A report about school dogs in Taiwan shocked the Osaka-based Nippan School-dog Association, which specially entrusted the Osaka Office of Taiwan's Ministry of Education to arrange an itinerary for a visit to Taiwan. The president of the association said A six-member team led by Junichi Aoki arrived in Taiwan on November 11 and arrived at Longgang Elementary School in Taoyuan on the morning of the 13th. Representatives from the World Dog Lovers' Federation and the Taiwan Animal Protection Administrative Supervision Alliance, which co-organized the "Campus Dog Outstanding School Selection", also Welcome there.
The school dogs of Longgang Elementary School, Lai Wan and Lai Feng, have been at the school for 14 years. Their images are not only seen in children’s pictures and books, but they are also the mascots of the school’s 60th anniversary celebration. Teacher Zhong Xiaosheng who takes care of them and cultivates them They have become vanguards in promoting animal welfare concepts and often participate in extracurricular activities. As a result, they have been recommended to the Japan School Dog Association by the Ministry of Education’s Office of National Education.
Taiwanese school dogs are often assigned multiple tasks such as campus care, small teaching assistants, life education, and emotional healing. The Japan School Dog Association promotes the Animal-assisted Education (AAE) project, which is similar to Junichi Aoki. Having worked as a junior high school teacher for 15 years is definitely related. He pointed out during the briefing that a high proportion (79%) of Japanese schools once raised rabbits, chickens and other small animals, but this has declined rapidly since 2007. In 2022, only 21% of schools will retain the tradition, and the impact will be on children's exposure to animals. There are fewer and fewer opportunities, and 37% of people want to keep pets but cannot afford them. Therefore, an environment for animal intervention to educate AAE is provided.
Junichi Aoki said that what modern children desire is no longer good grades, money, video games or smartphones, but a place where they feel safe. According to empirical research, learning areas with school dogs can make people with learning disabilities, social problems Schoolchildren with disabilities can achieve significant improvements, thereby enhancing their self-confidence and achieving physical and mental health goals.
Although the School Dog Association also advocates that schools adopt euthanized dogs as school dogs, the most accepted option is still the cooperative plan, that is, the association provides trained dogs to enter the campus, usually arranged in the principal's office, and Students who want to get close to dogs do short-term interactions. Judging from the fact that the association has only been established for more than two years, it is not easy to achieve this result.
During the exchange meeting, the World Dog Lovers Federation introduced the specific actions to promote legislation banning dog and cat meat in Japan, and promoted the establishment of the "Animal Welfare Cross-Party Parliamentarian Alliance" in Congress. It also expressed support for the school dog association to adopt dogs from shelters and provide training The plan for school dogs hopes to achieve a zero-kill (No Kill) policy as soon as possible. It has also received the attention of the School Dog Association, which expressed its willingness to maintain exchanges and share experiences.
In fact, Taiwan's declining birthrate has led to a trend of school closures. In Taoyuan, for example, 4 primary schools will be closed down in 2024, which is extremely detrimental to the promotion of school dogs. Teachers like Teacher Zhong Xiaosheng who have the courage to serve as caregivers of school dogs It is even more difficult to find, so a school dog association in the form of a civil society may be more suitable for future development. I hope that this exchange of experiences between Taiwan and Japan can produce a new era of school dog programs!
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