Focus Issue: Sunday - August 24, 2003

Focus Issue: Sunday - August 24, 2003

Global Jaya School teaches students how to think

"Indonesia is yet to be prosperous... but I love it." Is
part of a poem that was written to commemorate the 58th
Indonesian Independence Day. The writer is not a professional
poet, nor one who is experiencing the pinch of the prolonged
economic crisis, but an elementary student of the elite Global
Jaya School.

Which is quite astonishing as children of this age, who are
brought up in relatively well-to-do families, tend to write about
the beauty of the country or how nice the people are.
"We are teaching students to think," Executive Principal
Kenneth J. Cock said.
Adapting a Western philosophy, the school teaches
students to be active, creative and not afraid to speak their
minds. The close interaction of teachers with students is made
possible by the small class sizes, with a maximum number of 24
students in a class.
Global Jaya School (www.globaljaya.com) was established
by Yayasan Pendidikan Jaya in 1995. Initially there was only a
kindergarten and elementary school, but a junior high was
established in 1996 and senior high in 1998. The school is
located on a spacious six-hectare plot of land in Bintaro, Pondok
Aren, Tangerang. However, only 20 percent of the students live in
Bintaro, the rest come from other parts of the city.
About 660 students, mostly Indonesians, are currently
studying at the school. It has a staff of 100, including 25
expatriates. The lessons are conducted in English and Bahasa
Indonesia.
"Some of our students are Indonesians who have just
returned from abroad and they don't speak Bahasa Indonesia. For
them, we provide special catch-up lessons," Cock said.
The school, which has been awarded both National
Accreditation from the government and International Accreditation
from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, also offers
the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) program to those who
want to continue their study overseas.
Even though the students are taught in a western manner,
the school adopts the national curriculum. "We don't want to
devalue the Indonesian curriculum," Cock said. He added that the
school also teaches the students to value the diversity of
Indonesia and to respect the traditional arts and culture.
Community service -- including visiting other schools, such as a
school for deaf children -- is regularly conducted, helping
students to be aware of their immediate environment and sensitive
to the welfare of others.
The school -- which recently organized a tour of the
traditional Kampung Naga hamlet in West Java -- offers a great
variety of extra curricular activities such as swimming, art,
music, vocational programs, problem solving, and even ballet.
But the world experienced by today's youth is not always
carefree. And the school takes the precaution of offering a self
development program, which covers drug prevention, pubertal
change and relationship education, for the junior high students,
with random drug testing to maintain Global Jaya as a drug free
school. Sex education is provided for students, starting from the
sixth grade of elementary school.
"Our best achievement is that we are recognized across
Indonesia as a forward thinking school... Most of our students
are successful," Cock proudly said.