Yogya Kids, a mother-made school

Yogya Kids, a mother-made school

Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

The sounds of a gamelan orchestra that were heard in the distance
sounded a bit strange, but after listening for a while, one would
recognize it as a basic melody that is usually played by
beginners.

Indeed, several kindergarten children -- some were foreigners,
the others locals -- sat on the floor intent on following what
was told by their instructor.

The children were playing gendhing Palaran with small-sized
gamelan instruments, specially designed for children. They were
earnestly practicing Javanese traditional music, something that
is quite uncommon among children nowadays in Yogyakarta even
though the town is known as a center of Javanese culture.

Welcome to Yogya Kids, a kindergarten and a playgroup, located
in the southern part of Yogyakarta. The school -- that used to be
exclusively for expatriate children living in Yogyakarta -- has
developed into an international school, with a strong focus on
local culture.

Take a look at the activities of these preschoolers. In
classes they learn how to make jajan pasar (traditional snacks),
how to play karawitan (Javanese traditional music) and how to
perform traditional dances. The school even invites a snake
charmer and a bee tamer to the school as guest speakers. And like
other modern schools, the children also learn about computers.

"Honestly, we adopt the learning programs from many sources.
But we don't copy any of them. We make our own programs for the
children," said Selly Sagita, the school advisor.

The school currently has 80 students, 15 of them expatriates.
The initiative to set up the school in 1996 originated from
informal meetings between expatriates and wives of expatriates
living in the city who felt the need to have a place for their
children to play and to study.

At that time Yogyakarta did not have an international school.

"To overcome the situation, every week we met and took our
children to play with other children at the house of one of the
group. We took turns to host the meeting. If I am not mistaken,
there were up to 25 children. And some of us acted as the tutor,"
said Selly, who joined a student exchange program in Canada when
she was a university student.

From their discussions, it was agreed to set up a school for
preschoolers. Initially the activities were held at a warehouse
that had been modified for the purpose. Selly provided the
equipment while some mothers volunteered as tutors. Yogya Kids
developed well and found its character.

"In its development, there were many public figures in
Yogyakarta who sent their children here. And now, most of those
who send their children here are university lecturers."

"Even though it looks successful, I still donate a lot of
money for Yogya Kids. So, we plan to increase the school fees
starting next year, otherwise, I will keep suffering losses," she
said without mentioning how much she donates to the kindergarten
every month.

"Basically it is a visionary project. It's OK if I have to
suffer some losses," she said.

Each of the kindergarten children is charged Rp 150,000 a
month, while those who join the playgroup pay Rp 175,000 each.

The children receive snacks, stationery and raw ingredients to
cook with. They also get a free health examination and are
entitled to join extra-curricular activities. All of the teaching
staff are university graduates who are experts in their field.
For example, the gamelan teacher is a graduate of the Indonesian
Arts Institute of Yogyakarta.

Yogya Kids also invites people with special skills like the
snake charmer or the bee tamer. They come to the school with the
animals so that the children can have a first-hand experience.

The children really enjoy such activities. They also had a lot
of fun when the school invited a barongsay (Chinese lion dance)
group to perform at the school recently and allowed the children
to join the dance.

In order to help the children develop love for the local
culture, the school management has decorated the walls with
pictures of the characters from the wayang (shadow puppet)
tradition instead of those of the Disneyland or other foreign
figures.

"We make illustrations like Punokawan (the funny characters in
wayang) so that they are familiar with them," said Selly, who
used to be a high school teacher.

Even though it uses local materials, as an international
school, Yogya Kids provides intensive English lessons for the
children. They have a special English class for 30 minutes a week
and every day the teachers also speak English with the children
so that the children are familiar with the language.

That's Yogya Kids, an alternative, international school that
also fosters the local culture.