On PTI and Early Dismissal

The time has gone quickly. You might have been bored reading that phrase repeatedly on my blog. I mean, that is very true, isn’t it? I apologize for the long absence since the last post.

PTI or Papua Teachers Institute is held by SPH, Ibu Sue and Pak Darrel. They have been serving here in Papua since 2008. They kept coming back to train teachers and to work on our school’s curriculum in order to make sure that the school as a whole runs well. I guess, without them, we would be clueless. I am so amazed by how they put aside their comfort life in America and decided to come here and to serve. They paid for every penny this trip costs them themselves. You name it: tickets fees for two from America to Jakarta and then to Papua, back and forth. Not to mention books (they left us with some good books which, of course, they bought with their own money), teaching aids, and many more. But what caught my attention and froze me for a moment were the time they willingly spent and the knowledge they generously shared with us. I have to admit them as educational experts. They have been working in this field for decades in various parts of the world. And for a record, they worked for 14 years in Jakarta. Isn’t that amazing? And even after they were retired from formal educational institution, they did not just sit down and enjoy the beauty of Montana’s mountaineering scenery. Instead, they came here, to Papua, and blessed us with countless priceless knowledge. FYI, it costs not a small amount of money to keep yourself updated and developed as a teacher. And here we are, at our school, freely given such opportunity. All I needed were an enthusiastic spirit to learn and a stretched brain to think; not a single rupiah to pay. The thing that I complained a lot about last year now has turned into something that I cherish the most.

Looking back from last year, I found myself growing as a teacher. I tell you what. I learnt so much from both Pak Darrel and Ibu Sue. I was thinking that it was them who actually worked on my teaching and I just replaced them physically in front of the classroom when they were gone. As Pak Darrel also said after he observed my class, “You have grown so much. I am so surprised to see how much you and your students have improved in so many ways. Look at how much English you and your students use in the classroom. Look at your classroom’s atmosphere and everything. If I could find a phrase to describe it, then it will be ‘you crossed the Grand Canyon’ which means that you have made a huge improvement from October, 2015 up until now.”

A good teacher never stops once he/she gets compliments. Well, you can fly for a moment and celebrate your hard work, but do not forget to go back down to the ground.

Today is the last day for Ibu Sue and Pak Darrel to be at our school for this school academic year (2015/2016). I hope to see them again in the following school year. I still want to STEAL more from them, he he ;) To Ibu Sue and Pak Darrel, I can’t pay you for what you are doing here in Indonesia, especially in Papua; for everything that you have invested in the school and in me. I pray for you for a safe trip back home, and for physical strength for such a long flight, and for a joyful heart to be reunited with family again in America.

Today is the last day of PTI and I have finished making unit plans for Science and Social Studies. By the end of our time, we got the joy jar from Ibu Sue and Pak Darrel. What about some ice cream on a rainy day? Checked! ;)

Early dismissal too today, woohoo!

Thank you for bearing with me,