Doing Something Different with Contextual Character Education

Teaching based on the textbooks can be done by many teachers, but not all teachers can create a learning method that is interesting, fun and makes students happy. However, it is different from most schools in Sikka Regency. Due to the contextual character education taught by Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI), many teachers can apply fun teaching patterns to children at school.

PAUD Pelita Hati Patorot in Wolomotong Village has been implementing this concept. Sebastian Soba the PAUD manager said, initially, WVI came and gave suggestions to change the concept of PAUD into early childhood development to make teaching patterns in PAUD more fun. However, Soba admitted that he had doubts and complained about the concept.

“But, in the process, I think there are things that we forget to implement in PAUD such as health, protection, and parenting. Then finally, I followed WVI's proposal and I was invited to do an internship at PAUD HI in Manggarai,” said Soba.

WVI introduces contextual character education based on local context learning known to the Sikka community as the Kulababong context. According to Soba, Kulababong itself is a local learning principle owned by the Sikka community that is often forgotten. In fact, upon further analysis, the Kulababong context has a very high educational value and is beneficial to the community.

Applying the Kulababong context means that teachers need to implement communication, implementation, tolerance, and discipline. Soba and other PAUD tutors have routinely received contextual character education training from WVI, and they start to apply it to the PAUD learning system.

“WVI teaches the six central systems. It teaches curriculum, games and is adapted to children's development, and the curriculum is adapted to the local context or Kulababong," continued the leader of PAUD with a total of 34 students.

Different from Soba and his team whose are slowly starting to implement contextual character education in the Kulababong context, the Napungliti Catholic Elementary School in Hepang Village has been doing it since 2013. Densius Muat Lado, a teacher at this school said, before conducting contextual character education with the Kulababong spirit, the teachers are only accustomed to teaching in the classroom and focus on textbooks. However, after implementing it, the teacher begins to carry out learning outside the classroom and expands learning resources with games or traditional dances that are used as teaching aids.

"We as teachers are more creative in learning both inside and outside the classroom, so our children are happy to take part in learning ... We are also happy, students and teachers here have better characters and make learning more fun," he claimed.

WVI's Sikka Program Area has assisted the community and children in Sikka Regency in 2008-2021. Not only targeting education programs but WVI also focuses on child protection programs and capacity building for children in implementing their activities. The presence of WVI in this district is expected to have many impacts and changes for the children and society of the Sikka Regency.

Written by: Putri ianne Barus, Communications Officer of Wahana Visi Indonesia