Jakarta Globe, Kennial Caroline Laia, February 3, 2014
 |
A poster on a school wall in Poso, Central Sulawesi, exhorts students to
read more often as a way of acquiring knowledge. (JG Photo/Kennial Lala) |
Poso,
Central Sulawesi. “Poso su aman,” which loosely translated as “Poso is safe
now” was the first greeting from Ani Dako, the headmaster of SD Negeri 7 Poso
when the Jakarta Globe visited their school located in the capital of the
district itself, Poso.
The
conflict from 1998-2000 psychologically traumatized the Central Sulawesi
residents and left scars on men, women and children alike.
Now, people
are tired and are committed to building and maintaining peace in the area,
including religious and faith-based organizations.
To “end”
the conflict without passing the hatred of different backgrounds and religions
to the next generation, World Vision Indonesia and its partner, Wahana Visi
Indonesia, initiated a working team to conduct a character-building education
program in Central Sulawesi.
The
Provincial Education Bureau, the District Youth and Sport Bureau, Muhammadiyah,
Central Sulawesi Christian Church (GKST) and Tadulako University of Central
Sulawesi came together to come up with a plan to end the hatred and restore
tolerance and understanding to the region.
The working
group decided to name the program Harmony Education. A group of teachers and
experts got together with communities from both sides of the divide in the
hard-hit areas of Tentena and Poso City, to discuss how to get over the horrors
of the past and look to the future by providing children a safer environment in
their hometowns.
A series of
workshops helped to identify the three main values: Harmony with Self, Harmony
with Others, Harmony with Nature, and a program developed to improve the quality
of in-classroom teaching for primary-school students through the
active-joyful-effective teaching method and integrating into the national
education program lessons on character and peace.
Harmony
Education emphasizes the importance of connecting the teaching and learning
process within a local context, including local wisdom and has been operating
across the district in 2009.
The more
holistic approach encourages teachers to interact with students in more
unconventional ways by changing the teacher-student classroom dynamic.
Both
parties are encouraged to be creative and use that creativity to stimulate
further thought and ideas in a safe, creative atmosphere.
Instead of
relying on the usual classroom props of desks and blackboards, this approach
emphasizes anything, from guitars to green leaves, can be used in a classroom;
instead of traditional rote learning, singing, clapping and dancing are used to
create a safe, fun learning environment.
The program
was initially piloted in seven schools but has now spread out to 31 and in
2011, the Central Sulawesi government adopted a regulation creating a legal
umbrella for Harmony Education and child protection and well being in the
province.
A Harmony
Education handbook has been developed, supervised by the Ministry of Education
and the Education Bureau of Central Sulawesi, to help provide guidance on how
teachers can adapt the new ideas to their teaching style.
Pilot
project
Ani Dako
told the Jakarta Globe about her experiences about Harmony Education.
“Initially,
Harmony Education was a program aimed at rehabilitating communities after the
conflict in Tentena, Poso and Palu. It was also called Peace Education.
However, day by day, it was transformed into an approach to develop a national
character for our school age children,” she said.
Ani
recalled that at an initial meeting with the GKST Christian Foundation, many
residents were worried about visiting Tentena, a predominantly Christian
district. However, the prejudices disappeared once people got together and
started talking.
“Now that
we know each other, we can’t seem to stop talking. We no longer even notice the
time,” she laughed.
Not
everything went smoothly in the early days, Ani recalled. “It wasn’t quite
successful at first. The teachers for the program also had to undergo a kind of
natural selection of their own,” she said, bringing up Charles Darwin in
explaining the selection process.
Having been
brought up in a more traditional teaching environment with its strictly
hierarchal structure, it was a culture shock for teachers to find they had to
shed their old ideas and embrace new thinking in the way they approached their
job and their students. It has taken time, and will continue to take time going
forward, but Ani is quietly optimistic.
“The
students are more polite and teachers day by day get more creative in teaching.
Teachers also hold their temper and students aren’t afraid to greet or to ask
teachers a question,” she said.
However,
even though Harmony Education is running smoothly there are still obstacles in
implementing the program to other schools, Ani said.
For now,
schools may adopt the program if they wish. At the same time, if they don’t
want to introduce it, they are under no obligation to do so. The governor is
expected to issue a decree mandating all schools to get involved and Ani is not
the only person who hopes this regulation is passed sooner rather than later.
“Our hope
is that the district government can put this program as a priority and get
everyone involved, providing proper training to teachers from every school in
Poso, so that educators can fully understand the essence and the implementation
of the education program,” said the headmaster of Muhammadiyah elementary
school.
While the
initiative has been making a difference locally, it has not gone unnoticed at a
national level, having come second in the Millennium Development Goals
education category in 2012.
Ani though
is not resting on her laurels despite the award and the recognition it brings.
“I believe
that the award was just a starting point. There is still a lot of work to do,
especially having educators view the program as a need, not as a burden,” she
said.
“We are now
known about across the country and that has to be a good thing. But what would
be even better is that the program is adopted by all the schools in our area.”
Another
pilot project was at the GKST 2 Elementary School in Tentena. Its headmaster,
Yeke Margareta Tampai, said that before the program started, the school was in
poor condition.
“Now that
we are using the Harmony Education method in our school, we get help from the
district government and also from the foundation. It’s such a blessing and we
are fully aware that we cannot be where we are now without the help of other
people,” she said.
The
headmaster explained that before the program was implemented, teachers would
not hesitate to hit the students or come late to school. Students were also
reluctant to come to school and were preferred to stay home or hang out with
their friends.
“Our
teachers were indisciplined back then, but after applying fun and friendly
teaching they have learned how to control their temper and get the students to
respect them,” she said.
“The
students are also more likely to stay in school. With more kindness and more
fun they enjoy the learning process and they like to be as long as possible
because there are many things attract them,” she added.
“With
Harmony Education, the role of teacher has changed, they are no more teachers
in a traditional way, but they are friends, an knowledge agent for students,”
she said.
The
formerly rundown school with ill-disciplined teachers and apathetic students
has now become something of a beacon for other schools attracted by the changes
effected there, having received visits from educators both inside and outside
the district.
Not only
that, delegates from schools for children with special needs in India and the
Netherlands have beaten a path to Central Sulawesi to learn how Harmony
Education has been integrated into every subject.
“The
schools in India and the Netherlands are planning to bring their students to
visit us,” beamed the principal.
The
students have responded to the changes in perhaps the best possible way added
Yeke.
“Last year,
our scores in the national exams were the highest among all the schools in
Poso.”
Testimonials
Primary
student Jeni says that under the new schooling, teachers have become less prone
to violence than before.
“Before,
they were often moody and it did not take much for them to get angry at us.
When they got mad they would sometimes hit us. Children would see violence and
would fight each other too. We often bullied other kids. But now the teachers
don’t use physical punishment so much and we don’t fight any more or damage
school property.
The fifth
grader said he was much more motivated to go to school now than before. “Every
day is fun. I learn many things but I don’t get bored.
Meanwhile,
a local education official says she sees a big difference in the way schools
that implement the program run compared with the way other schools without the
initiative operate.
“You notice
it straight away, from the moment you walk in the school gates. A school with
Harmony Education is clean and tidy,” Grace Kelly said.
“The
behavior is also very different among the teachers and the pupils. The classrooms
are comfortable and fun,” she explained before adding that she hoped to see all
schools in Poso adopt the program.
Poso
district head Piet Inkiriwang also sees the Harmony Education as a positive way
to rebuild peace in the region.
“When I
took over as district head, Poso was in a chaotic state. Fear and worry was
everywhere. Even children were afraid to go to school. Then Wahana Visi
Indonesia, Muhammadiyah, Tadaluko University and GKST came up with Harmony
Education solution.
“I have
felt and seen how this solution has helped rebuild peace among children and
among the communities. Today our children are ready to go to school without any
fear and are more tolerant to accept differences around them,” he said, as
cited from Wahana Visi Indonesia document sheet.
Although
the program was initially aimed at primary school students, several Pre Schools
such as Paud Sangira and Paud Al-Khairaat in Poso have started to implement
Harmony Education into their teaching methodology.
Government
response
Secretary
of the District Youth and Sports Bureau, Wangi Stowe, told the Jakarta Globe
that having heard that Harmony Education has been working out really well, the
department is looking to include the approach into their “official” program.
“We have
seen the program working well and we are planning to get it applied to the high
school curriculum this year,” she said.
“I think
the holistic approach focusing on harmonious values and characters is proving
successful, and it is important everyone gets on board,” she said, adding a
budget will be allocated to expand the program in Poso. She estimated it would
cost around Rp 200 million to Rp 300 million ($16,400-$24,600) to develop the
program and streamline the training and facilities.
“What’s the
point of being good at mathematics but not knowing how to respect friends with
different backgrounds and or religion? We hope that Harmony Education will
encourage students to understand and tolerate difference,” she said.
“We want
the next generation to look to the future without being reminded of the bitter
memories from the past that scar our hearts.”
