Read about adventures in Indonesia!

Check out INDONESIAFUL, A website created to showcase the best highlights and experiences of all English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) in Indonesia.

Indonesiaful. Highlighting the experiences of English Teaching Assistants in Indonesia. Retrieved from https://indonesiaful.com

Below is a list of monthly highlights from my time as a public high school English Teacher in a remote village, tucked away in a tropical valley surrounded by rice fields and volcanoes, in the mountain ranges of West Sumatra.

Exploring Educational Differences Between U.S. and Indonesian Public Schools - January 2025

I’m an educator with experience in diverse learning environments, including teaching English in a public school in a remote village in West Sumatra, Indonesia; Civics at an inner-city charter school in Philadelphia; job coaching for students with disabilities; teaching social studies at a high school in Pennsylvania; and serving as a teacher coordinator working closely with the U.S. Embassy and the Indonesian Ministry of Education on educational policy. Throughout my experiences I’ve been utterly fascinated by the unique contrasts between the public-school systems of Indonesia and the United States. Both systems have their merits, but the differences in structure, culture, and teaching methods are striking. Come explore some of these differences with me and what they reveal about the educational philosophies in each country.

Class Size and Schedules

Class sizes in Indonesia average around 36 students, significantly larger than the U.S. average of 23. Despite the larger numbers, Indonesian students demonstrate remarkable discipline and respect toward their teachers. In my experience, I rarely encountered students misbehaving or forgetting their homework.

Another notable difference is the schedule. Indonesian students meet with teachers only once or twice a week for extended sessions lasting 1.5 to 3 hours. This contrasts with the U.S., where students meet with each teacher daily for shorter periods, typically around 40 minutes. Indonesian schools also operate six days a week, with Fridays often reserved for community events or guest speakers. This extended schedule allows for deeper engagement during each session but also demands a high level of focus and stamina from students.

Classroom Ownership

In Indonesia, students have a unique sense of ownership over their classrooms. They remain in the same room with the same classmates for the entire school year, fostering camaraderie and a sense of community. Students take on various roles to maintain their shared space: cleaning the classroom, tutoring peers, and reminding each other of homework. These responsibilities instill accountability and teamwork.

In the U.S., classrooms are primarily the teacher’s domain, with students rotating between rooms for different subjects. While this allows for specialized environments tailored to each subject, it doesn’t cultivate the same collective responsibility among students. Over time, the students within each class build their own social hierarchy, with leaders emerging to take on the responsibilities needed to organize their class.

Open-Air Schools

One of the most visually striking differences is the physical layout of schools in Indonesia. Many public schools are open-air, with classrooms housed in separate buildings within an enclosed campus. There are no hallways connecting these buildings; instead, students and teachers walk outdoors to transition from one class to another. This design embraces Indonesia’s tropical climate and creates a more natural, relaxed atmosphere.

In contrast, public schools in the United States typically have enclosed buildings with hallways connecting classrooms, beaming with artificial lights. While this design is practical for colder climates, it lacks the open, communal feel of Indonesian schools.

Broader Curriculums

Indonesian students typically have a broader curriculum with more subjects than their American counterparts. While this may seem overwhelming, the extended class durations and emphasis on self-discipline help students manage their workload effectively. The community-focused approach also means that students often help each other with challenging subjects, further enhancing their learning experience.

Respect & Discipline

One of the most admirable aspects of Indonesian schools is the culture of respect. Students hold their teachers in high regard, and classroom disruptions are rare. Teachers are often quite strict and unforgiving with disciplinary measures, but it is common for students to intervene and correct their classmates’ behavior before teachers need to step in. This respect extends beyond academics, reflecting a cultural emphasis on valuing elders and educators.

Teacher Relationships

In Indonesian schools, teachers have a central staff room where they prepare lessons, collaborate, and communicate. This shared space fosters a strong sense of teamwork among the teaching staff. Teachers then travel to their assigned classrooms for lessons, rather than staying in one room all day as is common in the U.S. This arrangement facilitates more interaction and support among educators.

The relationship between students and teachers also differs significantly. In the U.S., the teacher-student relationship is generally professional and confined to the classroom. In Indonesia, however, it’s common for teachers to engage with students outside of school. Teachers might share meals with students’ families, join them for weekend bike rides, or participate in extracurricular activities. These interactions build trust and rapport, creating a more holistic educational experience.

What We Can Learn

Both systems have valuable lessons to offer. The U.S. system’s focus on individualized teaching and smaller class sizes provides opportunities for tailored instruction and personal attention. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s emphasis on community, collaboration, and respect fosters a strong sense of responsibility and interpersonal skills among students.

As educators, reflecting on these differences can inspire new approaches to teaching and learning. Whether it’s fostering a greater sense of classroom ownership among students, or strengthening teacher collaboration, there’s much to learn from Indonesia’s unique educational practices.

Makan Bajamba - Febuary 2020

One Saturday this month, ETA Daniel Knoll was invited to his school Makan Bajamba ceremony. This event is held this time every year as a senior’s farewell lunch. The senior female students dress in beautiful traditional Minangkabau dresses, while the boys wear baju Koko (collarless loose shirt), a sarung, batik pants, and sandals.

Their parents prepare food the night before that the students will bring to school. Each class arranges their food on three or four of these large steel plates called Badulangs, which are placed on top of a female student’s head. The class has specific cultural rules to follow as they walk through the school and present the food to the gathering place on the basketball court.

Here, rugs are set down for students to sit and eat their foods, while all the teachers watch and give class scores based on how well they followed the cultural customs attached to this ceremony. And of course, the teachers are invited to join the classes in eating the delicious home-cooked Minangkabau food.

Watch the Video!

Here is a short video of the Makan Bajamba celebration held at my school, SMA 2 Payakumbuh. Featuring some traditional Minangkabau music!
Find the full article here: https://www.aminef.or.id/makan-bajamba/

FLASHCO Event - January 2020

The end of January was an eventful time at ETA Daniel Knoll’s host school, SMA 2 Payakumbuh. Every year they hold FLASHCO at this time, which is a 5-day event focused on academic competitions, as many schools across West Sumatra come to this event.

Students compete in biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography, computer technology, mathematics, economy, debates, debates in English, English speech contests, reciting the Quran, drawing, singing, and many more. The event also has entertainment such as class skits, traditional dances, and martial arts, and the 11th-grade classes from SMA 2 work together to create street food stalls on the central basketball court.

Payakumbuh’s other ETA, Nicholas Navin, was invited to SMA 2 to assist Danny in judging the English speech contest. After a reading and listening test, of the 85 middle school students who participated in the English competition, 15 made it to the final round, the speech contest. Students were given an opinionated topic and 15 minutes to prepare a short speech to convince the judges of their argument.

The entire FLASCHO event was an exciting and proud time for members of the SMA 2 community, and those who participated in it. It was also a very rich time to converse with students and explore their talents and interests while enjoying entertainment and food created by them!

Find the full article here: https://www.aminef.or.id/flashco-event/

Celebrating the End of the Sememester - December 2019

Before school closed for the holiday break, ETA Daniel Knoll, invited his English For Communication club out to KFC for lunch. KFC seems to be a desirable place for lunch as many of the students were excited to hear this offer, and while KFC is an American chain restaurant, the menu seldom resembles the comfort food of Western cuisine. Buckets of fried chicken are of course is still on the menu but the combo deals include rice instead of fries, and sambal instead of ketchup.

They were able to talk about the environmental movement KFC and other chain restaurants are taking to make their business models more eco-friendly by using different packaging materials and only given straws on a per-request basis.

They also discussed some differences in dining customs, such as having to throw away your own trash after eating at a restaurant that does not have a waiter for you in America. Daniel was told this frustrates many Indonesians as it creates conflict in the dining practices in Indonesia where the food provider always cleans up their customer’s trash.

BodyBuilding Out of The Void - December 2019

Later in the month, Danny, who is a retired D1 athlete at Marist College, had been greatly missing something in his new lifestyle as an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia. The void of the competition after ending his college swimming career has left Danny feeling unmotivated to stay healthy and a strange sense of sorrow from the missing anchor in his everyday life. He no longer had to endure physical exercise three-four and half hours a day and he knew he needed an outlet to release this built up energy. Continuing the practice of swimming proved to be difficult due to an overwhelming amount of people at the pools, but he was able to find his outlet by going to weightlifting gyms in Payakumbuh.

As it turned out, Danny’s next-door neighbor, Gienno Soundana, was the owner of two of the gyms he went to and was an international bodybuilding champion. He began to coach Danny, providing tips and workouts, as well as discussing training and nutritional philosophies. He would train every day with gym regulars who quickly become some of his closest friends.

In December he put his training to the extreme, practicing twice a day to prepare for his first body contest, at the Sumatra Open Body Contest in Pariaman, West Sumatra. The contest was open to everyone on the entire island of Sumatra. Amongst over 200 contestants, Danny made it to the finalist round.

The journey was surprisingly very difficult, but it provided a sense of purpose, feelings of pride, and kept him healthy and happy.

Teaching Two Subjects in One! - Novemeber 2019

Teaching a language allows educators to get creative with the content and materials used to teach a new topic. Payakumbuh’s ETA Daniel Knoll used the Descriptive Texts topic to interweave some American history into the lesson. For the practice activity of the lesson, students were given a brochure and a short descriptive text about Valley Forge, a historical park used in the American Revolutionary War as a winter encampment. Daniel got these brochures from the national park before he came to Indonesia as he only lives about 20 minutes away from the site!

Students were instructed to create a map based on the descriptive text before receiving the brochure. They were then able to compare their drawings to the maps provided in the brochure, as well as explore photos of the area and other short pieces of information. Using both the brochure and the descriptive texts students had to search through the information to answer questions based on the reading.

Through this lesson, students were able to learn how to find information in descriptive texts and also learn some American history through a historical area near their ETA’s home in America.

Tari Piring: Traditional Minangkabau Plate Dance - October 2019

ETA Daniel Knoll was invited by his neighbor Hendri (Mamak) to practice a traditional Minangkabau dance named, Tari Piring. Mamak is the Chairman of a Traditional Culture Art School. Daniel invited the three other ETAs in West Sumatra, Ammarah Rehman, Nicholas Navin, and Jillian Castro, to join him.

The other ETAs at first happily agreed to join in learning some traditional dances, but then finding out it was the plate smashing dance, they began to have second thoughts. Watching people perform this dance is truly remarkable as performers freely conduct an elusive display of dancing with plates in their hands, but then near the end of the performance, the plates are smashed into a pile on the ground, where they subsequently begin stomping and dancing on the broken glass plates… with bare feet.

They held the plates and went through a sequence of moves for the dance modeled by Mamak and three talented students from Daniel’s school SMAN2 Payakumbuh. Mamak provided us with a memorable and simple mantra, “Enjoy” as he saw some of us were struggling to keep up, and taking the movements too seriously. At the end of the practice came the broken glass part. You can not be arrogant and overly confident with yourself, but you can also not be afraid and gentle in doing so, as both methods would result in injured feet. The key is to just “Enjoy.” Relax and have fun while you confidently jump and dance on top of the broken glass plates.

Sharing Opinions - September 2019

Whilewaiting for class to begin, ETA Daniel Knoll sat outside the classroom with the students who enjoyed singing and playing “Bohemian Rhapsody” on a guitar with the ETA which gave him an idea. During class, the 11th graders learned how to give and receive opinions in English. One of the last activities in the lesson was for students to write down an opinion they had, then find two classmates that agree with their opinion, and one classmate who disagrees with their opinion. They were required to write down the short dialogue they had with their classmates when discovering if they agreed or disagreed with their opinion.

Daniel’s lighthearted experience before class gave him the idea to have students write more specific opinions for this activity. They would have to write their favorite Queen song, their favorite food, and favorite place to travel to within West Sumatra. Then, in rounds, the students would circulate through the classroom finding other students that shared their opinions about those topics. To Daniel’s surprise, some students got into some playful arguments in English over their favorite Queen song claiming theirs is the best.

Teaching is more Fun with Friends

On the lovely afternoon of August 28, ETA Daniel Knoll was joined by ETA site-mate Nicholas “Nick” Navin at SMAN 2 Payakumbuh. Daniel gave Nick a quick tour of his school before taking him to his afternoon class with counterpart Ibu Ernawati “Bu Erna”. Bu Erna and Daniel taught a lesson on congratulations and compliments while Nick came to observe as he had some extra free time that afternoon.

Daniel led a game where students would stand up to be recognized and congratulated if he read off an accomplishment that the student had achieved or a compliment that the student felt applied to them. Nick participated too which all the students got a kick out of. Next Bu Erna and Daniel presented different expressions of congratulations and compliments for the students to take notes on. Bu Erna led some comprehension activities on the board for students to complete. All the while, Nick was able to help some students in the back of the classroom that seemed to be struggling. Daniel introduced a new activity where students wrote an achievement they are proud of on a slip of paper to be collected by the teachers. Students then came up to the front of the class to draw a random slip of paper to read aloud to the class then compliment and congratulate that student on their accomplishment. Finally, for an assessment Bu Erna presented a letter template for students to create their letter to a friend or family member congratulating and complimenting them for an achievement. With extra time at the end of class, Daniel led the class in the singing of “Happy Birthday” to the class. They sang the song five times and enthusiastically included the cha cha cha at the end of each verse. Daniel then asked for the students to teach him and Nick how to sing happy birthday in both Indonesian and the local Minang language, which the students excitedly complied with.

After class Nick and Daniel stayed on campus for an additional two hours to connect with students during their after-school activities. Students taught the ETAs how to play traditional instruments such as the talempong and the bansi flute. Then another group of students encouraged them to put on special pants to practice the special martial art known as randai.

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