Monday, July 30, 2018
Today we are visiting SD Negeri 01 Menteng Jakarta, the primary school Barack Obama attended in grades 3 and 4. We left during the morning rush hour traffic. Look at the sea of motorcycle helmets above. Every square inch of road is taken up by cars or motorbikes.
When you walk through the gate, you are greeted by this statue of Obama as a boy, donated by a friend of his family. Obama came to visit his childhood institution recently. When we visited one of the classrooms, his name and signature remains on the white board. They do not wish to erase it anytime soon.
It is an impressive school. The educators value their students's education, and fight for what they believe is right. In Indonesia, the government has taken the English language requirement out of the curriculum, for example, but the teachers here pooled funds to hire an English teacher because they feel it is important for their students to be global citizens.
Above is a shot of the courtyard. All the schools we visited have this configuration. We also noticed that there is corporate sponsorship (see the Hok Ben log). This is how the school is able to afford programs for their students that go beyond the funds given by the government.
When we entered, students greeted us with a musical performance. Their music teacher is on the right. That's his son, a first grader, is playing the drum. The young lady in the center has a beautiful voice.
These students spoke perfect English. The girl in the center just won first prize in a English storytelling contest. She recited it to us, using gestures and an enthusiasm well beyond her years.
Group photo at the end of the tour. I am sad that this trip will be ending soon. This is an amazing group of people.
Inspiring.