, the other had such a negative one that I would have transferred them back to the Taipei Montessori Elementary they attended last year.
First Impressions
After receiving our OCAC acceptance, we were instructed to contact the school and provide the necessary information. All communication was conducted in Chinese with the academic director. She sent clear instructions via email about what we needed to bring and when to arrive. On the first day, she greeted us at the school entrance and walked us to the classrooms. Once my kids were in class, she gave me a quick tour of the school on the way to the admin office to pick up sports uniforms.
My first thought when I saw the school? It was huge! With four floors and enough space for up to 5,000 students, it was a world apart from our little elementary school in California, which only has around 300 kids. The campus felt a bit dated and the green tiles and paint were giving hospital vibes, but it was clean. One thing that stood out to me was how much the students contributed to keeping it that way—every morning, I saw groups of kids cleaning the bathrooms and sweeping the hallways.
School Uniforms
Students wear regular clothing on most days, except for PE days. Each child was provided with two sets of PE attire at no cost to us. One set included a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, while the other included a sweater and sweatpants.
My Daughter’s Third Grade Experience
My 8-year-old was placed in a 3rd-grade class with about a dozen classmates. Their desks were arranged in pods, just like in her class in California. When we arrived, the students had been waiting for her and greeted her warmly. A couple of the classmates showed her to her desk and helped her get settled in. She was still a bit nervous and not quite ready for me to leave.
When I picked her up, she couldn’t wait to tell me how awesome her first day was! To my surprise, her teacher treated the entire class to boba milk tea. She said she already made friends and was talking so fast I couldn’t catch all their names. My guess is it was a caffeine high from the tea! LOL! Her classmates even made posters and prepared some small gifts to welcome her. It was such a thoughtful and sweet surprise!
Each day, her teacher planned fun activities like clay art, games, and making balloon animals. It felt like he went out of his way to ensure she had a positive experience, making every day fun and memorable. From what I’ve heard, this isn’t the typical experience at a Taipei public school.
My daughter’s teacher was incredibly thoughtful and made a point to document her time in his class. After school, he would walk her to meet me at the entrance and provide a detailed recap of their day. He even added me on LINE and sent daily pictures of her activities. It was so heartwarming to see my daughter actively and enthusiastically participating in class!
Although I haven’t had her Chinese proficiency tested, my daughter speaks Mandarin comfortably and can read a few hundred characters. Her teacher mentioned that she understood everything in class. Learning Zhuyin proved to be useful, however, she wasn’t expected to read at the same level as her classmates. She was assigned homework and wasn’t required to complete it, but she wanted to try her best to get it done. It was interesting to get a glimpse of the 3rd-grade curriculum in Taiwan. I was pleasantly surprised that the textbook was more engaging than I had imagined, with cartoons and workbook-style activities. The math curriculum was more advanced than what she had been learning in California, so she found the homework too challenging.
My Son’s Fifth Grade Experience
On the first day of school, after dropping my daughter off at her class, the director took us upstairs to my son’s classroom. We stood at the door, and I waited for the teacher to come over, introduce herself, and greet my son. But that didn’t happen. Instead, the director greeted her, and she simply told my son to go inside and that I could leave. No smiles, no pleasantries.
As I turned to leave, I heard her tell the students to make space and directed my son to move a desk to the front of the class. I was shocked. She hadn’t even prepared a seat for him. It felt so impersonal and unwelcoming, and I couldn’t shake the bad feeling I had. Looking back at a photo I took, her body language makes me cringe—and this was only the first five minutes.
That evening, my son told me that there was no recess for his grade. When I asked what he did all day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., he said, “Lectures.” I asked if he’d made any friends, and he shook his head. The other kids were too busy working on their assignments to interact with him. The only thing he seemed to enjoy all week was PE day.
The 5th graders also receive an hour of English instruction from an American teacher. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my son was learning a bit of Taiwanese in class. However, my daughter did not have any Taiwanese language classes. My friend Grace, from Bilingual Working Mom, shared that her second-grade twins, who attend a different public school, do have Taiwanese classes.
He struggled every day. The science and math vocabulary was too advanced, and by fifth grade, the textbooks didn’t include Zhuyin, which he wasn’t confident in any way. He admitted he barely understood the lessons and spent most of the time just sitting there. To make things worse, I later found out he should have been placed in fourth grade instead of fifth.
Throughout the week, there was no communication from his teacher. She didn’t walk him out at the end of the day so I had no chance to ask her any questions. While I didn’t expect much, I was hoping for insight into how he was doing. The only time I saw her was on the last day when she briefly walked him out and mentioned he was bringing home a stack of textbooks—about a dozen that they had used in just one week. She agreed to take a photo with my son and I felt hopeful that she was more friendly than my impression of her. She even added me on LINE, but when I sent her the photo and asked if she could share any photos she took of my son’s experience, I never heard back.
I don’t want to criticize the teacher too harshly, as I understand how busy teachers are and how much is expected of them. However, I feel she may not have been the right person to host a visiting student. I had hoped my son would have a positive experience, make friends, and feel motivated to learn Mandarin. Instead, he felt unwelcome and out of place, with minimal interaction with his peers. His experience did not seem to align with the goals of the OCAC program, which aims to foster a connection with Taiwan and local students. Or perhaps Taiwan’s elementary curriculum is too intense after 3rd grade for a visiting student.
His experience was such a stark contrast to his younger sister’s. I kept telling myself that challenges like these build resilience, but it was hard to see him so unhappy about going to school. Every day, I kept hoping things would improve, but they didn’t.
Although the OCAC program is free, the costs of our flights and apartment in Beitou were quite high. Additionally, I had to unenroll my children from their elementary school in California so they could participate in the program. Given all of this, combined with my son’s negative experience, it felt like a wasted week for him. I’m concerned it may have left him with long-term negative feelings. He could have spent that time learning, connecting, and enjoying himself, but instead, it left him feeling discouraged.
What I wish I had known beforehand
Grade Placement
Both my children were placed in the same grades they are attending in the US. However, they should have been placed one grade lower, which explains why all the students seemed so tall to me—they were a year older than my kids. In Taiwan, children start elementary school a year later than in the US. Academically, it would have been a better fit for my kids if I had selected the correct grade. The OCAC forms ask for the child’s date of birth, and I wish they had mentioned this difference! They should have known, or the school should have noticed when reviewing our application.
If I enroll them with OCAC next winter, I would choose to have my daughter attend 3rd grade again and possibly 3rd grade next year too!
Naptimes
Nap time was unexpected. My son mentioned that the other students brought small pillows to nap, but we weren’t informed about the daily naps or told to bring a pillow. Since he wasn’t used to napping during the day, he simply rested his head on his arm quietly for an hour. He was not allowed to read or do anything besides put his head on his desk.
My daughter’s 3rd teacher allowed the students to read quietly or play with playdough at their desks instead of napping.
Half days
It wasn’t until the first day of school that the director shared the pickup times with me. My daughter had half days, while my son had full days, which meant I had two different pickup times! On the last day, I asked if my son could be dismissed with my daughter, as he wasn’t learning much anyway and was so happy to leave early.
Would we participate in the OCAC program again?
I’m feeling torn because my son had such a negative experience, while my daughter had a great time and is eager to return next year. However, she won’t be in the same class, and the outcome of the experience largely depends on the teacher’s effort to make it a positive one. Right now, I’m thinking about enrolling my daughter again but sending my son to the Montessori school. Since the OCAC program is free, by sending only one child to the Montessori school, I would save $2,000 USD for the month! The challenge is managing two drop-offs and the extra commute—it just feels like a lot of effort.
Do I recommend the OCAC program?
I recommend the OCAC program for children in grades 1-3 with beginner to intermediate Mandarin skills. For grades 4 and up, I suggest the program only if your child has at least an intermediate level of Mandarin and is comfortable in a traditional, academically focused environment.
If your child has limited Chinese skills or you are expecting fun activities, I would consider camps instead.
For more insights and personal experiences, I highly recommend reading Bilingual Working Mom’s OCAC review of her twins’ experience over two years. She’s an excellent writer and has written several detailed blog posts about her children’s time in the program.
