National Dongseok High School—Us on the Left Bank of Puzi Creek

"Us on the Left Bank of Puzi Creek" is an innovative curriculum combining "Public Issues and Social Inquiry" and the "Interdisciplinary Aesthetic Education Excellence Leading Project." "Left Bank of Puzi Creek" signifies the school's geographical location and historical context; "Us" expresses the current focus of teachers and students; "Public Issues and Social Inquiry" focuses on "the plight of rural areas and local revitalization," "school positioning and community connection," and "school education and talent cultivation," with a shared concern for "people." By guiding students to develop unique perspectives through interdisciplinary aesthetics, they can view their environment, record school events, enrich their inner selves, and construct future imaginations. This is an essential aesthetic cultivation and a learning path different from the past, enabling them to face the three dimensions of survival, life, and existence as "human beings." Our school will celebrate its centennial this year (2026), and every student who enters and graduates has spent three years of their youth here. Faced with the current rapid global changes and the plight of rural areas due to the urban-rural divide, we acknowledge and firmly believe that although our children are currently in darkness, they will be the light of the future. Therefore, we teach them to think and act, to learn by doing, to gain achievement from hands-on activities, and to build confidence from achievement. In this way, they dare to dream about the future, generate the motivation to move forward, build themselves, achieve success together, and form a closer emotional connection with the place where they grow up, becoming the hope for the future of rural areas. Based on this, the course focuses on "finding the way for the school's next century," "paving the way for the next vision of the local area," and "guiding the children to the next stage," and serves as the focal theme of "Public Issues and Social Inquiry" this semester. Furthermore, our school library has always aspired to be a learning platform for the school, aiming to create a collaborative stage for many students who have passed the entrance examination, lack confidence in their achievements, and are always shy and awkward in speech. "Let them use their videos to show us scenery we've never noticed, let them use their rap voices to let us hear voices we've never heard before, let them use their novice coffee-making skills to let us smell different aromas, let them use their clumsy skills to treat us to unusual desserts, and let them use their simple smiles to let us feel their inner selves." This is the interdisciplinary aesthetic education program that aims to awaken the five senses to receive "aesthetic appreciation of life." It is also a course practice that allows every child to be a "life connoisseur" without having to become an artist or musician. In this way, they will enjoy learning, enjoy life, enjoy sharing, and enjoy cooperating. In this way, they can shine their own light and become each other's light.