Being a teacher in a national plus school (a school that offers education beyond the minimum requirements of the national Indonesian accreditation authorities) requires extra energy physically, in teaching, in behaving, and in understanding each student's character. It is not surprising that teachers in national plus schools face more pressure than teachers in government-funded schools.
As a teacher, I have had my share of an unpleasant experience, namely when dealing with difficult students. Incidents like this often happen when I can’t focus on teaching in class.
My first teaching experience made me feel like I failed as a teacher. I was assigned to be a Grade 1 primary school teacher. I did not handle my students well at the time. There was no improvement in sight. Every day felt mundane and as a beginning teacher, I was crushed.
The education world began to open its eyes when the Indonesian Education and Culture Minister Nadiem Makarim delivered his speech at the commemoration of Teacher's Day. During his speech, the Minister mentioned that most of a teacher's time is spent on administrative work. It takes so much time, a teacher has to reduce their time teaching and innovating in the classroom.
The beginning of 2019 was the time I felt like I have failed as a teacher. At the time, a student in my Grade 5 class refused to go to school and then moved to another school. The incident crushed me as it made me feel like I had failed to handle a problem. My morale and confidence fell apart.
After taking a year off to enrol in the Teacher Professional Education (PPG) programme, I returned to my teaching job at school. Coming back after a year was a challenging process. I had to relearn the school’s new policies and get to know the students' parents. I had to adapt to do my job well.
Being a teacher has been my wish since college. I had many experiences, both good and bad, during my tenure for the past year working at a primary school in Klaten. I used every experience I got to prepare for the new school year.
People say experience is the best teacher. My teaching experience for the past year has become the best teacher that encourages me to do better in years to come. I have had a lot of experiences from being a teacher over the past year.
Before working as a teacher, I studied at university and attended a professional education programme. After completing both courses, I keep on learning through my daily teaching practice. I think this never-ending journey is important so that I can be a better teacher in the future.
As a teacher, I've enrolled in some sub-district-level coaching programmes at the school where I work and target areas. I've also independently participated in other trainings that I heard from my university alumni forums.