dandanpaige: Mr. Daniel's First School Year


Pak Teo

Pak Maryono

Pak Dudung

Bu Anjani

Bu Herlin

I am sitting at home with nothing scheduled today and no school to enter. After 5 years of not entering college and nearly 10 years since entering High school it is really nice knowing what a semester break feels like again. The first academic year was a learning experience filled with excitement and frustration. Let me introduce you to the teachers and students who have contributed to the fun.

Pak Teo - The most charismatic person in our life here. He has taken us in as part of his family. Just last week we decided to move in with his father-in-law who lives in the same neighborhood as Pak Teo. In class Pak Teo is very creative and the students love him, and sometimes I have to settle him down more than the students. With his people skills he has been able to start an outside education center where he only hires the best and most motivated teachers in the area. He has two children, Tea and Ego, and his wife work for the Navy. Lastly, he is Catholic which has helped us find comfort in our own beliefs.

Pak Maryono - Extremely hard working Indonesian who takes pride in his work. He is the reason for all of my success at school. Together we have made lesson plans for two semester and started the first English club at our school. He is a great father of two children, Isaas and Arah, and his wife regularly invites Paige to aerobics class. We often see him outside of school. Unfortunately, Pak Maryono is on the bottom of the teaching ladder at my school and will transfer to another next semester. This will create a very large new challenge.

Pak Dudung - A very funny and witty man. He is the most outward thinking of the group. Originally from a farming family he has true concerns about Indonesia's environment and actively tries to improve peoples understanding of the local issues (illegal logging, water and waste pollution, etc.). When lesson planning he helps push the group to think beyond the text book, but has a hard time himself organizing his thoughts. The students are often confused by his long explanations but really enjoy him. I introduced a few jokes using his name (Indonesian's love "play on words") for example: Making the whistle sound of a bomb dropping....then.... DuuuuuuDuuuuuuungggggg! Or the Pink Panther theme song using his name as the sound.

Bu Anjani - is the most independent counterpart and we have had a difficult time working together. Most of the time when I enter her class I am given total control of the class. We have not found a good balance so we can help each other, so this will be my biggest effort in the coming semester. It is very important that the teachers understand we are here to help their progress as teachers not to teach for them. Overall myself and most volunteers have found it takes time for most teachers to realize this.

Bu Herlin - A small happy lady she is active with her class and is the most rigid in class. Her two classes have the most trouble makers, which appear to be very smart but lazy and never pushed to work, and are the most difficult to teach. With that said I really enjoy her classes because the students are not shy but instead lazy. We are often able to get their attention by picking out the "siswa nakal" or trouble makers and having them speak English. I have nicknames for these students and it proved to be a great way to control the classes. On the side Bu Herlin has a successful baking business and truly cooks the best cakes, cookies, and snacks on the island.

The Students - Clever and Polite are the two words that instantly come to mind. In my opinion the students intelligence level is lower than many countries but their ability is much higher than I have seen from American students. My students study 13 subjects which includes 3 languages. Most of the classes have little structure and constantly are interrupted and this is how it has always been for them. Although they have little reward and discipline the students are very respectful of the teachers and often have class by themselves, due to teachers not entering. Almost every project I assigned this year was with hesitation but the students always outperformed by expectations. I realized very quickly the students lack motivation because the teachers show none. The students are not only capable as any student is to learn but most are athletic and artistic. After the first semester the students dropped much of their shyness as you will see in the class photos below.

I am fortunate to have counterparts who all speak English and know the theory. Overall they all have different personalities and make teaching fun and interesting to say the least. With that said the biggest challenge of living in Indonesia has been teaching because of the lack of structure and trying share more innovative thoughts to these teachers. The students are not taught critical thinking skills and a majority of teachers in all subjects following poor text books. I pray that with another year at least one teacher notices the difference of some of the methods we use together in class, and a handful of students will gain from it. Below are 6 of the 8 classes I taught this year, and the English club. I believe with time and more complete teaching the students are the key to improving this country using their talents, the countries abundance of resources, and incredible demand. Pengalaman tahun ini pasti buat tahun depan lebih baik!