Reporter/Dr. S
2017 Father Lee’s Leadership & Kingship Summer Camp has taken place from the 14th-15th August in the University of Taipei. This camp utalises the theme of ‘Journey to the West’, a very famous Chinese novel from Ming Dynasty, aiming to train students to be aware of the importance of teamwork and to be able to solve complicated problems in the class as well as in their schools or daily lives.
The programme is generously funded by P. P. Angus (Mr. Jin-Tao Lee), who is the current member of Zhong Cheng Rotary Club, District 3522 based in Northern part of Taiwan. P. P. Angus has funded several training programmes carried out by FEALA, and he is happy to see the kids’ achievement through professional training, especially during the long holidays, such as summer or winter vacation, here in Taiwan.
On the first day of the camp, students were asked to vow wholeheartedly to participate in the programme. The Vow starts as follows:
I will put all my strength to complete the programme’s tasks. I will try my best to cooperate with other participants who are either older or younger than me. Also, I will make positive contributions to my school, in my community, and at home that will demonstrate my abilities as a leader…
When the programme begins, camp mentors, who are experienced teachers, lead the group members to get to know each other more. Students are asked to refresh their memories to the story of ‘Journey to the West’, while the mentor guide them to think it in the aspect of teamwork and leadership which appeared in the story.
Since the programme is designed for two age groups (age 13-15 and age 16-18), students sometimes are separated into different classrooms to participate in the activities tailored for them(see above picture). Other times, they have the chance to participate in the tasks altogether. While the programme goes on, students from different ages need to learn to work together as a team. When problems occur, they need to listen to each other, to communicate well and to discuss in order to find out possible solutions (see below pictures).
On the second day of the programme, students have got to know each other better and therefore are able to contribute more to the teams, which they are assigned to (see below pictures). Of course, conflicts occur among team members when they face different types of task. Therefore, it is the teachers’ job to facilitate the team work and encourage them to collaborate with each other. It is the necessary process to become a good member in the team and to ‘reborn’ as a true leader .
The completion of each task from groups or individual participant are accumulated little by little as the programme goes on. While the last task was finally completed(see picture above), students cheered and screamed as if they had gone to India to successfully retrieve the Buddhism scriptures, like those characters in the story of Journey to the West. Students give positive feedback to the programmes (see below, picture on the left) that they have learned the true meaning of leadership, experiencing team works while carrying out learning activities. Most importantly, they realise the value of communication during problem solving process. These achievements will be the most precious gift for them to bring home in order to face new challenges in the coming year.
A great success and big contribution from all the participants!
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