School receives award for innovative project<\/p>\n
By Dewi Anggraeni<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE (JP): Western culture has been present in the
\nIndonesian curriculum for a long time. Western countries,
\nhowever, seldom felt the need to incorporate Asian cultures into
\ntheir curricula. When Asialink along with its partner Asia
\nEducation Foundation began their initiatives to push Australian
\nschools to incorporate Asian culture into their curriculum, it
\nseemed at first a gigantic task.<\/p>\n
Apart from providing moral, practical and sometimes financial
\nassistance, Asialink and Asia Education Foundation also give
\nincentives such as awards for excellence to schools which have
\nsuccessfully incorporated Asian cultures into their curriculum.<\/p>\n
One of this year's recipients, Parkdale Secondary College in
\nMordialloc, an outer suburb of Melbourne, stands out for its
\ninnovative project. The students learned Indonesian cultural
\nhistory and social anthropology through archaeology. If that
\nsounds too far-fetched, it only reflects the ingenuity of their
\nteacher, Effie Kass, who is in fact a qualified archaeologist.<\/p>\n
The idea came to Kass when she took part in Asia Education
\nFoundation's Linking Latitudes Symposium in Bali, July 1997. She
\nwas impressed by the compactness of Balinese homes and their
\nincorporation of religious and cultural significance. Following
\nthe core symposium were several workshop groups taking
\nparticipants to different parts of Indonesia. Kass went to
\nCentral Java to visit the Borobudur. The temple roused the
\narchaeological spirit in her.<\/p>\n
On returning to work in Melbourne, Kass began lobbying her
\nschool principal, Phil Knight, into starting a project but he
\ninitially balked at her idea. Kass proposed that the school find
\nan area on its grounds for a mock archaeological site to
\naccommodate a Balinese home and a miniature Borobudur. Knight
\neventually was moved by Kass' enthusiasm and determination, and
\nhelped obtain not only the approval but financial assistance from
\nthe school council. The Asia Education Foundation and the History
\nTeachers Association also agreed to sponsor the project. Local
\nbusinesses and services offered to give assistance for materials
\nand in any other ways they could.<\/p>\n
At last on July 22, 1998, two pits were dug. The first was one
\nmetre deep and 2.5 metres by 2.5 metres, while the second was 2.5
\nmetre deep and 3 metres by 3 metres. In the first pit, Kass and
\nher students constructed a Balinese home consisting of four
\nrooms: a temple, a kitchen, a dining area and a general work
\narea. Each room was then suitably furnished with furniture and
\nhandicrafts Kass brought back from her numerous trips to
\nIndonesia as well as items her and her students made modeled on
\nthe originals. They even included a Balinese chicken dish
\ncomplete with cooked rice in the house. Among the soft furniture
\nwere batik cloths that the students had made in their art
\nclasses. In the other pit, the group arranged numerous Borobudur
\nrelated items which corresponded closely with those in the
\nancient Buddhist temple in Central Java.<\/p>\n
When the work was completed, they had both pits covered and
\nthe ground leveled. In the next 15 weeks, students from different
\nbackgrounds who were not involved in the construction researched
\nIndonesian culture and history as well as archaeological methods
\nand techniques. After the research, they excavated the site and
\nunearthed the items one by one. As archaeologists do, they used
\ntheir laptop computers to log their findings, labeled them and
\nplaced them individually in plastic bags.<\/p>\n
The students then analyzed their finds from the Balinese home
\nto develop theories on their religion, musical instruments, diet
\nand customs. They compared their study of Hindu religion with the
\nartifacts they found. The mini Borobudur dig gave the students
\ninsights into Buddhism. They were also able to compare the two
\nreligions.<\/p>\n
Other skills were also challenged. Mathematics students had to
\ncarry out measurements of the sites, while English students
\ninterviewed those who were working on the excavation and then
\nwrote mock newspaper articles about the archaeological project.<\/p>\n
The success of the project was felt beyond the academic
\nfields. \"While they learned about Indonesian history, the
\nstudents also gained social skills as they had to work together
\nand in teams. They learned about setting goals and the ways to
\nwork towards them,\" said Kass.<\/p>\n
The students who attended the presentation of the awards last
\nmonth beamed with pride about their achievements and publicly
\nthanked their teacher for a very fulfilling and rewarding study
\nproject.<\/p>\n
Asialink and Asia Education Foundation's director, Jennifer
\nMcGregor, said she looked forward to similarly exciting projects
\nfrom other schools to be considered for next year's awards.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/school-receives-award-for-innovative-project-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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