Taiwanese parents usually try everything to get their children enrolled in 'good' elementary schools so that they can get a 'good start.' However, three remote schools might be providing a better learning environment with their natural surroundings and organic farms. Taipei County's Cianhua Elementary School sits near the northern coast in a tea- farming area. Twelve years ago, the principal cleared just over 900 square meters of unused land behind the school and began growing Tie Guan Yin oolong tea, producing some 800 grams of tea each spring and winter. The school's 44 students participate in every step of the tea-producing process, from plucking the leaves and watching how factories process them, to picking out the unwanted stalks. They are also given assignments to learn about every aspect of tea, such as history, local industry and how to brew and taste tea. The children say they enjoy the harvesting the most and look forward to it each semester, even though they have to deal with insects, as no pesticides are used on the plants. Siang Tian Elementary School in central Taiwan's Changhua County has included rice-growing in its curriculum since 2006, as it owns a rice paddy and most of the students come from farming families. The school gets assistance from the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station to teach classes and give advice, such as using the technique of keeping ducks to deal with snails instead of using pesticides. Each of the two harvests each year produce 500-600 kgs of rice from its 1,260 square meters of land. The school uses half of the rice for school lunches for its 44 students and sells the other half for school funds or for charity. A trip to visit another rice-growing school in Japan in 2008 was funded by the rice sales. One sixth grader said she now helps her grandparents in their own rice paddy after learning about it at school. She has also learned to make several rice dishes, such as sushi, popped rice and her favourite -- 'mochi,' a sticky rice cake. The teachers of Jia Zuo Elementary School in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County set up a coffee shop in 2008 with the aim of teaching students manners and how to interact with people. A local coffee grower found out and donated 250 coffea arabica trees to the school so that the students could also grow their own coffee. The school uses the trees to teach the students about the plants and how coffee is produced. However, the beans they produce are not used because they are of low quality and of insufficient quantity for the weekly course. Another unexpected outcome of the coffee shop is that the shop has become a gathering place for parents, two of whom donated ovens so they can bake cookies to go with the coffee. This method of letting students experience nature and life is teaching the children valuable lessons, as well as providing an environment in which they can enjoy the learning process. 