Students learn straight from nature<\/p>\n
Badri Jawara, The Jakarta Post, Palu, Central Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Loud voices reciting the alphabet usually come out of formal
\nschools. But in Bulan, an area in Ampana Tete district in Poso
\nregency, the voices emerge from a clump of trees and bushes.<\/p>\n
With no school uniforms and shoes, many children between six
\nand 12 years of age sit in groups under the trees to study. They
\nare full of enthusiasm, do not mind sitting on a bamboo floor or
\npandanus mats. This particular form of education is witnessed
\nonly in Mpoa, Bulan.<\/p>\n
The lessons were initiated four years ago by the Merah Putih
\nPalu Foundation in response to local people's need of education
\nfor their children. At that time, the only local elementary
\nschool was in a resettlement area -- which is a four-hour walk
\nthrough a thick forest. If you walk from Tau Ta'a village, which
\nis a little farther from Mpoa, it could take a full day.<\/p>\n
Called a village school, the idea to start these lessons came
\nfrom the Tau Ta'a, the indigenous ethnic group of Ta'a in Bulan.
\nThe Tau Ta'a are one of a number of ethnic groups indigenous to
\nCentral Sulawesi who are at home living in the jungle and
\nhinterland of Morowali, Poso and Banggai regencies.<\/p>\n
Development has not touched the Tau Ta'a. The local residents
\nand their ancestors have been living in the village for
\ncenturies. In the village, which is led by a customary elder, the
\nroad is not yet paved and there is an absence of health
\nfacilities.<\/p>\n
Moreover, there are 271 Tau Ta'a school-age children in Bulan
\nwho have never attended a formal school, while only a few adults
\nin the village can read and write.<\/p>\n
These people are not careful about their clothes. They usually
\nwear traditional dress made of tree bark. They depend on the
\nforest, while some have learned to plant rice.<\/p>\n
The only teacher at this open-air school is Wahyuddin AR.
\nLamasitudju, a YMMP community organizer who is usually called
\nDikdik by his pupils.<\/p>\n
While teaching, Dikdik uses nature both as the \"classroom\" and
\na visual aid. For instance, to teach pupils about the letter A,
\nhe asks his pupils to collect items from the forest which begin
\nwith A in the Ta'a language. Then, using this method, he not only
\nteaches the pupils about the alphabet but also familiarize them
\nwith the Indonesian language by translating the chosen items'
\nnames into Indonesian.<\/p>\n
For mathematics, Dikdik asks his pupils to count how many
\nbrothers or sisters they have. They must also be able to count
\nthe head of cattle or plants and trees around their houses and in
\nthe forest. The pupils carry with them various visual aids for
\ncalculating, for example, stones, ribs of palm sugar leaf and
\ntwigs.<\/p>\n
Apart from Dikdik, the other \"teachers\" are the pupils
\nthemselves or their parents.<\/p>\n
Usually their parents tell the pupils which grass and leaves
\nare good for medicinal purposes and also how to concoct these
\nherbal medicines. Then the pupils also learn from their parents
\nhow to plant rice or how to collect latex, a natural resource
\nwhich has become the village's prime commodity.<\/p>\n
\"This is what we mean by a village school. There are no
\nclassrooms to separate them from one another, nor a strange
\ncurriculum. These pupils can study anywhere, in their stilt
\nhouses, in the fields or in a thick forest. They study while
\nplaying,\" said Nasution Tjamang, YMPP executive director.<\/p>\n
The foundation realizes, however, that there are still a few
\nshortcomings in the school which need further evaluation to
\nensure the application of the right model for the school.<\/p>\n
Before starting the school, the foundation explored 11 areas
\non the border of three regencies (Morowali, Poso and Banggai)
\nwhere indigenous people live. It turns out these that areas have
\nseen no development at all. Education is something of a dream for
\nschool-age children, especially those living in the most remote
\nvillages like Kayu Marangka or Salumangge, which can only be
\nreached by foot, making most university graduate teachers
\nreluctant to go there.<\/p>\n
For the foundation itself, starting the school was not easy.
\nAccording to Nasution, the foundation had to work hard to find
\nenough reading books.<\/p>\n
\"We just collect what we can, plus we get help from groups
\nconcerned with this matter,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The encouraging thing is, according to Nasution, the result of
\nthis simple learning method is no worse compared to the formal
\none. One of the pupils, came first in a test that he took part in
\nat the formal elementary school in Bulan Jaya resettlement post.<\/p>\n
Still, it is too early to judge this school, which breaks the
\nrules of formal education and adapts the learning process to the
\nneeds of local residents. But at least the foundation did
\nsomething.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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