Friendly Citizens, Charming Taiwanese Culture

　Mr. Tom Farrell arrived in Kaohsiung in April 2008 for the position of headmaster of Kaohsiung American School. Mr. Farrell's bright smile is just like the nice weather in southern Taiwan- it radiates warmth and energy.

　Being the headmaster of Kaohsiung American School, Mr. Farrell says that it is not just an American school which teaches English language. It emphasises whole person education for its pupils. It expects healthy development of its pupils' body and mind so they can make contributions toward society. The school also stresses a respectful and tolerant attitude when facing different cultures. Mr. Farrell hopes that the pupils study with creativity, so they can think for themselves and posses the ability to make good decision when facing problems. The most important thing he wants the pupils to learn is to be responsible for their own learning and their learning environment. Mr. Farrell says that happiness lies in helping one another. He also encourages pupils to serve and contribute toward the community more. He believes that if one can help others and give back, together with good decision made plus hardworking, good things would surely come his/her way.

　Teaching ethics in the school, Mr. Farrell does not forget to advertise for his lesson: he says it certainly is the most interesting subject to him. He adopts a method of group discussion in his lessons. For example, they used the current situation of the automobile industry in the States as the topic, to debate on the positive and negative side of the issue. Mr. Farrell encourages students to attack the opponents' point of views rather than the opponents themselves. He wants the students to learn the true meaning of democracy through healthy discussions during the debate.

　Being a fan of Taiwanese gourmet food, Mr. Farrell certainly would not miss out the opportunity of tasting various local snacks at night markets. He describes Kaohsiung as a very friendly city filled with bright and vivid colours. It is exciting, but yet calm. During his leisure time, Mr. Farrell likes to take a walk at places such as Lotus Pond, Love River, Sizihwan Bay, Chaishan, Maolin and Sandiman. He particularly likes to visit temples, to soak in the tranquil atmosphere there. Mr. Farrell thinks that Taiwanese culture is very charming and therefore he is doing his best to get to know it better.

友善的市民、迷人的台灣文化

◎文、攝影／王大衛

　　2008年4月Mr. Tom Farrell來高雄擔任高雄美國學校校長。Mr. Farrell開朗的笑容一如南台灣的好天氣一般，讓人感到溫暖、充滿活力。

　　Mr. Farrell表示，高雄美國學校不僅只是一所教授英文的美國學校，更強調「完人教育」，期望學生身心都能健康發展，並能貢獻於社會。Mr. Farrell希望學生能獲得富創造力的學習，培養學生獨立思考，並在面對問題時有能力做出正確的決定，更要訓練學生們為自己的學習和學習環境負責。Mr. Farrell說快樂就是幫助他人，他也鼓勵學生多多服務、奉獻社區。

　　在學校教授「道德課」，Mr. Farrell也沒忘記要為自己拉票，他說「道德課」當然是他感到最有趣的一堂課！授課的方法是採分組討論，比如之前曾就美國的汽車工業現況以正、反兩面的意見做討論，過程中，Mr. Farrell鼓勵攻擊對手的論點而非對手本身，希望學生能從健康的討論，學習到民主的真諦。

　　喜愛台灣美食的Mr. Farrell，當然不會錯過到夜市品嚐各種特色小吃。他形容高雄市是非常友善、帶著生動鮮明的色彩、令人興奮但卻又很平和的城市。空閒時，Mr. Farrell喜歡到蓮池潭、愛河、西子灣、柴山、茂林、山地門去走走，另外，他還特別喜歡到廟裏，感受寧靜的氣氛。Mr. Farrell認為台灣文化很迷人，所以努力地去認識台灣文化。