Poso Believes Children Are the Future After Years of Conflict

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.”