Tuesday, 11July06

Highlights: trip to Pesantren, kickboxing class

After class today, we got the latest update on our upcoming Bali trip (this weekend), then piled onto the bus for a ½ hour ride to a nearby pesantren; a Muslim-based religious school (grades 6-12) which is very common in the Indonesian countryside.

It was a great look into a significant part of the school system here. Education development is Karen’s PhD research topic, so her interest in the subject more or less led to this trip. I’m glad for the experience though. I learn a lot from friend’s questions that I hadn’t thought to ask.

So, to paint a quick picture of pesantren schooling, they spend anywhere from 50% to 80% of their time in religious subjects, most classes are taught in Arabic because learning to read the Koran in it’s original language and becoming a Koran scholar are the primary goals of education here. Each pesantren is started by a benefactor, so there isn’t a lot of standardization among the schools across the country.
There are a few other interesting differences between school here & at home… for instance- it is not uncommon for teachers to get room & board as their only compensation for working here. (the school pays salaries until money runs out) and nearly half of the teachers here are high school graduates.. with the rest having 4 year degrees, and a very few having masters degrees or higher.

The people we met here today were very warm & friendly. They were just as interested in us as we were in them, and took the time to show us around. There are 600 students here, 70 teachers,,, and… it’s a scene straight out of the countryside. Humble yet proud.