Siti Saudah was born in Pati, Central Java. Since her childhood, she dreamed of becoming a teacher. After graduating with a Bachelor of Education in Mathematics from Semarang State University in 2011, she joined the Teacher Education Program for Frontier, Outermost, and Disadvantaged Regions and was assigned to a remote area in Lhoong District, Aceh Besar, Aceh.
“A part of me felt compelled. There are still so many remote places in Indonesia that need teachers like me,” said Siti. After a year of service, Siti received a scholarship to study for a Professional Teaching Qualification and upon graduation, returned to Pati.
In 2017, Siti returned to serve in a disadvantaged area. This time, she taught at an elementary school in East Sumba, West Nusa Tenggara, on the edge of Laiwangi Wanggameti National Park. The school’s physical condition was nothing like the school buildings in Java. The school building, located on a hill, looked old. Most of her students were children of farmers who came barefoot despite having to walk an hour or more from their villages up barren hills.
“I immediately fell in love with them and felt sorry for them. In my heart, I was grateful. Even though I was born into a less fortunate family, I was lucky to be able to go to a good school,” said Siti, her voice trembling. “I want to give back by serving these children.”
In addition to teaching, Siti helped manage the school’s financial reports. She created an easy-to-understand reporting system so that other teachers could follow. According to Siti, if the financial administration is in order, the school’s operations will run smoothly. Siti also taught the teachers how to operate laptops, which no one had dared to touch before, except for the headmaster. After a year of building the teachers’ confidence, everyone was now using a laptop. The teachers were able to explore and find learning materials from the internet, open emails, and hold meetings via Zoom.
Not only were the teachers’ skills lacking, but East Sumba Regency was also one of the regencies with the lowest basic literacy and numeracy levels in the entire province. Siti, who was teaching sixth grade at the time, found that of all the students, only 5 could read fairly fluently, 6 students could spell words, and 6 others had not yet learned the alphabet. In grades 1 to 3 it was even worse, almost all students could not spell or write letters.
The East Sumba Regency Government and Innovation for Indonesian School Children (INOVASI), a partnership program between the Australian and Indonesian governments, launched a Basic Literacy Program in early 2018. Siti was selected as one of the district facilitators (fasda) along with 62 other teachers. Their task was to train early childhood educators (grades 1, 2, 3) in 13 districts that were part of the program on training modules.
INOVASI provided various coaching and training for fasda to introduce teaching methods that made it easy for students to quickly absorb learning. For example, some of the trainings were teaching strategies, learning concepts, and creative teaching. In addition, to improve students’ literacy skills in early grades, INOVASI also collaborated with the Teacher and Trainer Development Center (BGP) and the Education Quality Assurance Center (BPMP) in “Reading Camp” training. In this training, participants—including teachers—were invited to discuss the concept of “Reading Camp” and its application in learning. Participants also delved deeper into differentiated learning, games according to student grouping levels, and the development of student reading materials.
After receiving training, Siti’s task was to train lower grade teachers in Matawai La Pawu District and to support target schools so that teachers’ abilities in designing and implementing learning activities increased to the maximum.
Siti didn’t just talk. She even designed her own teaching materials that were easy for her students to understand. “It’s a joy to teach children in remote areas. Every day there’s something new,” said Siti. “Here, even in a small way, I feel like I’m making a difference for others.”
After six years as a classroom teacher at SDN Lawinu Tanarara, Siti is now trusted to be the Principal of SD Inpres Langira, East Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara and continues to dedicate herself to educating children in disadvantaged areas.