Let the countdown begin...
Now is a turning point in
my life. Thanks to the pressing need for a change and the raising number
of similar events in my life, a paradigm shift in the way life ought
to be lived occurred. For the first time, I give up on what I have for
sure, on what I have earned for myself in order to experience the thrill of the
unknown once again. I decided to quit my job and rather than following the
social norms, I decided to follow my heart. Only if this world had more
people willing to risk or sacrifice what is certain for what is not, would we
have been less attached and more free floating. Ask yourself: how often
do you feel alive? Is it when you buy new clothes or take on a one week
trip to an exotic place? That is all that comes after saving the rotten
fruits of your work (except for the knowledge you gain, hopefully) - pseudo
selfish events making you believe you are the pearl in the crown.
It is ironic how tightly we hold on to our routine, to the sameness, and our misery. It takes one hundredth times more effort and at the same time - it delivers one million times more satisfaction - to let go what you have and to go with your gut feeling.
Let's just say I decided to cross out the 4th and 5th point of this manual of 'how to be overly ordinary so as to be invisible and thus leave no mark in society after your walk".
One month time separates me from the beginning of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. First and foremost, in order to make the most out of this experience, I need to find the answer to a couple of questions and be clear as to what I expect and what is expected from me. The grand objective of this project is to raise the motivation of the students to study more for their future and be curious about other cultures by bringing international volunteers, willing to teach them English and to be ambassadors of endless search for knowledge. The spirit and motivation brought by the volunteers are expected to spark in the kids desire to learn. There is a need for the students to have international experiences so as to increase their knowledge. A great potential lies in this concept of creating multicultural education setting so as to ignite knowledge seeking behavior in the kids. It is proven that children in their early development tend to imitate all that makes an impression on them which is basically everything (new and out of the ordinary). When kids are presented with a new issue they may not instantaneously reproduce or imitate the action, but it surely affects the development of the organism.
What do I hope to gain from this opportunity and how? What information do I hope to acquire and how can it aid the realization of my goal afterwards? Though, I have the slightest fear that I am going to spoil this moment by wrapping it up in expectations. I cannot predict how the events are going to unfold, nor can I exert any control over them. May be I should only build the frame and draw the contours, the events will color the picture themselves.
First, I need to determine what I know so that I can see what is missing. I have to be clear as to what my role and responsibilities are going to be exactly. The voluntary service will take place in a private elementary school and I will be dealing with kids from grade 3 to grade 5. The main part of my work will involve assisting the English teaching process - holding classes also for teachers and staff, as well as supporting sport, music, and art classes. The obstacle that needed to be overcome or the problem faced is how to approach these shy kids, how to instill confidence in them so that they can freely participate. My goal now is to research and learn how to create the environment needed for children to feel secure and willing to express themselves. I also need to help in building their knowledge and soft skills in terms of non-formal education approach combined with the formal education at school.
What else do I need to know in advance - What style of pedagogy prevails inside the private-school classroom? Is it mere rote learning and submission to the opinion and judgment of the teacher? What is the standard teaching technique?
And here comes the information received from the coordinator: "Regarding the style of pedagogy in the School, they are using a one way method of teaching: using a syllabus, the teacher is the one who gives the lesson and the students have to pay attention to the teacher. This method is very conventional, therefore we have expectation that the volunteer could bring new atmosphere to learn English. And about the Islam value the school shares to the students is just basic value, they are too young to understand a deeper topic /value. Yeah..I can say it tends to be traditional Islam instead of modern Islam and it is influenced by Javanese local wisdom."
During my activity at the school, my mentor will be the headmaster (Mrs. Arum). Since the she doesn't speak English, I will be assisted by the English Teacher (Miss Dewi). Hence, Miss Dewi would also be my partner in conducting the English lesson. “Please prepare some fun games for the students. Based on the evaluation I had with previous volunteer and local partner, we figured out that teaching English through fun games is more effective. For example : Teach new vocabulary through crosswords games, hangman, simple song, etc.”
Sleman Regency, Semoya
It is ironic how tightly we hold on to our routine, to the sameness, and our misery. It takes one hundredth times more effort and at the same time - it delivers one million times more satisfaction - to let go what you have and to go with your gut feeling.
Let's just say I decided to cross out the 4th and 5th point of this manual of 'how to be overly ordinary so as to be invisible and thus leave no mark in society after your walk".
One month time separates me from the beginning of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. First and foremost, in order to make the most out of this experience, I need to find the answer to a couple of questions and be clear as to what I expect and what is expected from me. The grand objective of this project is to raise the motivation of the students to study more for their future and be curious about other cultures by bringing international volunteers, willing to teach them English and to be ambassadors of endless search for knowledge. The spirit and motivation brought by the volunteers are expected to spark in the kids desire to learn. There is a need for the students to have international experiences so as to increase their knowledge. A great potential lies in this concept of creating multicultural education setting so as to ignite knowledge seeking behavior in the kids. It is proven that children in their early development tend to imitate all that makes an impression on them which is basically everything (new and out of the ordinary). When kids are presented with a new issue they may not instantaneously reproduce or imitate the action, but it surely affects the development of the organism.
What do I hope to gain from this opportunity and how? What information do I hope to acquire and how can it aid the realization of my goal afterwards? Though, I have the slightest fear that I am going to spoil this moment by wrapping it up in expectations. I cannot predict how the events are going to unfold, nor can I exert any control over them. May be I should only build the frame and draw the contours, the events will color the picture themselves.
First, I need to determine what I know so that I can see what is missing. I have to be clear as to what my role and responsibilities are going to be exactly. The voluntary service will take place in a private elementary school and I will be dealing with kids from grade 3 to grade 5. The main part of my work will involve assisting the English teaching process - holding classes also for teachers and staff, as well as supporting sport, music, and art classes. The obstacle that needed to be overcome or the problem faced is how to approach these shy kids, how to instill confidence in them so that they can freely participate. My goal now is to research and learn how to create the environment needed for children to feel secure and willing to express themselves. I also need to help in building their knowledge and soft skills in terms of non-formal education approach combined with the formal education at school.
What else do I need to know in advance - What style of pedagogy prevails inside the private-school classroom? Is it mere rote learning and submission to the opinion and judgment of the teacher? What is the standard teaching technique?
And here comes the information received from the coordinator: "Regarding the style of pedagogy in the School, they are using a one way method of teaching: using a syllabus, the teacher is the one who gives the lesson and the students have to pay attention to the teacher. This method is very conventional, therefore we have expectation that the volunteer could bring new atmosphere to learn English. And about the Islam value the school shares to the students is just basic value, they are too young to understand a deeper topic /value. Yeah..I can say it tends to be traditional Islam instead of modern Islam and it is influenced by Javanese local wisdom."
During my activity at the school, my mentor will be the headmaster (Mrs. Arum). Since the she doesn't speak English, I will be assisted by the English Teacher (Miss Dewi). Hence, Miss Dewi would also be my partner in conducting the English lesson. “Please prepare some fun games for the students. Based on the evaluation I had with previous volunteer and local partner, we figured out that teaching English through fun games is more effective. For example : Teach new vocabulary through crosswords games, hangman, simple song, etc.”
Sleman Regency, Semoya
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