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Daan Elementary School (2007 CyberFair Project ID 4943)
Taiwan,
Taipei
Official Status:
Final Project: Ready for Judging
Teacher:
Category: 2. Community Groups and Special Populations
We estimate 8 student(s) from 9 to 12 will work on this entry.
Description of Our Community: Located in the Da An District of Taipei City, and surrounded by numerous higher educational institutions, Da An Elementary School dwells in a community that is full of humanistic atmosphere, with further convenient transportation and well-developed commercial activities. Although the school is located in the busy commercial area; however, nearby the school, there is the Fu Zhou Mountain, the Seventh Public Cemetery of Taipei City. And the school is further close to Taipei Municipal Second Funeral House. Therefore, plenty funeral services business are surrounded the school, built up a so-called “funeral street culture.” Furthermore, some of the parents of pupils conduct the related funeral business. This creates a unique landscape and a special occupation feature for the CBD of Da An District. In the beginning, our definition to local community only applied to the funeral business or life MC (Master of Ceremony). However, along our consecutive visits, interviews, contacts, and study of materials, we then considered the term “local community” should be extended to people of every place, of every corner, including those of all kinds of business and of all variety. Like other occupation, almost all of the Life MCs are workers with good attention and hard working attitude. We try to walk into this field to know, to observe, and to discover them. After self-experience, we later understand more about their hardship giving, and appreciate more about the hard-working side of each business. At the same time, we may better appreciate the pain and tiredness of our parents paid for our living; and may obtain the right perception of the “meaning of life.”
Project Description: The taboo of “death” for ordinary people always exists, who normally hold the mindset of “not to discuss, nor to touch”. We escape and show indifference to matters of “life aftermath.” Once, in the Composite Activity class, the teacher discussed with us upfront about the value and meaning of life, and further discussed about how we are going to face the death of our beloved, our relatives, and even ourselves. In the beginning, the people, the matters, and the things the teacher described was incomprehensible or inexperienced for us; later we gradually realized that life has its end. By this end, there would be a solemn graduation: a fare-well ceremony. Because there are funeral house and funeral business nearby the school, Jing-Xuan thus suggested to study the funeral service business, and the Life MC that specializes assisting to conduct “life aftermath” matters for the family who have relative passed away. A journey of experience hence commenced. For this project, we especially select “Life MC (Master of Ceremony)” as the subject. We tried to design interviews of various levels, including the Principal, Chairman of Parents Association, Administrative Division Heads of Da An Elementary School, funeral institutions, Life MC s, and schoolmates whose families run funeral business, and so on. We further added on the literature review done previously, combined the historical context, job contents of Life MC and the funeral customs. We then added in the new issues observed during the conducting of the project. Eventually, through the research and site-inspection, we wish the study results will allow everybody to acquire a deeper understanding toward issues such as life, aging, and death, and to make life better.