Since the launch of the interdisciplinary aesthetics project, Professor Chung Yi-hui of Penghu University of Science and Technology, a teacher training committee member, has been providing long-term guidance to Pengnan Junior High School, co-creating many amazing curriculum plans and works. This semester, starting with the local characteristic manhole cover course, she combined AI digital painting and inter-school collaborative learning to connect the teaching resources of Pengnan Junior High School, Penghu University of Science and Technology, and Zhongzheng Junior High School, gradually promoting curriculum upgrades and benchmark dissemination, and allowing interdisciplinary aesthetics to continue to unfold in the five townships and one city.

Today (November 19th), I hosted a workshop on "Unique Manhole Covers × AI Digital Drawing" at Pengnan Junior High School. We invited Ms. Wu Nien-chen, a teacher from Chung Cheng Junior High School, to lead the students in learning AI and digital drawing techniques. The children converted their pre-drawn sketches into digital works. At the moment they transitioned from "hand-drawing" to "digital drawing," I witnessed the most beautiful moment of interdisciplinary aesthetic education.

Pengnan Junior High School is a benchmark school for interdisciplinary aesthetic education, which is already quite remarkable. However, this semester, I couldn't resist challenging Ms. Zixiang again, giving her new ideas and tasks at the beginning of the semester. And what happened? She calmly responded, "Okay! I'll give it a try." What's most admirable is that Ms. Zixiang doesn't just accept the assignments; she always proactively thinks about the next step. It's because of her willingness to move forward that we conceived the idea of "empowering teachers in benchmark schools," hoping that Pengnan Junior High School can proactively reach out and invite partners, so that the achievements of its interdisciplinary aesthetic education over the years won't remain confined to one school but gradually spread throughout Penghu.

So, we decided on this semester's inter-school project: Penghu University of Science and Technology × Pengnan Junior High School × Zhongzheng Junior High School will collaborate to develop a "Special Manhole Cover Course"—
▶ Upgrade to version 2.0
▶ And we will try to promote it to the 5 townships and 1 city of Penghu.

The manhole covers of the future will not just be a totem or a student's artwork; they can also become graphic designs, badges, coasters, and even be licensed free of charge to all local organizations in Penghu. This allows students to give back to their hometown through their creations, and teachers to connect the entire island through collaboration. From setting an example to spreading the message, it all starts with empowering more teachers in Penghu.

Recently, Teacher Nianzhen began teaching "Manhole Cover 2.0" in her class at Zhongzheng Junior High School; today, we conducted the second round of cross-school collaborative learning at Pengnan Junior High School. Teachers from both schools, with their diverse energies, guided students to continuously exchange ideas and inspire each other during the creative process. Every step from here on out will be a new landscape for cross-disciplinary aesthetic education.

I want to say to Teacher Zixiang, "Those who are willing to move forward are the ones who make education shine." I also want to thank Teacher Nianzhen from Zhongzheng Junior High School for joining our "Benchmark Spread" initiative. Together, we will complete: Penghu's 5 townships and 1 city × Unique manhole covers × Aesthetically pleasing cross-school co-creation.
Please stay tuned.