An American teacher who crossed the ocean, again and again, just to spend a morning with our children.
Who was Grandpa Mike?
"Grandpa Mike" was Michael Dishnow (1943–2025), a retired American educator who flew to Taiwan at his own expense, again and again, just to teach English to children he had never met. He volunteered alongside My Culture Connect (人師教育協會) and the Changhua English Resource Center, asking for nothing in return.
「麥克爺爺」本名 Michael Dishnow（1943–2025），是一位退休的美國教育工作者。他一次又一次自費飛來臺灣，只為了教這些素未謀面的孩子英語。他與人師教育協會及彰化縣英語教育資源中心並肩當志工，從不求回報。
His 2019 visit to Dongshan
In 2019, Grandpa Mike toured Changhua County school by school — and one of those mornings, he came up the hillside to Dongshan. He greeted our students in English, played and laughed with them, and showed a roomful of children that the wider world was friendly and within reach.
2019 年，麥克爺爺一所一所地走訪彰化縣的學校——其中一個早晨，他來到了山坡上的東山國小。他用英語和孩子們打招呼、一起玩、一起笑，讓滿屋子的孩子看見：外面的世界其實很友善，也離他們並不遙遠。
In loving memory
Grandpa Mike passed away in 2025. The short film above captures his morning with us — his warmth, his patience, and the simple joy he brought into our classroom. Dongshan shares it here so that his kindness is remembered, and so our children know how much one volunteer can give.
麥克爺爺於 2025 年辭世。上方這支短片記錄了他與我們相處的那個早晨——他的溫暖、他的耐心，以及他帶進教室裡那份單純的快樂。東山國小謹以此片懷念他，也讓孩子們記得：一位志工，能給予的有多少。