RAPP School Teachers Respond to Teaching Gen A Challenges

At APRIL Group, we care about the education received by our employees’ children, as well as by the communities surrounding APRIL’s operational areas.

Due to this, in 2003, APRIL established foundations specifically to manage three schools: Global Andalan, Taruna Andalan, and Mutiara Harapan School (SMH).

Global Andalan and Taruna Andalan use the national curriculum of Indonesia, while SMH combines the national curriculum as well as that of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, making it the only school in Riau which offers the IB program.

All three RAPP-assisted schools have received ‘A’ accreditation by the National Accreditation Board, meaning that they meet all the standards set by a peer review board.

However, these schools would be non-existent without the enthusiastic and inspiring teachers who teach there.

We put the spotlight on six young teachers who teach in our RAPP schools. They talk about why they chose teaching as a career and how they handle the challenges of educating Generation Alpha.

Silvany

Mandarin Teacher at Mutiara Harapan School

"I was inspired to become a teacher because of my love for children. When I see the faces of my students, I feel that I have to do something to educate them so that they become a generation who will help to build the nation. The main challenge I face in teaching Mandarin is the children’s low interest in learning Mandarin, even though Mandarin is the second most widely used language in the world after English. Teachers who teach Mandarin lessons have to be creative and innovative when teaching so that the children will be interested in learning the language. I am proud to be a teacher and I will continue to teach as long as I am able to.”

 

Ibrahim Said

High School Geography Teacher at Taruna Andalan School

"I received a bachelor’s degree in Geographical Education and then I continued my Masters in Geography at Gadjah Mada University. I’ve been teaching at Taruna Andalan since January 2017. Teaching has indeed been my goal for a long time, as I think being a teacher is cool. At school, I was always close to my teachers because they were very cool and inspiring, in my opinion. Teaching the Alpha generation is very challenging as these children can be rather sensitive. My strategy in teaching is to encourage openness and honesty. It doesn't matter if my students have trouble doing their assignments as long as they are honest with me and I can help them. I will teach until I am no longer able to teach, as to me, teaching is a learning process in itself.”

Esra Palentina Samosir

Primary Teacher at Global Andalan in Cerenti Estate

"I have been teaching since 2015 and I am a Grade 6 teacher at the moment. Teaching is my calling. I prefer to teach my students outside the classroom, especially since our school is an eco-green school, and the children enjoy learning out in the open. Teaching Grade 6 children is a challenge as these children are in the process of transitioning from children to teenagers. In order to understand them, I need to know about their world, which includes knowing about what is going viral. I learned a lot about K-pop and TikTok from them. I may be teaching in a remote area in Cerenti Estate but this does not stop me from improving my capabilities so that I can give more to my students. In 2018, I took part in the ‘Inspirational Writing Contest with Quark’ competition, and I was glad I achieved first place. Teachers should keep learning too.”

Fitria Rasmita Manurung

Primary Teacher at Mutiara Harapan School

"My first experience teaching was at Mutiara Harapan School back in 2011, right after I graduated from university. I graduated with a degree in Biology from the University of North Sumatra (USU) and initially did not intend to teach. But as soon as I experienced teaching the kindergarten class at Mutiara Harapan, I knew that I wanted to continue pursuing this profession because I love children and the world of teaching. And I intend to continue to teaching for as long as possible, since I consider it my passion now.”

Budi Jailani

Primary Teacher at Global Andalan in Ukui Estate

"Before teaching at this RAPP school, I used to voluntarily teach street children in Medan. If I were given the choice to pursue another profession, I will still choose to teach because it is my calling. When I teach, I see myself as the students’ parent. Teaching at a school within an estate is certainly different from teaching at a school in the city. But I think there is one advantage of the limited facilities in an estate in that the children here gain more resilient life skills. I also teach traditional dance as an after-school activity. I would say that dancing and teaching are the two things that best represents me.”

Ponila Libowo

Primary Teacher at Taruna Andalan School

"I graduated from the School of Foreign Language in Medan. Today, I have been teaching for 16 years. Initially, I wasn’t interested in teaching, but I needed a job after university. Eventually, I applied for a teaching post here. Over time, I realized that I really enjoyed being a teacher. I was known by everyone here, and students greet me everywhere I go. It warms my heart when I see the faces of my students – it’s like seeing the future of Indonesia, which makes me want to give my best to them. I think students today are generally quite receptive to teachers compared to the past, as teachers today are a lot more charismatic and teaching is viewed as a noble profession.”