Observation Journal

During the observation stage, I had the opportunity to do the School Experience Program at the SD Kupu Kupu. I feel fortunate to be able to observe the learning process is carried out by the teachers and students at the SD Kupu Kupu because this school is an inclusive school that accepts students from various backgrounds; for example, in one class, there will be regular students and students who have special needs cases. During the two weeks I did the School Experience Program, I observed school activities carried out outside and in the classroom. When I observed my mentor teacher, I saw that the mentor teacher had a big responsibility to students. First, the mentor teacher teaches how to have a good attitude, such as the importance of being grateful for the things students have; where at the beginning of learning, the mentor teacher will invite students to write and read the things they already have for example some students say, "I am grateful to be able to go to school this morning ", "I'm grateful to bring a good lunch today" and other examples. I am very impressed with the teachings that mentor teachers apply to students because gratitude must be taught from an early age. In addition, the biggest responsibility that the mentor teacher has is to ensure that all students understand the material being taught because differences in the backgrounds of students in one class indirectly affect the learning process in class. Moreover, another responsibility that must be handled by the mentor teacher is being able to apply creative and innovative learning methods or strategies to get students engaged in learning. An example of one study that is very engaged with students is when they learn about Palembang culture, where the mentor teacher invites one of the parents of students from Palembang. During the lesson, the mentor teacher invited the parents of students to share history about Kemaro Island, Palembang's regional language, and Palembang's special food. Students look very engaged and excited to learn more about Palembang culture. Students not only learn the theory, but they can taste Palembang special food provided by the students' parents and try Palembang traditional clothes.

In every learning process, there will be an obstacle that affects teaching and learning activities. One of the obstacles that I observed when participating in the School Experience Program at the SD Kupu-kupu was class management. SD Kupu-kupu was an inclusive school that accepted students from various backgrounds so that in one class, there would be regular and special needs students. During the observation process, I saw that the mentor teacher had a little difficulty handling students because when students with special needs were having tantrums, the learning activities would noisy, so the mentor teacher had more responsibility for teaching and also maintained that students who had tantrums would not disturb other students who were studying. Additionally, the mentor teacher must ensure that students who have tantrums can catch up in learning. Another obstacle in teaching and learning activities is that there are some students who are quick to catch up their learning, and there are some students who need more time to capture learning. Therefore, sometimes the mentor teacher has to divide the class into several sessions to teach students according to their speed in capturing learning.

During the learning process, the teacher is able to prepare or anticipate difficulties or obstacles in a class by asking for the help of the shadow teacher who accompanies the class. Thus, when a student has a tantrum, the shadow teacher will immediately handle it and calm it down so it does not disturb other students who are studying. Furthermore, the mentor teacher provides additional classes for students who have tantrums so that they will attend the lessons in class. Also, the mentor teacher provides several meaningful learning methods for students who are slow to catch up learning, for example when students have difficulty understanding some English vocabulary, the mentor teacher provides word cards that include pictures and English writing so that students can understand the meaning of English through the image on the card.

Observation Reflection

At first, I thought that the teaching profession was an easy job because the teacher's role only was teaching students and giving grades on students' assignments and tests. Apart from that, I also expect that teachers will easily build relationships with students and handle students who are experiencing problems both externally and internally. However, after participating in the School Experience Program and doing my first observations at the SD Kupu Kupu, I gained a lot of new insights into where teachers have a big and important role for students. The first thing I learned when observing the teaching profession in real terms was that teachers do not just teach the material and give grades to students. However, the teacher's job is more than that where at the beginning, the teacher must develop a lesson plan from the beginning to the end of learning. Even teachers also need to develop learning strategies or methods that are interesting and in accordance with the students' needs. In addition, teachers also need to prepare creative and innovative learning so that students remain focused on learning and are able to understand learning well. When observing the teaching and learning process directly, it turns out that building an intimate relationship between the teacher and students is not easy because each student has their own way of approaching it, so the teacher must have a different treatment when building relationships between one student and another. 

Moreover, I know that handling students is not as easy as imagined because when I saw firsthand how my mentor teacher handled a class containing regular students and special needs students, I could see the mentor teacher's struggle to ensure that learning went smoothly even though there are one or several students who disturb or shout in the class. When I saw this, I felt very proud and wanted to know the tips or tricks the teacher did to handle students who suddenly had tantrums or disrupted learning in class, so I interviewed her. Based on the results of the interview, the mentor teacher said that patience is the main key that a teacher must have, so if the teacher is patient, it is easy to handle disruptive students in class. Then, try to touch the hearts of these students so that they feel heard and comfortable with the teacher. After hearing the answers from my mentor teacher, I feel that teaching is a very noble profession where besides providing learning in the form of theory and practice, teachers must also be able to understand students' feelings and make students comfortable so that the relationship between teacher and students can be well established and intimate.

Work log or Attendance