From Campus to Community: The Voyage of Rule-of-Law Education

By Chen Li-ling, Rule-of-Law Education Specialist.

Ever since I became a "rule-of-law education specialist," handing out my business card tends to prompt all sorts of guesses — some people think I am a teacher, others guess I am a lawyer. In fact I am neither; I am simply someone curious about how work in schools can make a difference. When most people think of rule-of-law education, the first thing that comes to mind is "telling students some basic legal common sense." That is indeed part of what we do, but in reality this work is far richer than one might imagine. Our concern is not only with students and teachers, and our formats are not limited to talks. The "mock trials" we keep promoting, for example, use role-play to let students experience firsthand how the justice system works and the values behind it. Beyond schools, we also go into community colleges and neighborhood activity centers, trying to extend rule-of-law education into a wider range of everyday settings. Although society is gradually reaching a consensus on the importance of rule-of-law education, there is still no standard answer to "where it is needed" or "how to do it well," so this work often comes with a great deal of feeling our way forward and adjusting as we go.

Not long after I started, we received a request for a talk from a community care station in Shanfu Village, Liuqiu Township, Pingtung County. The first time I called the teacher in charge, a sincere voice came through the line: "Most of the elders here are in their eighties and nineties, we need to communicate in Taiwanese, and many of them are quite unfamiliar with the law." After hanging up, I immediately discussed with colleagues who could speak clearly in Taiwanese and relate to the life experience of elders. Suitable speakers were already few, and with the inconvenient transport to an offshore island, this talk was a challenge from the very start. Yet matchmaking like this is precisely part of our daily work. Before every event, we talk in detail with the requesting organization about the audience’s background, because there are many professionals who "know the law," but translating legal knowledge into plain, easy-to-understand language that truly connects with the target audience’s life is the ideal we keep striving for.

Later, through various connections, we reached attorney Kuo Hao-jen, who practices in Kaohsiung. After hearing the request, he said with a smile, "I usually chat with my grandpa and grandma, so I should be fine." We worked hard to make the collaboration happen, and the talk gradually took shape. For events like this, we often have to travel across districts and counties, but only by setting foot in these places ourselves can we truly understand that "remote areas" are not only distant in miles, but also represent the reality of weak transport resources and a rule-of-law education that is hard to reach. The teacher from Shanfu Village said, "As long as you apply, there’s hope." The words were frank yet carried a note of helplessness. Many communities rely on one enthusiastic teacher who applies and gathers resources on their own, just to bring rule-of-law education into the life of the village.

That day’s talk touched on "advance medical decisions," and we also asked about local medical resources. The elders laughed and said, "If it’s serious, we take the ambulance boat to the main island!" The reply sounded light-hearted, but it spoke of a kind of helplessness, and it made us wonder: before we talk about "helping everyone understand the law and use it well," should we first understand whether the conditions of real life can even support these legal imaginings? The vision of making the law accessible often runs up against gaps in resources and institutional limits, leaving a sense of "maybe this is just how it has to be."

Attorney Kuo used one down-to-earth story after another to guide the elders through situations they might encounter and how to prepare in advance. "Just treat it like talking to my grandpa and grandma," he said. His naturalness and sincerity put the elders at ease, and the venue filled with conversation and laughter. Whether nodding, responding, or raising a hand to ask a question, you could feel the elders actively taking part and thinking — perhaps because we truly cared, they felt that care and became curious and engaged.

After the talk, the teacher told us she had rarely seen the elders listen to a talk so attentively from start to finish; attorney Kuo also shared that rule-of-law education needs not only legal expertise but people who know how to communicate and understand. Knowing how to adapt your language to different audiences so that people can understand and want to take part is the most indispensable part of rule-of-law education. The observations and feedback from teachers are vitally important to us. If we care about the same things, then working toward the same direction is the best kind of collaboration.

The day we landed on the island it was drizzling and the sea was gently swaying, much like our own uneasy feelings about the talk at the start; as we left, sunlight broke through the clouds and dried the road home, as if planting in the elders’ hearts a small seed of awareness of their own rights. Having now served as a rule-of-law education specialist for over half a year, every time I step into a different setting with a speaker, I wonder: what will these sessions leave with the students who listen? Besides becoming material for their learning journey, can they also bring a new imagination of "justice"? Or make them a little more sensitive and attentive to social issues?

Perhaps the answer cannot be seen right away, but whenever a teacher tells us, "Today’s content can be used alongside the curriculum," or "the students had new ideas after listening," this feedback is the wind that keeps our boat moving. Because every conversation and every talk is a moment when rule-of-law education comes ashore — not as terms defined in a textbook, but entering people’s lives for real, understood and remembered. From campus to community, from students to elders, rule-of-law education happens, little by little, in these uncertain yet genuine voyages, coming ashore one landing at a time.