Sunday, January 8, 2012

First School Visit – Sekolah Dasar Negeri Timbulharjo

Sekolah Dasar Negeri Timbulharjo is a government primary school, in which about 160 students attend.  The students live in the local village areas and are mostly from a lower social economic background. 

The school has class levels from year one to year six and is laid out in an “L” shape.  A courtyard is at the front of the school.  Students use this as their playground at break times and also for their Physical Education lessons.  Currently the school does not have a library and there are no general reading books in the classrooms for the students.  Some posters have been placed on the walls of the classrooms throughout the school.  One of these posters explained the “10 ways to be a citizen”.  At the front of each classroom pictures of the current and / or the previous Indonesian Presidents can be found.  The classrooms at times are physically hot places and there was no glass or fly screens on the windows.  The school's canteen is located behind the “L” shaped building and farther back is the toilet block.  The school only had squat toilets. 

Sekolah Dasar Negeri Timbulharjo uses traditional pedagogy where students sit in rows of desks and the teacher imparts the knowledge to their students.  At times during a year three class, the teacher would invite a student to the front to bounce a ball to help demonstrate the scientific concept being studied.  The students would then copy notes from the board.  There is some differentiation for students in grades 4-6.  These students took part in extra learning extension three days a week.  Students would borrow their textbooks from the school and return these to them at the end of the year.  The school does not currently have an English teacher, but looks forward to expanding their curriculum in the future. 

A student reported that their daily routine involved waking up at 4:30 am and praying.  (The majority of the students at the school are Islamic.)  The students would then get ready and cycle or walk to school.  After school they would return home to pray, before leaving again to learn how to recite the Koran.  Most students also spoke Javanese and were still learning Bahasa Indonesian.   


Front of school


The playground

Recycling Bins



Year 3

The school Principal

Reward chart



Student chair

A student desk

Brooms which the students use to
clean the classroom.

School toilet

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