Although I am only just beginning to understand the schooling system here, let me share some observations and some information I've been told by teachers and students.
SMA Negeri 3 Medan is one of 20+ public high schools in Medan and it is among the top 4 (I'm told) in terms of popularity and students' test scores. One must test into high school here in Indonesia and it is quite competitive. What this means, in sum, is that the school where I am being hosted is full of some of the best public school students in the city, which is quite obvious to me. In each class I have visited, the students are not only attentive, but they are also active participants with sharp minds and amazing vocabularies in English (part of which is due to the fact that there are so many loan words from English in the Indonesian language - a nice advantage!). These students blow the stereotype of the quiet, passive, book-smart but not-so-creative Asian student out of the water. The students I've met are really interesting young people and are really interested in the world around them...of course, mind you, I am talking mostly with the students who are most fluent in English (as my Indonesian is still very limited sadly)...and such students may naturally be of a more global mind-set and creative spirit, maybe...
Students at SMA Negeri 3 attend 8 classes a day Monday-Thursday from 7:30-1:45 - meaning classes are only 45 minutes long, although there are some block classes that allow teachers and students to work together for 90 minutes. On Friday they have 5 classes and finish earlier for prayers and such. Saturday there are 6 classes, again with an earlier finish than on M-Th. There are two 20 minute breaks during the day, though I see at least a few students in the "canteen" (cafeteria type area) all day, so I'm not sure how it really works...One thing I'm really surprised by is the fact that classes have 40-50 students each (though the national recommendation and contractual obligation for each teacher is actually 32 students...teachers told me that there simply aren't enough schools in Indonesia and so classes get overstuffed). Even more surprising to me is that each student takes 16 subjects a year!! That explains some of the foreign transcript confusion we face at our school in Tucson :-) There are only 3 years of high school here (grades 10-12; 7-9 is middle school) and so, I guess, they pack it all into those three years...how a student can master 16 subjects in one year is beyond me, though...and with only 4 (or in some cases less) 45 minute class sessions each week? Somehow it seems to work...at least internally...and from my interaction with students thusfar, I think that these Indonesian students are actually very competitive in terms of their knowledge and skills base when compared to the average (and in some cases even the above average) American high school student. I'm trying to unlock the secret, or the secrets, to this success and I'll certainly post what I discover as I continue to explore, question, and observe classes and the schooling system more generally here.
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| Ms. Zulfah teaching her 11th grade English class. Her students are so comfortable and confident as English-speakers! |
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| Ms. Elfi teaching Social Studies at the end of the day. She used games, songs, & TPR to wake the students up and give them some brain exercise (Senam Otak). |
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| This is a 12th grade English class being led by Ms. Zulfah. Their studies will focus on TOEFL preparation this year. |
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| Ms. Reny teaches Bahasa Indonesia, the Indonesian language. She's wonderful and this class of 12th graders was fantastic! One student, with the support of his friends, even serenaded me with my favorite Indonesian pop song, Ya Supahtah by Bondan Prakoso...a song featuring a verse: "Cause everything's going to be ok." |
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| Students gather in the soft morning light, the sweet light, for classes. |
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| SMA 3's small but very nice garden. I know my Catalina students would love to see little green, beautiful spaces like this around our campus :-) |
