At the start of the 2026–2027 school year, Dom Jones of My Culture Connect brought her interview series Voices in Education to Beidou Junior High — the first school of the new season, and a special one: Beidou JHS is the home base for My Culture Connect and all of its work across Changhua County. She sat down with Principal Wu Bing-lien to talk about the initiatives he is leading at the school, and why they matter.
2026–2027 學年開學之際，My Culture Connect（人師教育協會）的 Dom Jones 帶著訪談系列《教育之聲 Voices in Education》來到北斗國中——這是新學年的第一站，也別具意義：北斗國中正是人師教育協會在彰化各地推動工作的基地。Dom 與吳炳連校長坐下來對談，聊聊校長在學校推動的特別計畫，以及背後的理由。
Why is English so important for students? In a globalized world, the principal said, we are already very international: a flight of just a few hours can take you to another country, to meet people from around the world.
為什麼英文對學生這麼重要？校長說，在這個國際化的地球村，我們其實已經很國際化了——搭幾個小時的飛機，就能飛到另一個國家，接觸來自世界各地的人。
Dom then asked why English matters for astronomy and space. Beidou JHS has its own observatory, right next door to where they sat. Internationally, Principal Wu explained, astronomy is far more advanced abroad than in Taiwan — and with people already talking seriously about going to Mars, he wants students to start learning about astronomy now, so that ten years from now they can keep up with the world and the gap does not grow too wide.
Dom 接著問：英文對天文與太空為什麼這麼重要？北斗國中有自己的天文台，就在訪談地點隔壁。吳校長說明，國際上的天文知識比台灣進步許多；如今已經有人不斷提到要去火星，所以他想利用這個機會，讓孩子們學習天文知識，十年後才比較容易跟上世界的腳步，避免差距拉得太大。
“The future is also the age of space.”「未來也是一個太空的時代。」— Principal Wu Bing-lien · 校長 吳炳連
Why is junior high a good age to focus on English? Because Chinese is our mother tongue, the principal said, students' English listening is weak — and for a long time, the classroom has leaned on just two of the four skills.
為什麼國中是專注於英文聽說讀寫的好時機？校長說，因為中文是我們的母語，我們的英文聽力很弱；而長久以來，課堂上偏重的只有四項能力中的兩項。
“Our education actually puts far too much weight on writing and reading — just those two. But listening and speaking, no.”「我們的教育其實都太多偏重於寫和讀這兩樣，但是聽跟說沒有。」— Principal Wu Bing-lien · 校長 吳炳連
So when students meet a foreigner who speaks a little fast, they can't catch the words at all — the very gap he hopes to close. After a fun, engaging conversation that moved back and forth between their two languages, Dom headed off to meet the students.
所以學生遇到外國人，對方只要說得快一點，就完全抓不到字——這正是校長希望補起來的缺口。在一場穿梭於兩種語言之間、輕鬆又精彩的對談之後，Dom 接著前往與孩子們見面。
🏫 Visit the Principal's Office走進校長室：吳炳連校長的辦學理念 →
