We Don't Need No Education

The English Teacher's Room

After six weeks of teaching I have become a comfortable fixture at SMK 1. There are two kinds of public senior high schools in Indonesia- SMA and SMK, SMA being a general public high school and SMK being a vocational high school. Students are placed in either an SMA or SMK based on an examination; students who do well on the test are recommended for SMA high schools and a university track, while students who do less well are recommended for SMK schools and an employment track.  Within SMK 1, my students are divided into fields of study such as tourism, accounting, business, and administration. I teach eleven classes of first grade students (10^th grade in America), Monday through Friday; so, I have a little over 300 students. All of 

them are sweet, eager to learn English, and excited to have me in their school- which makes me feel bad about not knowing any of their names.  Every day I walk down the halls to choruses of “Good Morning Miss, you’re beautiful” from the girls and “Miss, do you love me?” from the boys.  Many of the students are musically inclined, and my favorite thing is our male a capella group who not only sing, but beat box very well. I also have a small group of boys who sometimes sit on the steps outside of my office and serenade me with their guitars. My student’s levels of English vary from those who can hold a conversation with me to those who speak to me quickly in Bahasa Indonesia and then laugh at the blank expression on my face. Resources are limited, so all of my lessons revolve around a white board and board marker, sometimes even finding a printer is difficult.  Even with the mixed abilities and the lack of resources, teaching is a joy and I expect that my situation would make any other teacher jealous. As an assistant I am not required to grade or assess my students in any way; so, my job consists of only the fun and creative aspects of teaching.  I hope that I don’t get too spoiled (or conceited); but, for now I am enjoying every minute.