BEING A TEACHER = A Final Conclusion

I remember, when I was in last period of Senior High School, I had never thought that I wanted to be a teacher. Even I thought that being a teacher would be disaster for me. I wanted to be a carrier woman who works in a big company.

Then in fact, God has had another plan. I failed in some test to get study in universities but I’ve gotten scholarship in an educational study. At the first I felt doubt choosing this program. Moreover I had a ticket to be an Indonesia University’s student that was actually my big dream.  But finally I wanted to make my parents happy so I chose Sampoerna School of Education.

I tried to implant a mindset that I was passionate to be a teacher but it was useless. That was so hard to find out the passion. Yes I enjoyed the study but I did realize that later on this study will connect me to be a teacher. I just flew my life way as a student and tried as can as I did to get good grade.

Then I had experience in teaching practice at third semester and since that even, I’ve started to be aware little by little what being a teacher is. Then I’ve found it after I taught as a teacher in a real class. Facing students as the next generation of our nation has opened my mind that they need a guide to grab their future. Certainly a teacher plays a main role to success that goal thru education. For being a teacher, teacher must be educated well at first. But it’s not enough just by it. The quality of teachers in Indonesia should be integrated if the generations of this nation are wanted to bring this nation to get prosperity. Shortly, Indonesia needs high quality of teachers.

If people give their hope at us, candidate of teachers, and one of us is me, should I still be a useless person? I should not, right? How a careless I am if I do not maximize this precious opportunity. So I have to be serious in studying and loving my learning. Fortunately in Sampoerna School of Education, the educational system fully supports the learning both of fun and effective. All of lecturers also have good dedications in teaching us.

There is a lecturer that inspired me, or may be inspired to all of SSE students. I think he is a real teacher. He understands so well how to make learning takes place. He knows how to dedicate each student in different way. He is such an actor in class because he is an expert and very talented.

I just imagine that all of teachers in Indonesia have the same thinking like him, I believe there will be a good progress in Indonesian education. That is a dream of all of Indonesian people and sure being my dream too. So, I love the way I do learning because I love for being a teacher.

Stop Gender Discrimination!!!!!!!!!!

Do you ever heard a discrimination case about different gender or may be you have an experience about gender discrimination? Whoever you are, girl or boy, man or women, you must ever heard news about gender discrimination from any place.

Hey you girls, are you sad if you are blamed that you are weak?

Hey you boys, do you proud regarded as superior than girl?

If you said yes, it means that you agree to be discriminated and support to gender discrimination practice.

It is conservatism if there is still any gender discrimination on this earth. There is no reason to do gender discrimination. Yes male and female are different sex and it cannot be change even he/she change the sex attribute by operation, but man and woman have same right, same opportunity, and same ability in life, in job field, marriage, and education.

You must be known that the police is not just a man, the barbershop is not just a woman, the woman’s gown designer is just a woman, the busway driver is not just a man, and many other professions that can be done by both of man and woman. Then, still is there any reason to do gender discrimination? Absolutely not.

Those are parts of my group campaign of “Stop Gender and Discrimination” in Humanistic Studies. Proudly we presented that campaign to promote “Gender Equality”. In real life there is still any discrimination of gender although the cases are not as many as in the past time. How to eliminate it? The key is AWARENESS. We aware that we are different as a man or woman but  we aware that we are equal and have same role, for that so we should aware to appreciate each other by not doing injustice between man and woman.

STOP GENDER DISCRIMINATION… AND BE AWARE!!!!!!!!!!!

Fast Food VS Slow Food

                Have you ever watched “Supersize Me” movie? If you have I vouch that you will think much before eating fast food in many times.

                Do you think that fast food is a delicious food? Yes, I agree with you.

                Do you think that fast food is cheap? Hmm… may be yes or may be no. Yes in west country but no in our country.

                Do you think that fast food is healthy? …. Are you confused to answer the question?

                Let’s see some facts hidden behind the fast food. Hamburger for example, yes it consists of bread, meat, and vegetable that fulfill to be an healthy food but they may contain of an organic substance because those foodstuff are coerced to grow instantly and have high quality. How about the fried chicken? It’s not much different. The chickens that are used must be injected by certain substance which has function to make chicken fat enough to be eaten.

                Then how is about the process? The process from the raw food to be cooked food runs fast and instantly by machines. If the consumer are mostly Muslim,  how is the way of butchering chicken? Is it halal enough? Do the butcher always say bismillah like in Islamic way in every butchering? We can’t answer it before we look directly at the fast food kitchen because sometimes the halal certificate doesn’t really work where in fast food everything must be fast and instant.

                Supersize Me movie tells about someone who is eating fast food during one month. His purpose is to know what the effect of eating fast food intensively and actually it takes bad impact. His health is decrease with low productivity in working. Consuming fast food also influence blood pressure and cholesterol level which are higher than the level before consuming. His body is getting fat and the grease exists inside of his body. If fast food is consumed in longer time, the body will get the obesity.

                Last time there was an expert of sociology of food persuades us as a youngster to move on slow food rather than the fast food. Slow food is a kind of food that concert to the natural process, from the planting term till the process to cook it.

As independent students who live far from parents, we sometimes forget about healthy food. Moreover we are busy to study, do assignment, and other activities which need much time so we are demanded to do fast and effective activities, and include activity of eating. There is no time to cook by our selves and sometimes there is no kitchen in some boarding house. As a result, instant noodle is one of solutions to face it and instant noodle is kind of the cheapest fast food. So we have to be careful in manage our food. We can buy food to the “warteg” as a solution. Beside we can choose a healthy and slow food, the budget is appropriate with our pocket.

Analogy between Assessment and Food

If in the food we know appetizer, main course, and dessert, in the assessment there are formative, summative and diagnostic assessment. Formative assessment is type of assessment that is done during the learning process. While summative assessment is an assessment that is applied in the end of learning process, such as final exam. And diagnostic assessment is an assessment that aims to know how far level of learner before starting the learning process. If we can analogize assessment into food types, formative assessment is as the main course, summative assessment is the dessert, and diagnostic assessment is the appetizer.

I had no idea about those three before because when I were in elementary school, junior high school and senior high school, only test or examination that I had gotten and actually it is still be a little part of whole assessments. Only when I am in SSE I am getting those three types of assessments. Formative assessment is when I am assessed in individual task or group work in presentation performances, role play, simulation, project, video making, etc. Summative assessment is when I had to face mid term test and final exam. And I think diagnostic is firstly tests that I had to passed it through selection for being an SSE student (and I became so nervous because of that).

Actually, it is still a very rarely phenomena that those form of complete assessments are applied in Indonesian education especially in many schools in Indonesia.  Also many teachers still pay attention just at summative one. It is tragic because I think actually there will be found so many great achievements of knowledge that are shown by learners in formative way. And mastering knowledge cannot be measured just by writing test that is very popular for summative assessment. There are many skills that are had by learners besides writing. Again because of learners consist of multiple intelligences that we cannot treat the same by one way to assess it. That’s why there are presentation performance to assess verbal linguistic skill, role play and simulation to assess kinesthetic intelligence and so on. Don’t think that those do not cover the content of knowledge! Actually it can practice the content of material that is given by teacher. The material is useful when it can be applied in practices and in conducted to the real life, isn’t it?

Speaking is easier than practicing. I know it. That will be a bit difficult to apply it in non-equal ability class and in a class with big amount of students. Teachers assume that it can waste much time and need extra work to assess by formative assessment. Teachers are often lazy to make a rubric, a tool for measuring an assessment. Even teachers still do not know well how to make a good rubric that is specific and cover all points of an assessment activity.

Different with formative assessment, I think diagnostic assessment has already done in some schools especially in case of receiving new students. Candidate of students are tested to know in which level of ability that they have from their prior knowledge. It is important to support acceleration classes that are popularly built by some schools in Indonesia.

As a candidate of teacher I realize that to be a teacher is not easy. A teacher should not just deliver the knowledge to the students and then his/her duty is finished without thinking how learning takes place into students. But a teacher should provide facilities to how students can learn well. To fulfill that kind of purpose, one of ways is by providing assessments that cover all learning aspects.

Technology Can Enhance Creativity

            Technology really can support language teaching and learning to be effective, useful and fun. Nowadays there are so many kinds of technology that are used for delivering knowledge such as google, Wiki, podcast, youtube, blog, my space, even Facebook and twitter. That is a kind of modern language teaching way.

            But in the real situation, most of schools in Indonesia still apply conservative way in teaching and learning language. They may know about those kind of 2.0 technology although not at all but there is no idea for tem to connect between those two things. Even they seldom use technology tool for supporting teaching and learning language.

            Let’s see a case that has happened in a school that I have observed. In that school teacher don’t ever use any kind of technology except language laboratory. Actually the language laboratory is not useful much because as I saw, the last usage of language laboratory in the class that I have observed is at January 2009. During in the class the teacher just use textbook as a media in language teaching. Even she did not use whiteboard in the classroom. As her own confession, she has never used digital technology like computer, LCD, power point. When teacher explained about the lesson that it was type of text, students just listened to the teacher. It was so boring and made students did not pay attention mush to the language teaching, or made some of them felt sleepy.

            Well, if I act as a teacher I will maximize my skill about technology to apply language teaching. The simplest thing is I will use slides of power point to explain what type of texts are, the generic structure and language features, and those each example. Actually my partner and I did it in our team teaching practice.

            If I can maximize my time and have internet connection, I will search an interesting video about that kind of lesson from youtube and I will share to my students. Students need visualization in case of comprehending the material. I will also use Wiki to get resources of the material or I will suggest my students to visit the link of Wiki’s webpage that I have found it.

            If it is possible and they can make entry in blog, I will give a task for students to make text that they should post it in their own blog. I can ask them to write recount according their experience or write narrative text of fairy tale and fable but they make a different or funny ending based on their creativity, and they also upload picture as the illustration.

            Actually, many things can be done by technology in teaching and learning language. It can create a great idea or an amazing creativity. According to me it also the best way to enhance comprehension the material and apply the real practice for the students. The effective teaching also can be achieved by using technology.

            So, as a candidate of the next generation of the teacher, I should be expert in using technology and combine it in teaching and learning activity to make it not only effective but also fun.

My First Week Classroom Observation in Teaching Assistance Experience

            In my first week classroom observation, I found many things to be shared. Both of effective and ineffective teachings were applied by teacher in the classroom. At that time I observed a teacher who taught about text. Firstly, teacher asked students to discuss text together with her. Students were asked to read the text first than they were given questions about what was the main idea and what were the meanings of some difficult words. There was a student who knew the answer and gave the response. It also happened in the next paragraphs. If there was no response from a student, teacher would point a student to answer the question. Teacher helped student to answer by giving a clue but sometimes the clue was like a “burung beo” way. I think it is totally a wrong method because they have already Senior High School students. In answering other questions, sometimes students read together the sentence in the text so it did not sound clearly. Those statements included into ineffective teaching because it can make some students who did not pay attention much to the big discussion class became sleepy or did something else.

            Anyway, the effective part is the teacher always said thank you and also said the name too to students who had already answered the question. It made students were appreciated and motivated to do answering in next time. In teaching time, teacher tried to move from one side to another side in the classroom so she could get attention from all of students. In the end of discussion, teacher asked someone to make a conclusion or repeat what was the last answer so everyone should pay attention if suddenly he/she was pointed by teacher. In the last, teacher asked students to do task in the textbook and when students were doing the task, teacher moved around to check or help their work.

            I was surprised when after students did the task, one by one of them went to the teacher’s table to collect their tasks by queuing while teacher checked and gave mark. Oh, it also happened in my Elementary School in the much previous years. The rest of students who finished to be checked just did chat with their friend because there was no something to do. It was the most ineffective part of the classroom activity.

            For me, if I had to teach the same lesson to the students, I would create group discussion to make it more effective and did not waste much time. For the discussion of the answers, each of group could shared the report of their discussion result and the other groups paid attention and could gave response or feedback to the report. In out of grouping time, if I asked students to answer my question, I would asked whoever wanted to answer to raised her/his hand first and then she/he said the answer. It would be clearer than answering by said together. Of course I would not do the same thing like checking the task like that. May be I could bring their task to the home and checked it later on or while I checked their task, I gave them something else to do. I think it was better if I did a short reflection to the students before I closed my teaching time.

Calculating My FootPrint Carbon

          
           Hmm.. interesting! Bu Stien asked us to measure our electricity, water, waste, and meal for one day. Those aim to measure how much CO₂ that are used by calculating them for one week, one month, and one year too.

            For calculating enviro-meal, I have to practice cooking. Actually I often cook but I never calculate it in detail. Together with Nunu, we cooked “Pecel Telor” and calculated how much budget that we had spent and how much carbon that we produce as result of cooking. For example If I went to market for buying vegetables by car or motorcycle, I would produce carbon because of petrol consumption. But actually I went there on foot so I had zero carbon production for travel.

            Many elements are also considered, like what’s type of vegetable that is used, local, imported or own garden product. For packaging I used plastic, tin, or paper, it’s also part of consideration.

            Beside enviro-meal, I should calculate electricity, water use, waste, and travel. Those were little bit complicated because I should make sure how many liters of water that I spent to take a bath, wash, brush my teeth, wash my dish, wudhu, and drink. So did for electricity I should know how many Watts electricity that I used to turn on my personal computer, lamp, and fan. You know guys? For carbon travel calculation, everyday there is no carbon that I produce because I go to campus by bike. I am glad with that because although it is just a little contribution, I have tried to reduce carbon pollution. Well, it is may be a funny thing because in Jakarta there are so many cars and motorcycles that produce pollution. I and my bike compare with people with cars and motorcycle like a grain of rice in a big bowl of rice. It doesn’t matter for me. As long as I comfort and I feel free and fortunately I do something for my environment.

            The result of my calculation is 1,18 kg CO2 for one day; 8,26 kg CO2 for one week; 247,8 kg CO2 for one month and 2973,6 kg CO2 for one year. That result is just for one person. I imagine, how many CO2 that is produce by people in one country and also in our earth? How a big amount it is.

            That’s why, once more, Bu Stien remembered us again to reduce our footprint and improve our handprint. Later on in the end of third semester, I should submit my “Green Teacher Project”. It will be challenging. I have told the idea but I keep it still in my secret. Just wait it, I will share in this blog (^_^)