Bringing Indonesian Heritage to the Classroom

It is an undoubtedly amazing fact that this archipelago is rich of cultural heritage. Stretching from the West to the East lies variety of cultural uniqueness.  The endless topics of it to tell bring us to a reality that this homeland is such a blessing and precious gift God has bestowed upon us that we are indeed grateful for it.

The world acknowledges it.

This mind-blowing Indonesian cultural phenomenon has been brought to the class. It is an ordinary. It, however, is an extra-ordinary when the person who conveys it is a non-Indonesian. Christopher, teacher of ELA (English Language Arts)  is a British who has been living in Indonesia for the last 9 years. He is well-experienced in dealing with Indonesian culture due to his intense interaction with Indonesians from various regions. The interaction results in admiration and wonder.
In the classroom, each student got involved in discussing such topic. The learning atmosphere turned into more exhilarating when every student introduced themselves by mentioning the region where they originated. In addition, the specific aspects from each region such as its authentic delicacy, myths, folklores, songs, dances, traditional outfits, habits were brought into the topic of learning. The fact that the Torajan hold Tongkonan, funeral ceremony, where the coffin with the decayed body was kept in a special house for ages was unbelievably truth. Another unbelievably truth is How Baduy tribe, Sasak tribe, Asmat tribe residing in such remote areas of Indonesia live their life in primitive way yet eco-friendly. Staying away from modernity, technology is such an advantage for them. It is a local wisdom that distinguishes this archipelago from the other nations.
It is a glimpse of meaningful learning activity at English Language Arts class at SMA Lazuardi Global Islamic School Depok. (arifah)