Photo illustration: Novita Eka Syaputri
This article is part of the Teacher's Note series on teaching experience as a beginning teacher.
Becoming a teacher has always been my greatest motivation. My process of becoming a teacher began from a long journey I started in college, both during my undergraduate study as well as teacher training. My devotion as a beginning teacher started from nothing to today, when I can stand proudly as a teacher.
School Routine
Every day, the school starts at 7:30 in the morning. I have to arrive at school before 7:00 to prepare the lesson.
School activities began with the students reciting their pledge. On Mondays, the reciting is followed by a ceremony, morning prayer on Tuesdays, study immediately on Wednesdays, reading time on Thursday, and on Fridays, the students recite their pledge together in the field.
Every Monday, after students go home, the teachers have a weekly meeting to prepare lesson plans, weekly info, and weekly assessments.
Every day I work until 4:00 in the afternoon.
Working Extra Hard
I now work at a school that applies a national plus curriculum, which goes beyond the minimum requirement by the Indonesian authority. The tasks I do every day are very diverse; besides creating lesson plans, weekly info, and weekly assessment, I also need to fill out parent-teacher communication books, student attendance, and assess students’ work.
Tasks are done together with teachers of the same grade level. Teachers divide the tasks among themselves at the beginning of the weekly meeting. In this way, every teacher at the same grade level has a similar, well-distributed task.
Starting my career as a beginning teacher in a large institution, I have to work extra hard in every field: academic, social, and learning.
In this school, all learning activities are delivered in English, except for Indonesian subject. Some subjects even adopt the Singapore curriculum.
As a young teacher who works in a reputable institution, I feel that I must continue developing my potentials, one of which is speaking English. I am also motivated to master all the competencies a teacher must have: pedagogical, social, professional, and personality competencies.
My competence has led me to an important position in the institution where I work now. The school principal noticed my abilities and encouraged me to be on the committee for the National Children's Day competition, scout and Indonesia’s anniversaries, and Grade 2 student field trip activities.
The Importance of Interacting with Fellow Teachers
There are more than 125 teachers at the school where I teach, and I know almost all of them. I enjoy interacting with teachers from different grade levels.
Outside of school, I also build relations with other male teachers through my hobby of playing futsal. This out-of-school activity helps me get to know the characters, attitudes, and other things in the institution where I work.
In my opinion, as young teachers, we must be able to adjust to where we are. Beginning teachers must be open to learning; there is no need to hesitate to ask, explore, and develop one’s potential.
Interaction with fellow teachers, I think, is necessary to keep us learning. Even though we already have an essential role, we still need to continue to learn, and we should not be satisfied with just one role.
I have gained a lot of new experiences at the school where I teach today. Every day I feel like I learn something new.
Keep your spirit high, Indonesian beginning teachers! Increase your potential to compete in the world.
*This Note was written by TBS, a primary school teacher in West Java.
**All articles published in the Teachers' Notes are the views of the authors. They have been edited for popular writing purposes and do not represent the views of RISE Programme in Indonesia or RISE's funders.
