Category: Expanding Gold Teak

When we teach the elementary school students about team work, they do not have
any idea what it is. We need a strategy to build a team work, teacher should be
creative to apply the theory into the real situation. Almost ten years already, SD
Cibeureum learn how to build a team work. They share the books, learning facilities,
donated goods or even the classrooms with their friends from different level
because the school has only 4 classrooms.

What is the impact of building a team work? The students get used to manage their
behavior and arrange the school tasks together with their friends to make their
school life is harmonious and finally they can reach what they want. They can work
together with their friends in class, in school or even when they follow a competition
they play their own role and support each other. And when they are in one team, they
work cooperatively to do a school project or to follow a competition.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success take care of itself”.
(Henry Ford)

Gerakan Pramuka Indonesia (Indonesian Scout Movement) is the National Scout Organization of Indonesia. Scouting was founded in the Dutch East Indies in 1912 and Indonesia became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) in 1953. Earch year August 14 is celebrated as Pramuka Day to honor the organization’s first public parade. Pramuka was derived from acronym of Praja Muda Karana (Sanskrit) meaning “Young People Willing to Work”.

This year, SD Cibeureum sent 22 students (11 boys and 11 girls) and four teachers to attend the celebration of Pramuka Day in Sukabumi. The students followed some activities, including stave dan cordage usages. The boys could make an emergency rope stretcher and the girl could manage the flag scout signs, unfortunately for the first time both groups brought awards home.

“The most important object in the boy scout training is to educate, not instruct.”
(Sir Robert Baden-Powell)

Mens sana in corpore sano means a healthy mind in a healthy body.
The phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts
to express the theory that physical exercise is an important or
essential part of mental and psychological well-being.

When the school provides sport activities for students, actually
the school helps the students to gain important psychological
benefit, to reduce anxiety and depression and at the same time
the children receive self-esteem boots so they can improve their
confidence and school performance.

Through sport students can learn how to integrate with their
environments, how to develop their discipline, critical-thinking
and problem-solving skills. With participation in sports,
the students could become stronger and increase their endurance.

SD Cibeurem recently received a set of Sepak Takraw equipments
(2 poles, 1 net, 2 Takraw ball) from PT Goldteak. The students
who are in grade 4,5 and 6 are very exited, they have been waiting
for quite long time to have a sport activity in their school.
One of the teacher is becoming a coach and they practice three times
a week, but the school is open for the students who wants to practice
after school.

Tanah Sunda (Ajib Rosidi)

Hejo pagunungan

Paul lautan

Hejo

Paul

Langit, na hate, kuring

Masing dimana kuring nangtung

Masing kamana kuring leumpang

Tanah lembok, tempat bumetah

Angin nyeot, nyiuman tarang

Masing dimana anjeun nunjuk

Masing iraha, anjeun cumeluk

Kuring mo mumpang, kuring rek datang

Neueulkeun tarang, neueulkeun jantung

Kuring tungtung teuteupan

Kuring tungtung

Teuteupan

Tungtung bedil

Ngincer dada

Kuring geus nyaksian, getih ngabayabah

Getih maranehanan, nu mikacinta, anjeun

Kuring geus nyaksian, panon carelong tanggah

Jasad nu rusak, ngalangsur na dada, anjeun

Hejo pagunungan, paul lautan

Taya kamarasan, ngan, katugenahan

Hejo pagunungan paul lautan

Taya katengtreman, ngan, ancaman

The children from the villages do not have proper and decent places
for studying and playing. They do not connect with Information and
Technology, mostly they study in a very simple school building or
houses without electricity, they have very limited books.

The village do not have a playground and the school also do not have
a big yard, so when they need an empty place to play football,
they go to the other village. In rainy season, they can swim in the
river or walking in the rain when they go home after school.
They can play marbles or kites in windy time, or just go to the rice field
to find the ducks’ eggs and freshwater snails.

Children who live in Cibening village are luckier than the children from
other villages. They have a small yard in front of the school and they
can plant some vegetables to share with their parents, they do not have
a library but they always receive many books (story books and science books)
from PT Goldteak. Their teachers also help them to be creative to produce
recycled things.

When there were some guests coming and brought them candy or biscuit or milk
or an ice cream, the children could not hide their smile and their excitement.

Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.
(Dalai Lama)

SD Cibeureum does not have a big yard, Goldteak suggested the school
to have a small vegetable garden beside the school, so the students could
learn how to plant the vegetables. Goldteak gave seeds like cucumber,
eggplant, chilly, water spinach or lettuce. Up to now, students still have
the garden in front of their school, they harvest together and they sell
the vegetables to the parents and they buy more seeds to plant again.
Upi is one of pak Parid’s son, he studies at The Junior High School
grade 9 in Cimanggala Village. When he studied at The Elementary School,
he was one of the best student. I still remember, every time I visited
teak plantation, Upi always followed me to go round the plantation to
check the trees. On the weekend, he often accompanies his father at the
vegetable garden in front of their house.

This time, Upi decided to open a very small piece of land, about 10 m2
near his house to plant Water spinach. He wanted to know whether he can
be a farmer like his father and his three brothers, Kusnadi, Aji and Dede.
It seems that he also wants to encourage his friends that farming is a good
activity for their spare time.

“ If the farmer is poor then so is the country “ (Polish Proverb)

It is difficult to imagine counting without numbers, but there was a time
when numbers did not exist. The earliest counting device was the human hand
and its fingers. Then, as larger quantities (larger than ten human -fingers
could represent) were counted, various natural items like pebbles and twigs
were used to help count. Merchants in those days not only needed a way
to count goods they bought and sold, but also to calculate its cost.
Until numbers were invented, counting devices were used to make everyday
calculations. The abacus is one of many counting devices invented to help
count large numbers (Abacus Master)

The children who study in SD Cibeureum were exited when the program of Abacus
was introduced to them. All students, teachers and the Principal, Mr. Suprapto,
practiced Abacus together with Mr. Syamsul, the Abacus trainer. They learn from
the basic how to calculate by using the abacus, starting with simple calculation.

We have to wait and see how big their interest to the Abacus. After a month,
the practice goes to the second level of difficulties, now they are already on
the third level of difficulties. We showed the children a video about some
children in India, how fast they can count with imaginative abacus,
the video has motivated the students and the teachers to practice more seriously.
Someday we will make a small Abacus competition among the students,
it must be interesting.

“Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere” (Chinese Proverb)

How many story books, science books, children magazines or children
encyclopedia have been given by PT Goldteak to SD Cibeurem?
There were a lot but it seems that the books were never enough for the
students. The 78 students should share about 10 to 15 books every month,
so no wonder at the end of the month the condition of the books were
very poor. The students are always enthusiastic to read and they always
wait ibu Dewi visits the school and read story (mostly fable in two
languages, Indonesian and English), she asked one of the students to join
her reading the story, when she reads the English version and the student
reads the Indonesian version. Ibu Dewi and the students usually sit at the
school porch, so younger children and people are able to hear the story too.

This activity has influenced the student’s intelligence, they can learn how
to comprehend the story, to identify the characters, to differentiate the
voice/tone and to respond or to retell. Step by step, students develop their
cognitive ability and social or emotional intelligence.

This year, Eneng Indriani won a storytelling competition in Sukabumi Regency,
she used a local language “Sundanese” to tell a story about “The Mouse-deer
Stole Cucumbers“. She told the story very well, her expression and her voice
showed different characters (as a mouse-deer, as a dog and as a farmer).
She is now on her grade five and she is one of the students who received the
advantage and benefit of PT Goldteak’s CSR, and she becomes a motivation for
other students.

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today”
(Robert McKee)

Mostly children in the remote area have a problem to get books, Government only provides the text books for them to study, and they never get books for amusement. Basically children need food for their emotional development. When they read stories or fairy tales, actually they develop their emotional intelligence,  imagination, skill and empathy as well.

A lot of choices that we can offer the children, the story books with scientific information, social background, fables, heroism, nationalism or even futuristic. Through reading the story books, children can create their imaginary adventures.

“You’re never alone when you’re reading a book” (Susan Wiggs)