We often describe emotions as happiness, sadness, anger, or anxiety, as if they were simply feelings that occasionally appear in our daily lives. But for children who are growing and changing, emotions may be more important than we realize. A memorable experience, the frustration that follows a failure, the disappointment that comes from a relationship, or even something that suddenly sparks their interest can all leave a lasting impression as they grow. These experiences are not simply things that happened in the past. Over time, they can influence how children see themselves, understand others, and make their next choices. For today's teenagers, getting to know themselves can be even more challenging. Technology is rapidly changing the way we live, while social media has created new ways for people to interact and has exposed young people to more information, choices, and glimpses into other people's lives than ever before. From academic life and relationships to questions about who they want to become in the future, many of these questions do not have a single fixed answer. As the world around them continues to present new possibilities and constantly tell them what they could become, young people also need to gradually learn to ask themselves: “What do I really want? What truly matters to me?” This is one of the reasons UEIS offers the “21st-Century Psychology for Teenagers” course in the new semester. Led by counseling psychologist Lin Yu-Chuan, the course begins with emotions and everyday experiences that teenagers are familiar with, encouraging students to take another look at themselves rather than rushing to tell them what they should become. During the course, a seemingly simple question encourages students to think about the relationship between memory and emotion: “Do you remember what you had for breakfast yesterday?” We may find it difficult to answer immediately. But if we think of something that happened a long time ago and that we can still remember clearly today, the answer may be completely different. Why are some things quickly forgotten while certain memories remain vivid for years? Starting with the concept of “flashbulb memories”, students begin to see the important role emotions play in memory. Experiences that make us feel happy, sad, disappointed, surprised, or even deeply affected often become some of the most unforgettable parts of growing up. Emotions are not simply feelings that need to be managed. They can also be one of the ways we come to understand ourselves. The experiences that remain in our memories also gradually shape how we understand who we are. Discovering for the first time that we really enjoy something, feeling understood in a relationship, accomplishing something we once thought we could not do, or even experiencing failure or disappointment can all become part of growing up. These experiences are like small islands gradually taking shape, slowly forming our understanding of “Who am I?” But knowing ourselves does not mean giving ourselves a fixed label. What we like or care about today does not mean we cannot change in the future. Nor does a single experience need to determine the direction of our lives. For teenagers who are still growing, it may therefore be more important to leave room for exploration than to rush to answer the question, “Who am I?” Try different things, meet different people, and pay attention to how we feel through each experience. Sometimes we may discover that we do not enjoy something after trying it. At other times, we may find an unexpected interest in something we never thought we would enjoy. These attempts are themselves part of getting to know who we are. This is also the kind of learning that UEIS values in education. Learning is not simply about giving students knowledge, nor is it only about helping them arrive at a standard answer. From courses and interactions with classmates to clubs, sports, and everyday experiences, students need opportunities to encounter different possibilities. Through repeated experiences, actions, and exploration, they gradually develop a better understanding of their interests, abilities, and thoughts. Education, therefore, is not simply the accumulation of knowledge. It is also about giving students the space to try, discover, and gradually build an understanding of themselves as they grow. For students who live and learn on campus, these experiences do not happen only in the classroom. As a boarding school, UEIS provides students with daily opportunities to interact with different people and situations through campus life, relationships with peers, and everyday interactions. These seemingly ordinary experiences can also become part of how students come to understand themselves, understand others, and make choices. For this reason, the “21st-Century Psychology for Teenagers” course is not only about mental well-being. It is also about how young people learn to face a rapidly changing world. When they encounter challenges in relationships or everyday life, can they understand what they are feeling? When they face many different choices in the future, do they have enough self-awareness to think about what truly matters to them? These abilities cannot be fully developed or answered after just one class. They are gradually built through experiences, choices, and exploration over time. At UEIS, we hope students learn not only how to face exams and academic challenges, but also how to face themselves. Being a teenager does not mean having to become a person who already has everything figured out. There can be questions. There can be changes. There can be new choices. When students are willing to understand their emotions a little more, try different possibilities, and ask themselves one more time, “What do I really want?”, they may be gradually moving toward an answer that is truly their own. From this perspective, learning does not happen only through textbooks and classrooms. The emotions, choices, and experiences of real life are also part of growing up. Within UEIS's 1:3 student-to-teacher ratio learning environment, teachers have more opportunities to stay closely connected to students' learning and daily lives. They can understand not only how students perform in class, but also recognize their different needs as they grow. This kind of support allows teachers to do more than simply deliver knowledge. When students encounter confusion, face important choices, or need support, teachers can provide timely guidance, allowing learning to truly extend beyond the classroom.

In the chemistry classes at United Education International School (UEIS), students recently used different flavors of Häagen-Dazs ice cream as experimental samples. Through a simple chemistry experiment, they observed how different samples reacted in a reducing sugar test. In addition to different flavors of Häagen-Dazs, the experiment also included common sweets and beverages as comparisons. When we eat these foods in everyday life, we may pay more attention to their taste, sweetness, or whether we enjoy them, but we do not necessarily take the time to look closely at their ingredients or sugar content on the food labels. Once these familiar foods entered the laboratory, students began by examining the information on the food labels, comparing different samples side by side, and then observing whether the experimental results matched what they had originally expected. And that is what makes hands-on experiments so interesting. Students were not simply given the answers and asked to follow a set of steps to complete the experiment. They had to conduct the experiment themselves, observe the changes, and compare the differences between the samples based on their results. When the results in front of them were different from what they had expected, a natural question emerged: Why did this happen? For UEIS, this process is an important part of experiential learning. Learning is not simply about transferring knowledge from a textbook into students' minds. It is about giving students the opportunity to take part in the learning process themselves. Through hands-on practice, observation, and thinking, they gradually build their own understanding. When students begin to move from “seeing the result” to “thinking about the reason behind it,” they are learning more than the outcome of a single experiment. They are learning how to approach a question, observe a phenomenon, and try to find an answer. This is also why UEIS places strong emphasis on hands-on learning and inquiry-based exploration. By starting with experiences that students are already familiar with in everyday life, we give them opportunities to conduct experiments, ask questions, compare results, and reconsider what they originally thought they understood. For students, this is more than simply attending a chemistry class. It is an opportunity to learn how to look at familiar things from different perspectives through a real experience. After the class ended, Häagen-Dazs was still Häagen-Dazs. Nothing about the ice cream itself had changed. But for the students, the way they looked at it had. Starting with something familiar, learning to ask one more question and look from one more perspective—perhaps that is when real learning begins. And that is the habit UEIS hopes students will gradually develop through every learning experience.

Every child has different personalities, interests, and strengths. Some enjoy exploring science, while others are curious about the humanities and social issues. Some students may still be exploring what they want to pursue in the future, even when they reach high school. Since every child is different, could learning also take different forms? Traditional education has provided many students with a stable foundation for learning. As the world students will face becomes increasingly diverse, however, parents are also beginning to consider whether their children can experience different approaches to learning and education beyond the familiar educational environment. For some families, choosing an international education is not simply about changing schools. It is about giving their children the opportunity to experience a different educational environment and approach to learning while staying in Taiwan, with more space to explore their interests and discover their own paths. At UEIS, we hope to start with each individual student and consider a learning path that reflects their abilities, interests, and development. To make this possible, the first step is for the school to truly understand each student, rather than simply presenting an educational philosophy. With this approach to learning, UEIS maintains a 1:3 student-to-teacher ratio, giving teachers more opportunities to observe students' learning progress in their daily classes, understand their interests and responses across different fields, and create more opportunities to discuss their next steps in learning. These observations and conversations also become part of curriculum planning. Students can choose areas of study based on their interests. Psychology, education, astronomy, criminology, physics, philosophy, anatomy, and many other fields can become starting points for exploration. When students develop an interest in a particular field, they can also share their course needs with the school. The school can then look for a suitable teacher, and once the teacher confirms their availability and interest, the course can be arranged. In this way, an interest does not have to remain just an idea—it can become a real part of the student's learning experience. This approach to learning is also reflected in UEIS's “One Student, One Timetable” system. Students do not necessarily have to follow the same combination of courses. Instead, within a shared learning environment, each student can build a timetable based on their own interests and needs. The true value of personalized learning, however, is not necessarily about helping students find the answer right away. At this stage of their lives, children do not always know what they want to become in the future. Sometimes, true exploration is not about immediately discovering what they love most, but about experiencing something and realizing, “Maybe this is not the direction I want to take.” When students have opportunities to explore different fields, they can gradually get to know themselves through one experience after another—discovering what they like, what they do not like, and what they would like to explore further. These experiences are not simply part of learning. They can also become important references when students later consider their educational and future development pathways. For UEIS, “One Student, One Timetable” is not simply about making every student's timetable different. It is about creating a shared learning environment where every student can have a way of learning that is more closely aligned with who they are. Because every child is different, education can be full of different possibilities, too.