I've gone AWOL for the past month or so since I got back from Indonesia. I did it for a reason: I wanted time to process everything that I saw in that event-filled 3 weeks halfway around the world. Now that a little bit of time has passed since the trip, I can say that I truly got the experience of a lifetime, and now it's my job to make sure my community knows what I saw. It's my responsibility to share with other teachers the many different aspects of Indonesian education that I took in. What an amazing opportunity!
I've also had time to reflect on my guiding question for the trip, which I will revisit now: "To what extent is character education emphasized and taught in Indonesian schools, and how does the Islamic faith play a role in that process? What are the general academic and behavioral expectations of students and staff?" First, from what I observed, the Islamic faith is central to Indonesian education. It permeates every aspect of the educational experience for Indonesian students. Allow me to give you a few examples. 1) Students start each school day in an Islamic History class, where they are taught the Quran. During this class, they sing out of prayer books, pray, and learn about the role that Islam played in the world, and in their own country. 2) At the beginning of every class, they greet the teacher, asking Allah to bless the class. 3) All students must visit the mosque for the noon prayer session, which occurs before they eat lunch. They take off their shoes, go into mosque, and come back 10 minutes later. 4) Traditional gender roles apply, with the expectations for dress abundant. Girls and women come dressed in hijab, while boys and men are dressed in pants and a nice shirt. Character education is stressed constantly. Students greet teachers with a handshake, but it doesn't stop there. The student will often pull the clasped hand up to their forehead as an extra token of respect. The comment was often made that if something was left in a classroom, no one would have to worry about someone stealing it, because it would still be there for the person who had lost it, even if it was two weeks later. Friendliness and a general "chill" attitude were evident, every day. The respect that students showed the teachers was off the charts! Finally, the general behavior and academic expectations of students are high. Teachers expect a lot out of the students, and they are often happy to respond in kind. For example, once a week, the students (800+) and staff run around the town for 3 miles. There are only about 15 teachers to supervise, and many times the group can get split up amidst traffic, pedestrians, etc. No matter! The teachers said, "the students know the way. They'll find their way back. We trust them to be responsible." Now, as I think of how I can best implement this enormous amount of professional development into my curriculum, school, and community, I continue to dream, ponder, and question the possibilities. I am in a new school this year, and am quickly learning the names, faces, and members of my school and community. As I continue to build these relationships, I'll share the numerous resources available. I just found out this past week, for example, that our Librarian/Media Specialist is planning a student trip to the Galapagos Islands next year! It's great to have a globally-minded friend already. I will also plan a professional development seminar on global ed resources, teacher travel opportunities, and more. In the broader community, I have already contacted the St. Louis World Affairs Council to build interest and awareness in hosting foreign visitors upon their arrival and stay in St. Louis. Not only will this be a great opportunity for my children and students to learn more about world cultures, but follow-up exchanges and future learning are strong possibilities as well. It's great to think that this website is an original piece of work that captures the main highlights and take-aways from my experience. It will be a tremendous resource for any teacher, student, family member, or friend who asks that loaded question: "So, how was your trip to Indonesia?"
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SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2017 (PURWOKERTO/JAKARTA) - Today, we had the treat of attending the wedding ceremony of the brother of our host teacher, Rudhi. It was very special, and the 2nd day of a 3-day party. It was special to meet Rudhi's family, see the house where he grew up, and take a small part in this special day. We got back in the car after spending some time here to meet up with the rest of our group in Jakarta. We ate at an Italian place as a group- great food and lots of stories!
SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2017 (BOROBUDUR/YOGYAKARTA) - I've never felt further away from home than I did today at the Borobudur and Pramanan temples. It was five hours away from Purwokerto, plus another eight from Jakarta. There are no quick ways out of here! It was a cool experience. Here's a map to help you visualize where we went: the star just south of Magelang (Borobudur) and the star just west of Klaten (Pramanan). Borobudur, Indonesia's largest tourist attraction, was a Buddhist temple that was built in the 9th century and abandoned in the 14th century as much of Indonesia converted to Islam. Then later it was off to Pramanan, a Hindu temple constructed in the 9th century. After this one, I was very hungry. Because of my choice of hotel the night before, there wasn't exactly a buffet breakfast waiting for me. The only thing I had eaten the whole day was some milk cookies and an orange drink. That, and I wanted Western food- so bad! Luckily enough, we found a McDonalds on the way home, and it was the best Mickey D's run I've ever had! Big Mac meal, large fries, and 2 banana top cones- yeah I pigged out! The "banana top" cones were vanilla cones with banana coating to coincide with the new Despicable Me movie. There's also popcorn and a banana McFlurry if you want it! Haha.
FRIDAY, JULY 27, 2017 (PURWOKERTO) - I'm sorry I only have a few pictures to share from this day. It was a day of goodbyes, pictures, and a little bit of sadness as we said goodbye to the principal, staff members, and all of the students. Many of them have asked me to sign an "autograph" for them, take a picture, and add them on social media. We really made a splash this week, as many of these kids only see Americans in the movies, on TV, and on social media. For two of them to descend upon their school and talk to them is a very big deal! After saying our goodbyes, we made our final preparations for our big trip to Borobudur and Pramanan temples, approximately 5 hours by car to the east. We loaded up our suitcases, packed up our stuff, and away we went! Rudhi asked one of his neighbors to drive for us, and he was very adept at navigating the crazy Java traffic. A brief reminder: Java is the most populated island in the world, and it shows in its traffic. There are people everywhere! Even when you get outside the city, the roads are jam-packed with cars, bikes, pedestrians, and motorcycles. Plus, most of the rural roads are two lanes. There is always going to be a slower vehicle in front of you, so of course you're going to pass them. It's very common to pass a vehicle in the oncoming traffic lane while motorbikes going the opposite direction fly by in the same lane. There were more than a few moments when I thought from my front-row seat-- this is it! No way that guy makes that gap! But always, they found a way to make it work. After a four-hour drive, we arrived at our $11 motel special for the night- Hotel Wisata. Lizards were crawling on the pillars to greet us as we walked in. What's this? I'll just say it was a real Indonesian experience. I stayed here, while Matt wanted the comforts of a shower and wifi, so he headed to a different hotel.
On Thursday night, we got back to the hotel a little early and I was having some of the biggest cravings of my life: Coke and chocolate. What a combination, haha! While driving back to the hotel, I had seen this chocolate cake/bakery/ice cream shop called Choco-Kwick, so I walked down there and checked it out! I'm so glad I did. This place was clean, chic, and had fantastic chocolate at very fair prices. A whole chocolate cake for $9? In the US, you're looking at least $25 for that thing! Anyway, the pictures clearly tell the story. Let's just say that one large piece of chocolate cake was devoured by me in 1 minute, and then 4 bottles of Coke vanished soon thereafter. My afternoon workout today was in a very hot/stuffy room, and I lost two pounds of sweat, so I had to get it back somehow!
THURSDAY, JULY 27, 2017 (PURWOKERTO) - On this blog, I've written a little bit about how "you never know" in Indonesia. Well, today was certainly one of those days. No sooner had we gotten into the school did we find out that today was exercise day. The students walk/jog a 6K around town with their teachers, and wouldn't we like to come too? Of course! I'm reminded yet again of the differences in concerns/liability between the United States in Indonesia. In many places in the US, for such a walk to take place, the city police would have to be notified so they could help patrol the streets, parents would need to sign permission slips, and a student-teacher ratio of 10:1 must always be maintained. In Indonesia, it's no problem. So, we took a walk around town with 500+ kids and 15 teachers! About 5 minutes into the walk, a pack of boys surrounded me, saying "Suhh (sir). Want to run? Jog...together?" Absolutely! So we started jogging lightly together, and then I called for a race down the street. They loved it! After awhile, the PE teacher in front told me to go ahead, because the kids will show me where to go. If you get lost, don't worry about it, some people in town will help you get back to the school. So off we went- me and about 25 of these boys that really wanted to run! I taught them the US Military's "I Don't Know, But I've Been Told" Indonesia style. I don't know but I've been told America is very cold Indonesia is very nice When you're here, you'll eat lots of rice Indonesia USA Hoo-rah!! Made it up on the spot, but it works, right!? Special memory for sure. After the run, it was sticky, hot, and humid, and I was sweating like crazy. I had jogged the entire trip around town in a golf shirt and khaki pants! There was no time to cool off, as one of the 9th graders challenged me to a game of 1v1 basketball. After a quick game, I went into an English class to teach anything I wanted. I made today's lesson about teamwork and working together. I showed them how to play "rock, paper, scissors" tournament-style, where the winners continue playing one another and the losers turn into the supporters. By the end, nearly everyone had the opportunity to be a supporter or be supported in some way. Then we played the Human Knot, which required more teamwork and working together. Finally, we showed them how to take out a SIM card from an iPhone. The next thing we did was conduct a Teacher Workshop for the teachers at the school. They have been very curious to learn more about American education, methodologies, teaching strategies, and much more. Matt and I conducted a brief 1-hour lesson on grouping strategies, and we explained how we deal with discipline in the classroom, why American students generally don't wear uniforms, and other questions the staff had. We are getting to be experts in using a translator- after every couple sentences, we stopped to let Rudhi (in green) translate for us. Overall, I think the workshop was very informative and beneficial for the teachers.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 2017 (PURWOKERTO/BANYUMAS) - Today after school, Rudhi took us and two other teachers from the school to go to the Wayang Museum in nearby Banyumas. Now, what exactly is wayang, you might ask? Good question! I wondered the same thing. Wayang "is a form of puppet theatre art found in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia, wherein a dramatic story is told through shadows thrown by puppets and sometimes combined with human characters." (I give up, Wikipedia-- you said it far better than I could)! When many people move these things, the shadows cast by them give off a large semblance of reality. Many of these shows take place at night until dawn! We found out that the wayang puppets are made from buffalo/cow hide, and can take months, if not years, to make. We were also told that we were the first Americans to visit that museum! While inside, we were lucky enough to watch an impromptu concert from the "Orchestra of Traditional Javanese Music and Dance," and they played for ten minutes on the old Javanese instruments. Very cool! Later, we got back in the car and drove to a nearby batik production factory and shop. Here, we were able to see culture up close- women in the process of making batik, and artisans and other workers in the process of spinning the fabric for it! It was very cool.
TUESDAY, JULY 25, 2017 (PURWOKERTO) - Today was another productive, thought-provoking day. The day started off simply enough, with a brief meeting in the teachers' room. I can only imagine a room like this back home- nothing would get done! We teachers can be a gabby group sometimes, with plenty to talk about especially when we're gathered together. Yet these teachers here at SMPN Purwokerto manage to keep things professional and stay busy. Next, we went to our first class. Matt and I have been traveling as a pair, popping into classrooms with Rudhi, and we've been taking turns giving lessons. We walked in as this class was singing out of a prayer book, and they kept it up for another 25 minutes to begin their day. Today, we thought that we were mainly going to be observing other teachers in classrooms. However, Rudhi gave Matt a shock when he said "you're teaching this class- go ahead!" Truly, I've learned that in Indonesia, anything can happen and you always have to expect the unexpected. In America, we pride teachers on their flexibility and willingness to work around all sorts of things- in Indonesia, this is even more so! Matt gave a nice lesson on his home state of Michigan, telling the students all about Mackinac Island, the Upper Peninsula, and so many great things about that state! Feeling plenty homesick today, especially after all of our teaching about the United States! When school was over, we took another field trip, this time to Cipendok Waterfall, a beautiful spot about 40 minutes northwest of town. The hike to the waterfall was spectacular, with dense, tropical flora seemingly everywhere. Everything- even in Indonesia's dry season- is so lush and green. After a hike down to the waterfall, we called it a day!
MONDAY, JULY 24, 2017 (PURWOKERTO) - Well, another big day has come and gone. Today was the day that we visited our host school. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time, because going to a school for an extended period of time is a lot different than popping in for an hour or two. My host school, SMPN Puwokerto, is a junior high school that has 6th-8th grades, student population 880. Rudhi picked us up at the hotel at 6:30 and took us to the school, where we met with the principal, Mr. Ongoro. Then he took us to the teachers' room, which is basically a large room with 30 teachers' desks for their workspace. It's a lot different than the US, where each individual teacher (usually) gets their own room, materials, and space. We were introduced to the rest of the teaching staff, and before we knew it, it was time for the flag ceremony. In the United States, students say the Pledge of Allegiance before beginning the school day. In Indonesia, every student participates in a flag ceremony on Monday morning, where they sing the national anthem, listen to a speech from the principal, and follow the instructions of student leaders in marches, hand positions, and more. My partner teacher, Matt, and myself were asked to step onto the podium and give a brief speech to the students. We managed to get a few words in! Then, it was off to classrooms. In Indonesia, students stay in one room the entire day. The teachers travel to them- now that was a different experience! We followed Rudhi into a couple of classrooms, and he had us explain American education and culture to the students. It made for a fascinating couple of hours, especially the last class that I went into. There, I took the Indonesian students on a journey through an ordinary American student's day. This is more difficult than it sounds, simply because of the huge disparity and differences in schools across the USA. Regardless, I did what I could: mentioning that in the USA, there are usually no school uniforms, and students can buy clothes to wear to school. I mentioned that many American high school students feel enormous pressure to get a scholarship, declare a major, to get the best grades, etc. and that the sheer expense of college can land someone in a lot of debt if they're not careful. This class was energetic and fun! They absolutely love having their picture taken.
And then after school...it was time to play! Rudhi took us 10 miles north to the Baturraden Resort. How I describe this place, I don't know. It's on the slope of Mount Slamet, a volcano in the area. There is a touristy resort area, complete with playgrounds, zip lines, mountain swings, and more. Then, if you're willing to venture further (either by hike or car) as we did, you'll get to hot springs. Rudhi drove us to the hot springs, and we quickly descended into the jungle as tall trees and lush greenery engulfed us. The 10-minute drive was cool enough, but what really blew my mind was the hot springs at the end! I had never felt hot water on a mountaintop before- was really cool. After we got some pictures at the springs, a local man asked me if I wanted a sulfur bath/massage. I said sure, why not?! He quickly rubbed mud on both my legs and claimed that it had good healing. Hey it felt great, and if it helps get rid of those pesky mosquito bites on my legs, it was $1 well spent! SUNDAY, JULY 23, 2017 (PUWOKERTO) - Today was a day to rest and take it easy. Our host teacher, Rudhi, had some business to take care of in Jakarta today, so we caught up on texts, contacted our families, and wrote blog posts for the majority of the day.
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