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Sat, 02 Oct 2021
Ni Komang Ayu Tirtawati S.H., S.Pd. and I Kayan Gung Aprilia, S.Pd., M.Pd., became the first two teachers from SD Widiatmika to successfully graduated from the "Activating Teachers” (Guru Penggerak) program held by the Ministry of Education, Research and Culture (Kemendikbudristek). Both are participants in the first batch of the program. They had to participate in the education phase, not a short training, but intensive learning for nine months.
For Ayu and Gung, the nine months of education were very beneficial. The knowledge they gained was not just something written on the paper but also abilities that can be applied to students. Their graduation will strengthen the inclusive and student-oriented learning that has been the character of SD Widiatmika's education all this time.
"I will not just give one kind of learning method that I think is good, but now with differentiation so that every student feels facilitated in learning. Now I apply that in my class," said Gung on Saturday afternoon.
During the nine months of the education phase, Gung was provided the ability to identify the character and talents of each student. This idea that Ki Hadjar Dewantara once put forward is that every child has their nature.
"So, we give options according to the abilities of the children. The test, for example, won’t be only written. They can also answer the test with videos, recordings, and we give them any form they want," said Gung.
Recognizing the character of each student also plays a vital part if someday the child experiences learning difficulties or has to face some problems at school. Ayu said that there are certain techniques that she can now use to deal with such situations. She, for example, has known the way to do counseling with children. She is also now making mutual agreements in the class between her and the students, as a way to grow a sense of responsibility to the students.
"I told them, in the class agreement, that they can share their ideas if they want something to put in the agreement, and if you violate the agreement, there will be consequences. Now they remind each other," She said.
"Apart from the Widiatmika Foundation which always encourages us to move forward, there is the role of parents of students who support me during this activity because there is a lot of evidence from the real actions that I took. They gave comments, such as, it turned out that they experienced changes in their children, in terms of the children's attitudes and sense of responsibilities," said Ayu, who is also the Deputy Principal for Curriculum.
Changing the attitude of children is not easy. However, slowly but sure, it can be done. Ayu already has her way of raising and maintaining children's learning motivation.
"Before, children who were not motivated, for example, got bored after only a one-time online class. Now, it is different," said Ayu.
"Until doing it two-three times, they are still excited. Even they said, 'we want to sing, what song do you want to play?'. They are used to expressing their opinions,” she concluded.
Today, Ayu and Gung are not only become the activating teachers for SD Widiatmika, but for the entire Badung Regency. Apart from both, 75 other teachers in this regency have also graduated from the first batch program.
Moreover, two more teachers from SD Widiatmika, Ni Wayan Sucitrawati, and I Gede Karya Danu Palguna, have now passed the test and are preparing for the program.
