Sunday, April 15, 2012

Two Truths and One Lie

Dear readers, I have 3 stories about myself, two of them are the truth, while one of them is a lie. Identify the story that is a lie!

First story
When I was a third grader, I joined an english class every Thursday afternoon in my old school (SDH). My mom encouraged me to join the class because my school was a bilangual school, and she thought it would be best for me to join the class so I can learn in my school better. So, every Thursday after school, I would go to the classroom where the English class was held, and I would meet some of my friends from school. During the class, we were forbidden to speak in Bahasa in any circumstances, so we commuicate in english everytime. The teachers (some I recognize from school although they never taught me before) would teach us new vocabularies,grammar, writing strategy, reading strategy, and sometimes, we would watch movies in English.We would be assigned to read, write and speak in English. I had a lot of fun there, and the classes had improved my english skills. I stopped taking the classes until I was a fifth grader, and I have no regrets whatsoever joining the english class.

Second Story
When I was six years old, I would play every afternoon in my neighbour's front yard. One warm afternoon, my friends and I were playing tag in the front yard. I was not so sure how it happened, but when I was running around  one of the pointy ends of the metal fence that surrounded my friend's house got caught inside my stomach. I was very shocked, and so were my friends. They ran to my parents to get help right away. I pulled my stomach off the fence and bit my bottom lip out of pain (and also to hold myself from screaming). The pain was excruciating, my shirt was covered in my blood, and I felt my knees weakening. The wound was deep, but not too deep that it could damage my internal organs. My friends brought me to my house. My mom quickly washed the wound with soap and water (the pain was unbearable that I had to bite my dry lips until they were bleeding), and she gave me some medicine and wrap the wound with a bandage. She told me to lie down, so I did and watched a Spongebob Squarepants marathon for the rest of the afternoon. I was absent from school the next two days, which was the best part about my accident.

Third Story
My older sister used to play the violin. But since she graduated to SMA 3, she can no longer manage her time to practice the violin. The violin was abandoned for months, until my parents thought that it would be nice for me to learn the violin. I was not very thrilled about the idea of learning the violin, but my parents insisted, and that was the end of the discussion. I joined a violin class in Willy Soemantri every Friday evening. On my first class, I dragged my feet on the floor and dreaded the very idea of entering the classroom. But of course, after waiting a few minutes on the couch, I was called by the teacher to enter the classroom. We introduced ourselves, and she told me her name was Mega. She seemed nice, and that carried a bit of weight off my shoulders. She taught me basic things about the violin, and when the class ended I became interested in violin. Until now, I still take violin classes and I enjoy it even though it made my bones ache.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Different Ways to Learn

 Education is a very important factor in our lives. Since we were young, education has been a part of our lives. Learning is important, and everyone has their own way of learning. Some teaching methods may work on one student, but that does not guarantee the other students to learn well with that method. Environment and people also effect the learning process. To know more about people's opinion on how a learning process should be, I interviewed Lina (student), Joan (student), and Tricia (student).

What do you think about the way teachers teach you in class so far?
"Most teachers and their teaching method are boring," Joan said.
"I think it's okay," Tricia commented.
How does he environment of the class effect the learning process?
"The classroom's very hot, and it made me lost my concentration,"Joan complained.
"The class is messy and it's very disturbing," Tricia said.
How does the people in the class effect the learning process?
"I can't concentrate in class because the other students are noisy," Tricia said.
"The people in class don't really effect the learning process," Lina stated.
In your opinion, how should the people and environment be to make you comfortable learning in class?
"The students should listen to the teachers and be quiet, and the class should also be neat and tidy," Tricia said.
"The students should be active and calm, and the class should not be hot and stuffy," Joan said.
In your opinion, how should the teachers teach you in class?
"The teachers should teach us using Power Point presentations and also tell jokes in the class, like Pak Eko," Tricia said.
"The teacher should not preach to much and find creative ways to teach us," Joan said.

  In general, some teachers still teach in a not interesting way, although some teach us in a fun and effective way. The hot and messy class also made the students lost their focus. The noisy students also disturb the learning process, although some people aren't effected by the other students in class. To make a learning process more comfortable, the students should be active and quiet, and the class should be tidy and not hot and stuffy. The teachers should teach using Power Point slides, tell jokes, don't preach too much, and find creative ways to teach the students.