Youth Leadership Program

Quite some years ago, I was invited by Toastmaster Trini Ding to visit her elementary school and taught English at two classes. Being excited, I exerted myself to give the best of what I had in me. One of the boys sitting at the front row asked me if I could not sputter on him while talking. Wow, it was embarrassing to behave like an exciting talking woman in front of graders kids! I slept two days afterwards to recuperate my strength. Teaching is tiring. It consumes a lot of energy, especially at elementary schools.

My husband has been a volunteer teacher of computer science at Taipei Juvenile Detention Center for a decade. Upon my request, he took me to the Detention Center as his teaching assistance with PowerPoint Monday morning, April 20th. Within less than one hour, I felt exhausted with the naughty teenager boys. More than half of them just ignored me most of the time. They were more eager to play computer games. Some followed my instructions and gave good presentation with the PowerPoint.

Why out of the blue, I thought about visiting Taipei Juvenile Detention Center? For a year or so, I've been involved in Prison Toastmasters Volunteers Initiative prompted by Toastmaster Umemoto Katzumasa of District 76 (Japan). He visited 8 prisons in the US, and he is trying to charter a Toastmasters club in prison in Japan.

When Toastmaster Umemoto informed me of his arrival in Taipei in two weeks to promote Prison Volunteers among Toastmasters in Taiwan, I thought about firstly recruiting potential Toastmasters volunteers at District 67 Spring Conference 2015 in Taipei this weekend, April 25th and 26th. We can organize workshops and prepare materials for potential prison volunteers to help incarcerated people develop communciation skills to become better persons.

Who knows, maybe I can start Toastmaster's Youth Leadership Program among teenager girls at Detention Center. We shall see if we can make it happen after we visit Detention Center with Toastmaster Umemoto Monday morning, May 4th.