Thursday, June 05, 2008

Teacher's Certification Program

Last week I saw an advertisement of a two-day training "Become A Great Teacher". I was interested because I saw that the fee was quite cheap, Rp.140,000 including lunch and coffee break.

When I went there to apply on Saturday, I was quite taken back because it was not what I had expected. Some of the teachers that went for the training actually came only to get a certificate. They were not interested in learning how to become a great teacher, they just wanted to get a certificate at the end of the training.

The first time I was aware of this phenomenon was when I attended Adi W Gunawan's seminar in Jogja last week. When the speaker asked the audience about their intention to attend, there was one teacher who stood up and answered that he came to get a certificate.

I also observed the same thing with Prof. Yohanes Surya's seminar in Jogja last week. There was a fee of Rp. 5,000 to attend the seminar, and it seemed to be the cost of printing the certificate. I came to this conclusion because when I told them that I did not need a certificate, they gave me the ticket for free.

I think it is good that teachers are encouraged to develop and improve their skills and knowledge by giving them points when they can prove that they have attended a training or seminar. I am glad that the government has a noble intention to start  giving incentives for professional development. In practice however, the reality can be so different from what is intended. Instead of learning and upgrading their skills, some just take shortcut to get incentives. In my opinion, it is the same as cheating to get high marks or even buying a grade.

How can these teachers expect their students to study hard and earn their grade when they give a bad example of taking shortcut and cheating to get higher grade? Teachers, please remember that the apple does not fall far from the tree.

I certainly don't generalize that all teachers are like this. I am grateful that there are still so many teachers out there that are really great and wonderful. These awesome teachers teach from their heart and they truly make a difference in the lives of their students. I am fortunate that I have had my share of truly amazing teachers that not only taught me but inspired me.

My hope is that through this program, there will be more teachers in Indonesia that become a learning teacher who continually strive to develop their knowledge and skills.

If  you are a teacher and you want to learn, please do not hesitate to contact me (santoso_inge(at)yahoo(dot)com). I'd love to share and learn from each other.

Learn and Grow!

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