Preparing children to enter the real world

Debbie A. Lubis, Contributor, Jakarta

"Twinkle-twinkle little star how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky...", sang four children as they came out of the elevator at Tutor Time Pondok Indah.

The children were about to enter the "village" room where they would learn socio-dramatic play.

According to Cynthia Moeljono, school coordinator of Tutor Time Pondok Indah, children can learn how to relate with others through playing. "They learn by process. Perhaps they do not know the English but slowly as the teacher teaches them through gestures, mimicking, and realia, they can acquire the language skills," she said.

Cynthia said that sometimes the teachers should use persuasion in handling aggressive children who bully others so that they can get rid of such bad habits. "While at the same time, we should also encourage shy children to mingle with others," she said.

There is no doubt that preschool has a significant role in fostering a child's physical, emotional, social, cognitive and spiritual growth. Therefore many parents, especially those living in Jakarta send their young children to preschools, particularly those with an international curriculum.

Through its curriculum called PREP (Planned Readiness Education Program), Tutor Time in Indonesia offers learning materials that match a child's readiness to gain knowledge. The curriculum is updated every month, covering knowledge in math, science, language, arts and crafts, and hands-on computer learning.

Although each of the preschools has a different curriculum, they share the same goal: to encourage children to have initiative, a desire for independence, and feelings of trust and positive self-esteem. In a safe and healthy environment, young children learn through "free play" (both indoors and outdoors), peer group involvement, and independent as well as socially oriented activities.

Teachers play a significant role in assisting preschool children to absorb knowledge during "play". At Tutor Time, a teacher usually asks children to sing each time they move from one room to another so that the children will not realize that they are entering another stage of learning in a different room.

"A teacher should act as the children's partner so that they can be independent or self-reliant persons. We teach them to always plan ahead what they want to do, and then review it again after they are done with their activities," said Anastasya Meilani Modjo, 27, who has taught preschoolers for two years.

Anastasya, who teaches at High Scope Preschool in Kelapa Gading, said that she would never forget an experience when her students dressed her up with helmet, apron, goggles, bracelet, necklaces, and ribbons on her hair. They also asked her to hold a steering wheel.

"Suddenly one of the children asked for some milk. So, I walked out the door to get it. I felt so embarrassed at the time because there was a mother who stared at me in astonishment. But since the children were so enthusiastic, I consider that "humiliation" as part of their learning," she said.

Currently, High Scope Preschool offers preschool classes for children of aged 30 months to four years. The classes start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 11:30 p.m, from Monday through Friday. The daily schedule is divided into outside time, greeting time, planning time, work time, clean up time, recall time, snack time, large group time, small group time and time to go home.

Parents who would like to send their young children to the High Scope Preschool will need to pay an enrollment fee of Rp 8 million and a tuition fee of Rp 4 million per term that lasts for three months.

All payments are nonrefundable and should be made in cash or by check. The payment covers activities, special events and facilities such as daily snacks, classes, toys, materials, books, field trips, school facilities (swimming pool, playground, multi- purpose hall, etc.), parents workshop, babysitter workshops, special events (costume party, multicultural party, and graduation party.

The teaching method that the High Scope uses is active learning and the curriculum is developed through continuous study and research. High Scope teaches children to perceive the complexity of problems that exist and try to solve them. The acceptance that they can solve their problems will benefit them in the long term.

Meanwhile, Pondok Indah Montessori Preschool offers a creative learning atmosphere for children aged between one-and-a-half years to three-and-a-half years. The program is based on the Developmental Theory of Education which states that there are sequential stages in a child's physical, social, mental and emotional growth and development. Starting the daily activity at 8:30 a.m., the children learn to use outdoor play equipment and indoor educational toys such as puzzles, blocks, etc. After that, they put the toys away, wash up and have a cool drink of water.

During singing time or story-telling, the children sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, and learn special educational songs and listen to educational story books. They also play games that are related with numbers, colors, shapes, size relationships, and other important cognitive skills.

Good table manners and informal conversation are encouraged during lunchtime. After washing up, children sit at the tables to eat their lunches brought from home or a complimentary snack from school that serves a different menu every day. Children are also given "rest time", a quiet time where each child will sit on a mat to look at books, children's magazines or listen to music and songs.

During the show-and-tell session, the teacher will encourage children to explore their language skills. The child may bring items from home to talk about with his or her group. Children can also use crayon or scissors when it is time for table activities. Usually at the end of the week, children would bring home their coloring, cutting, pasting activities, and other work when finished.

Most preschools aim to foster the creativity and imagination of the children. Some of them even provide activities for muscle building. In Pondok Indah Montessori Preschool, the children can take karate classes every Thursday in the first and the fourth week of the month and go swimming with a special instructor every Friday.

The admission fee for Pondok Indah Montessori Preschool is Rp 4 million. For children who are one-and-a-half-years old, they only go to school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The weekly tuition fee is Rp 500,000. For children aged two to three-and-a-half years who go to school from Monday to Friday, the fee is Rp 850,000 a week.

The fee covers basic tuition, arts and crafts, snacks, and additional fees for field trips. If a student takes temporary leave, his or her place will not be held unless the full monthly fee is paid in advance. The school also offers air-conditioned school buses covering some areas of Jakarta for a reasonable monthly rate.