Critical Reading is a class designed for junior- and high school students to improve their English comprehension and Critical Thinking skills. The goal is to be able to read anything you are given to, because you are taught the fundamental skills to understand through inference and logic. Drawing from manifestos, research papers, classics, philosophy and beyond, Critical Reading is about becoming your own independent thinker with the ability to unlock everything you read by leveraging the keys that come with reading itself. That is empowerment.

Critical Reading is offered at two levels: Standard Level and Higher Level. The former focuses on building the foundation to “read the reading;” that is, 1) develop the felt-ability to locate the core of the author’s argument, 2) construct appropriate scaffolds to interpret and argue, and 3) produce full-fledged opinions that are their own with confidence.

The latter takes in already competent readers and challenges them to University-level texts. Here students are supported to respond and challenge the text with their own perspective and evidence. The Socratic method of class helps build students confidence and comprehension and this is a recursive class, each session focuses on a new theme and text.

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Quality Writing – Writing program for high school students to help unlock their authentic writing voice and develop their ideas. 

Many times when we sit down to put pen to paper, we stare at a blank page, at a loss for what to say. 

Quality writing course aims to help students practice consistently writing through those moments of blankness. Writing is a muscle that needs to be trained, rather than a talent that some have and others lack. Through a cyclical process of writing, feedback, reflection, and writing again, students will gain the tools they need to be a better disciplined writer. 

Writing allows us to unlock our thoughts and feelings and process them when we see them on paper. 

Whether in 1-on-1 or group class settings, students will share their writings and discuss their thinking process

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Creative Storytelling – English writing class for elementary school children to learn story structure, world-building, character development, and write their own original short story! Students will dive into what makes a good story, learn descriptive and impactful writing, and develop their writing “voice”. 

The class centers around teaching Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” – a narrative framework that describes a hero's adventure through a cycle of departure, initiation, and return, ultimately leading to personal transformation and growth. The Hero’s Journey teaches us that life is full of phases and each phase brings with it new conflicts that we – the hero of our own lives – must grapple with. In learning the Hero’s Journey, students will learn to apply the journey to their own lives and investigate their relationship with conflict. Ultimately, the way we react to conflict and our relationship to it will change how we experience our journeys and the choices we make. By writing their own short stories, students will learn to understand the connection of conflict and growth in their own lives, and develop a “growth-focused” mindset!

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https://film-school-taipei.com/

Film School Taipei is our new offering, targeting the gap for true hands-on filmmaking for students in Taiwan.

Our number one goal is to create a “zero to one-hundred” filmmaking program that teaches students the full suite of skills required for quality filmmaking. The purpose is for beginners to be introduced into the world of cinema, novice filmmakers to become knowledgeable and self-sufficient, and expert filmmakers to continue to expand through their projects. As iron sharpens iron, so one expert sharpens another.

Starting from 5th grade to 10th grade, students can enroll in FST programs and learn the basics of storytelling (scripting, storyboarding, shots), production, filming, directing, and editing. Students will each script their own short stories, draw the storyboards, evaluate feasibility and financial operations through pre-production, and together produce and shoot one short film elected by the standards of quality, feasibility, and creativity. Each student will get to edit the story based on their own interpretation and preference. This offers a unique opportunity to see how — even with the exact same raw materials — the story can be told in dramatically different ways, learning as each student shares their short film with their peers. By the end of the process, the final film will represent the summation of the cohorts work, and will be submitted to suitable film festivals around the world, accumulating both worthy portfolio pieces and meritable accolades along the way.

As with all art, the beauty of filmmaking is that one improves with repetition. FST’s programs are thus consciously designed to be recursive: that is, students are encouraged to sign up again and again, bringing back old works and improving upon past experiences with intention. Over time, students will polish both their stories and themselves as storytellers. The hope is that by the time they find themselves on any film set in college or beyond, they are already irreplaceable assets for the community from Day 1.

Curriculum Detail:

During school season, Production X will be once a week, three hours each class, for a total of 8 weeks. A summer intensive version of Production X is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, three hours each class, for three weeks. Except for principal photography (on-set production and filming) which must be in-person, both pre-production and post-production can be done online, allowing for international students on a hybrid model of the program. As the program develops, the ultimate vision is to transform Taiwan into Asia’s hub for youth filmmaking and festivals.

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FSTwebsite:

https://film-school-taipei.com/