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” Msrna. 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.
Daniel Knoll is currently teaching at SMAN 2 Payakumbuh, West Sumatra
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