Tag: teenagers

Questions Answered and Stinky Fruit

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

After yesterday’s ehausting adventures, we were happy to
have a late start. Indonesian children
attend school on Saturday, so we were able to meet with Cendekia’s leadership
students for an informal question and answer session. It was neat to see them out of their uniforms;
we were particularly taken with a girl in a beautiful pink veil who was eager
to get to know us.

Our discussion proved extremely informative. The eight girls and nine boys provided
answers to many of our lingering questions:

· *Grade A National Exams are a big deal. They determine placement into universities,
and 96% of these students will attend college in Indonesia and 4% abroad.

· * They are proud of their achievements in the
Science Olympiads, and will send a student to Italy for September’s competitiion.

· *Their slogan is ‘Unity in Diversity’

· *They enjoy their weekend events-that’s when they
have elective classes, competitions, and even a type of ‘prom’, although no
dating is allowed.

· *They put on their own verion of ‘Gakic’, or
Olympics, with competitions in basketball, chess, softball, soccer, table
tennis, badminton and sprints.

· *They feel the biggest problems in Indonesia are
traffic, pollution, money for education, and corruption in government.

· *The girls feel that the boys get special
treatment; for example, they are allowed to stay outside two hours later than
the girls.

· *All students want to go to college, and all said
their parents attended college.

· *They don’t like the US involvement in
Afghanistan, feeling that the war is an attack against Muslim brotherhood.

· * They don’t feel like they have much choice.

· *At school, they’d like to change the food, their
limited access to technolgy, and the ban on cell phones.

After a rest at the hotel, and a yummy lunch out, we began the
journey to our host’s house for ‘break-fast’.
The 20 mile trip took an exhausting two hours, battling road constuction
and traffic.

We enjoyed what Yuna called ‘common
food’-several types of mango, Durian fruit, dates, green beans, potato coconut
chili chowder, rice and fried tofu and tempeh.
I’m surprised at actually how little they eat after fasting all day; we
keep expecting them to gorge themselves.

After a tour of her home, we visited the
‘Golden Mosque’ just a few miles away from her house. Built seven years ago, Yuna described it
as ‘just appearing one day’, which seems
unlikely due to the grandness of the buildings.

We toured the women’s section as they were praying,a nd saw the turrets
made of gold. Adjacent to the mosque sat
a large meeting house and a mansion the likes of which I hadn’t seen in Indonsia. Yuna ‘used our name’ to talk to the security
guards and found out it was built by a Middle Eastern woman as a gift to the
country, but she lives abroad.

We expected a shorter ride home, but again
spent two hours traveling back to the hotel.
Although interesting to see Indonesian night life – I’ve never seen a
more crowded McDonalds-we were eager to get home and pack for the next day’s
departure.

The importance of relgion in Indonesia’s culture
and education system continues to fascinate me.
It’s sharp contrast to our laws separating church and state make it
difficult for me to comprehend. I often
find myself wondering what it would be like if students weren’t blatantly
separated and identified by religion, and if it causes discord amongst the
population. At our hotel it seems like
the locals are either Christian of Buddhist-we see very few veiled women
walking around the mall or working in the hotel itself. There is such a serene beauty in the calls to
prayer, and the unison with which they gather together in the mosques. I wonder if that unity excludes diversity, or
as the students say, they are able to overcome it. I think there are more veils in Indonesia
than just those worn by Muslim women, actually.

Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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Finding Balance: Teachers, Teens and 13-story Shopping Malls

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

Our day began with an early teacher meeting at IMAN Cendekia School. Asked to speak about green school and International Baccalaureate programs, we arrived to speak with a few interested teachers. We’ve witnessed an attempt at recycling awareness on many campuses in the form of posters and some class assignments, but noticed an alarming absence of trash and recycling conatiners. While the teachers asked many questions about our recycling programs, it soon became evident that their infastructure problems with sanitation halts their progress. We suggested that they don’t wait, but rather start teaching the children, ideally in primary grades, about how to reduce, reuse and recycle. We’re hopeful that we can continue to provide them with examples through Skype or email when we return to the US.

The assistant principal, interestingly, changed the subject several times to ask us about the ‘Seattle Sound’ and bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana. He also wanted to chat about American movies, wondering if our schools were like “Mean Girls”, and told us his favorite actors were Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks. We continue to be amazed at what a dominant role American media plays in their beliefs about our country, and how often incorrect they really are.

We were able to ask the teachers some of our essential questions, and found that they believe that Indonesians are generally shy and don’t share their opinion-in fact, they will often go along with something they don’t agree with. They have no word for love, and no polite way to be angry. They believe that boys and girls are treated equally, and that men are generally more polite. They think their students need to study American history to know what are the best ways to run their country, so they choose to study the American Revolution, the Boston Tea Party, the Civil War, and Malcolm X.

The average wage of an Indonesian teacher is $100/month, and for $75/month they feel they can live well, although they may need to commute far for work. Earning $200/month is considered middle class, enough for school, rent, food and a little savings. $10,000 will purchase a good house. We found most items very inexpensive, especially food.

Traveling to Sekolah Tunas to visit a K-12 school provided a radically different glimpse into Indonesian education. We were greeted by a British man, Mr. Paul, hired to be their resident native speaker. The primary school children were adorable, full of questions like “do we go to rock concerts” and “would we like some chocolate milk”. Their command of English was excellent – due in large part from efforts to have students learn conversational English.

Observing on Friday meant students weren’t in uniform, making religious affiliation more difficult to discern. These students looked so much like our American students; in fact, this girl was excited to see a photo of my daughter wearing the same shirt!

We were treated to a traditional gamelan concert, questions and answers by the 10^th-12^th graders, student leadership tour guides, and a look at music and dance (modern and traditional) electives. As this is a private school, students pay a fee to attend between the hours of 7:30 – 4.

We spent our afternoon taking the train to a 13-story wholesale shopping center. Interestingly, Indonesian trains have pink and purple cars for women only, created in response to protect them from sexual harassment.

Exiting the train took us into what our guide called ‘real Jakarta’, and we couldn’t agree more. This wa by far the most crowded, dirty and lively section of town we have seen. We entered an outside bazaar and began crisscrossing through the maze of vendor booths selling clothes, food, pets, shoes and household items. The path was narrow and at times we wondered if we would make it to the mall. We emerged on an open area where the men were just finishing their afternoon prayer. As it ended, they picked up newspaper they knelt on and went on their way, and we entered the mall.

A teacher, Eva, met us there because she was deemed the best
bargainer. She proudly told us, ‘this is
not comfortable for shopping, but comfortable on the wallet.’ And she was right-we spent the first hour in
shock and amazement as she led us up escalators to the thirteenth floor,
through labyrinthine paths to find the items we wanted, and back out
again. When the mall closed at three we
went upstairs to the mosque so our guides could pray, then back down to find a
taxi.

Jakarta traffic is unlike any other city. Busses and taxis have an easier time,
especially when they drive up onto the curbs to scoot past the cars and
motorbikes. Although the train would be
faster, our guides felt it would be unsafe for us to utilize it during rush
hour. Two hours later we were happy to
arrive at the hotel, break our fast and fall into bed.

Today I was reminded of the disparity between schools in
Indonesia. The differences between the
strict, traditional religious education and the more modern structures is a
perfect reflection on what I see happening in the country. I’ve noticed a conflict between those who
would like to stay true to their traditions and culture, and those who want to
embrace modern living. It feels like
holding on too tightly to the past is causing problems with looking forward
into the future; I’m hopeful the children can figure out a balance that will
keep everyone happy.

Jennifer Wolfe

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Growing Slowly or Standing Still?

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

How many of us feel this way?

Teenagers, so desperate to be mature, try on new styles, trends, and personas in their attempts at growing up quickly. Watching my middle school students evolve over the course of a school year crystallizes my belief that it’s all part of the process of life.

I remember one of my 8th grade students who was typically a nice, ‘normal’ type of kid- not a trouble maker, well liked, quiet in class. Over the course of a week he started acting out – being a bit disruptive, more aggressive, and walked with a bit of swagger. My teaching partner and I started noticing and became concerned. When we approached him, he smiled and said, “Oh, no worries – I’m just trying something new.” And sure enough, after a few weeks he was back to his old self.

I wonder what happens to this urgency when we hit adulthood. The desperation seems to be replaced with fear, the excitement with sadness, the hopefulness with complacency. When adults ‘try something new’ we often are accused of having a mid-life crisis; it’s no wonder that so many retreat back into their old habits, more content with the familiar than the unknown. Where is the creativity that so absolutely bursts out of a child, only to be smothered by so many logical plans in adulthood? Does it get buried deep in our souls, or does it simply evaporate in our quest for the ‘American dream’?

But in those quiet minutes before we start each day, how many of us consider this: are we growing slowly or simply standing still? Are we reaching deep for that lost self that intuitively knew to go out into the world and try? Where is the tipping point where we dip our toe into an unfamiliar location, wade into a new experience, or dive into a new part of ourselves? Are we really too old to grow?

Where are you today? What are you afraid of?

Jennifer Wolfe

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Teens and Texting Featured on BlogHer

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about teens and texting – did you miss it?

It’s an ongoing battle in our house – especially since our daughter has been away at ski camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon, for the last four weeks. Our conversation has dwindled to a few scattered texts every other day or so – unless she needs something, of course.

Texting definitely has its advantages – it does allow for some type of communication with the surly teens in our lives. It surely can leave parents frustrated, ill-informed and longing for the good old days of email – forget about phone calls, right?

BlogHer enjoyed my post so much they decided to feature it in their Tech section – please click over and check out “Teens and Texting: Two Can Play at That Game” on BlogHer today!

Jennifer Wolfe

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Communication Conversion

Posted on June 18, 2012 by Jennifer Wolfe

Honestly – does your teen text you from inside the house? And if they do – do you text back?

What is happening to the art of conversation? Or at least the ability or desire to converse in person?

It’s an interesting phenomenon if you step back and look at it. When cell phones allowed us to go mobile, and speak to whomever whenever we wanted to, Americans thought that was amazing. I called my mom much more often, and it made long commutes in California traffic so much more interesting.

We no longer had to wait by the phone for that special someone to call – whether it was the repairperson or the person we were hoping would fix our relationship status (wait-we didn’t have that term then, either). Cell phones allowed us freedom to communicate all the time.

Then email hit. Suddenly, we didn’t have to wait for business hours to get information-we could ask questions, register complaints or schedule appointments at our convenience. We could break up, make up, or shake up relationships at all hours, and we could do it in the glorious isolation of our homes. No longer could the recipient hear the quiver in our voice, or the howl of pain, or the venom that we felt. All communication was one way, and we had time to think of a witty response.

With texting, a hybrid of phone and email caught on quickly with kids, not so fast with adults. I started texting because I wanted to communicate with my daughter, and since she had quickly deemed email too slow, and phone calls were nonexistent, texting was a perfect option to still communicate with her, and no one needed to know she was talking with her mom.

Her texts are often one to four word responses to my questions, but at least she’s answering, right? She texts me where she’s going, who she is with, and when she wants me to remember to deposit her allowance in her checking account. I get a text when she leaves a textbook at home, or after a particularly tough test at school. Just this morning I awoke to a text from my daughter. Away at summer camp, I guess she misses me?

So when she’s in her room and wants to know what’s for dinner, I get a text. I’ll admit-it kind of bugs me. Why can’t she get off her seat and come ask me? Is she really studying that intently, or is Facebook that alluring? Or am I just being old fashioned? Is this the way my grandparents felt when my mom stopped writing them letters from camp and called instead?

I’m beginning to think it’s a losing battle-texting is here to stay. And I’ll secretly admit it-I occasionally enjoy texting her from upstairs to remind her to do her chores.

Two can play at this game 🙂

photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Jennifer Wolfe

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