Ms. Li Lina (李麗娜) has long devoted to art teaching.
A saying goes, " falling in love with a town, it is probably because someone you love resides in it. " Even if this town made me anxious, I still chose to stay because there was my love living in. I have come to Taiwan for seven years, am now a mother having two adorable kids, and am still pursuing my dream of art education.
I've loved painting since I was a child and dreamt of being a teacher. I got admitted to the best normal universities- Beijing Normal University and majored in arts. I later earned a high school teaching certification and made my dream come true. On the way of pursuing my dream, a man who is now my husband showed up. Soon after we getting married, I came to Taiwan half a year earlier than my husband because of family issues.
I started everything from scratch in Taiwan, learned to explore and create something new, and joined many art exhibitions over the past few years. I have started teaching arts since I was in college and didn't want to stop doing what I loved, so I joined the exam for the accreditation of schools in Mainland China” and then passed it. However, according to Article 21 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, I couldn't join the recruitment of teachers in Taiwan's public schools. Hence, I served as an art teacher at a private vocational senior high school and at a national university when I first came to Taiwan.
The National Immigration Agency has put great effort into taking care of new residents and creating friendly environments to help newcomers to adapt to life in Taiwan. Hoping to improve my skills, I've joined various DIY activities and training programs in my leisure time, including gardening, bridal secretary services, furniture making, dried flowers, leathers, and Chinese calligraphy. I also obtained the Level C technician for tea manufacturing technology.
In the past few years in Taiwan, I made many new immigrant friends and learned lots of skills. Most of my new immigrant friends encountered more or less challenges, but they still broke through all the difficulties and encouraged each other. I always wanted to do something more to help these new immigrant friends, so I joined the 6th New Immigrant and Children Dream Project in 2019 to contribute to society and encourage more people to pursue their dreams. I hope, with my teaching, I can lead my students and children to happily explore the world of arts. So, I applied for a subsidy from the NIA to fulfill my dream.
Making children smile through artistic creation is also the happiest thing for Ms. Li Lina.
As the saying goes, "opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared". I appreciate my effort in art teaching that helped me a lot when I started launching the series of multi-media artistic creation courses. The courses use a variety of teaching methods such as situational teaching and games to drive children's creative enthusiasm. The multi-media teaching materials allow children to experience various forms of creation. There is no standard answer to art creation. I expect them to cherish their purest and beautiful minds to create things. Teachers who are only guides and facilitators in art teaching should value each child's uniqueness, appreciate their beautiful souls, and encourage them to understand themselves through arts. Through artistic creation, children will also learn how to love themselves, families, and society. We also encourage parents to create with their children to improve parent-child relationships and expect arts to bring lights and love to all families.
Time flies by, and everything is in peace. I'm grateful for every single moment.
Writer/ Li Lina (李麗娜)
