If a day tour can change one’s perspectives on things, imagine how rich an eight-day educational trip can be. UA&P’s future educators can testify to this.
Eleven Child Development and Education (CDE) students and faculty members from the School of Education and Human Development (SED) went to Singapore (SG) and Indonesia (ID) for an educational trip last April 23 to 30. The trip served as an extension program of our student teaching internship that aims to widen our perspective on various aspects of early childhood education and enrich our learning experience. The activities allowed us to interact with students, educators, and other professionals in schools and universities in both countries.
Meeting preschool educators
The visit to Singapore was instrumental in widening our views on and opportunities in pursuing education as a career. We visited PLAY (Preschool Learning Academy) in Temasek Polytechnic, the only preschool laboratory supported by the Singaporean government.
“We were amazed by the facilities and learning materials that they offer. They even use and incorporate robotics in the classroom. All of us enjoyed trying out the Bee-Bot (a bee-like robot used in playing math and language games),” said Ericka Miranda, one of the CDE participants in our SG tour.
The experience inspired us to sustain our efforts in strengthening the Child Development and Education Center of UA&P, which is the preschool and teaching laboratory school of SED. The group also visited two branches of the Maple Bear Preschool, which was recently given the Best in Preschool Bilingual Literacy Award in Singapore. We had the privilege of spending the entire day with Maple Bear’s directress, Mrs. Patricia Koh. She shared with us her experiences as the Head of the Preschool Department of the Singapore Institute of Education and as the founder of Pat’s Schoolhouse, another leading preschool provider in Singapore.
“Before leaving Maple Bear, Mrs. Koh encouraged us to persevere in our profession because of the need for more educators who will genuinely love and take care of young children. She is also willing to lend a hand and share her expertise with future and seasoned educators,” commented Krizia Yao, another CDE student participant.
We also visited the National Institute of Education (NIE) where we met Dr. Myra Garces-Bacsal, an Assistant Professor at NIE; Ms. Maria Agnes Teresa Paculdar (former UA&P faculty member), Programme Leader of the Masters of Education Program in High Ability Studies; and Ms. Dindean Abalahin, a Development Education alumna of UA&P.
Visiting partner schools
We flew to Surabaya, Indonesia for the second part of the educational trip. We observed classes in the Surabaya Grammar School (SGS) where Noella Cubacub, a CDE alumna, currently teaches. She was part of the pioneer batch of BS CDE students sent to finish a semester-long internship in the Merlion International School (MIS), the CDE program’s internship site in Surabaya. We took advantage of our visit to observe classes in MIS and to meet with its principal and teachers. We likewise visited Indriasana, a small private school for children who come from low-income class families in Surabaya. The school is quite small, with only three classrooms and a small library. According to the school principal, the library has improved with the help of missionary volunteers.
One of the highlights of our Surabaya trip was our visit to the Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya (WMCUS), where the students gave us a warm welcome. We made a courtesy call to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs and Linkages, Dr. Djoko Wirjawan. Our new friends from Surabaya—Evelyn, Lung, Rachel, Vina, Stephanie, and Ricky—are students of the International Business Management (IBM) program of WMCUS’s Faculty of Business; Dr. Arwin Vibar of our English Department currently teaches a few subjects there, under the exchange agreement signed by WCMUS and UA&P. CDE faculty members Ms. Lexie Estacio, Ms. Concha de la Cruz, and Ms. Melissa Garcia met with Dr. Mateus Yumarnamto, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, to talk about possible collaborations with SED. Dr. Ces Resurreccion, CSA Director, also shared UA&P’s mentoring program experience with Dr. Djoko and Dr. Erlyn Erawan, Head of International Affairs Office.
While the CDE faculty members were in a meeting, the IBM students gave us a tour around their campus. Like UA&P, WCMUS is a small campus. As a welcoming move, the university— to our delight—posted the tarpaulins with our faculty’s photos.
Another noteworthy event was the one-day learning sessions with the Indonesian students. Dr. Ces and Ms. Concha gave talks and workshops on mentoring and peer facilitation. We presented UA&P’s English Immersion Program, which gave us a chance to tell them what UA&P education and culture is all about. We also joined the IBM students in their workshops on cross-cultural business communication, which were facilitated by Ms. Lexie and Ms. Mel.
We felt that our Indonesian counterparts appreciated our presentation after showing interest in visiting the Philippines for UA&P’s Immersion Program. After the event, we gave them a ‘taste’ of what it is like to be in the Philippines by sharing some Filipino snacks: garlic cornicks, polvoron, and choco sticks. Before leaving WMCUS, we sang the UA&P Hymn to Dr. Wahyudi Wibowo, program head of IBM.
The trip culminated with a cultural tour of Surabaya, with the WMCUS students as our tour guides. Some of the places that stood out in this tour were the Tugu Pahlawan, a heroes monument dedicated to the people who died during the Battle of Surabaya in 1945, and the House of Sampoerna, a museum and factory of the famous tobacco industry in Surabaya.
Participating in cultural trips
“If given a chance, I would gladly join cultural trips to other countries again,” said Sarita Kimberly Son, one of the CDE student participants. “This whole experience was truly enriching. Not only did I learn a lot of things about what a good teacher is and what styles and techniques are used in class by other teachers, but I also gained new experiences and made new memories with my friends, professors, and the Indonesian students that I now call friends. In a conversation with Stephanie, one of the Indonesian students, I realized how similar our culture is to theirs, how our languages are cannily alike, and how words in Bahasa are the same as some Tagalog words like sandok, bawang, and puti. Overall, this trip has helped me grow as a teacher and as a person, and I will look back on this experience with pride and joy.”
Clarice Medenilla, another CDE student participant, confirmed that the trip and exchange of cultures foster her growth as an educator and as an individual. “I have learned about their culture and they have learned about mine. I remember, when we arrived in Indonesia, one of the first few things that Dr. Arwin mentioned was how Indonesians are very particular in using the right hand. They never use their left hand in paying, eating, and handing or receiving things. I was also impressed by how their national costume, the batik, is widely used at work and during special occasions. When we visited Mirota, a popular souvenir shop, we found a great variety of the beautiful batik.”
Clarice continued, “The IBM students that we met shared with us invaluable experiences that widened my knowledge as an educator as they were able to help us understand how the educational system in Indonesia works. Aside from that, the trip helped me broaden my outlook through the interactions with the students and the experience of adapting to a different culture. Since most of the population do not speak English, we learned different Bahasa words like halo (hello) and terima kasih (thank you) and used them often especially when we communicated with locals. We would also use our phone translations, especially when it comes to directions. For local delicacies, we learned to love the popular nasi goreng and kropek.”
Frances Pineda shared, “We spent four days doing almost everything with our Indonesian friends. In the morning, they picked us up from our hotel and brought us to the scheduled visits for the day. We ate with them and talked about the most random things—from Filipino delicacies to the most popular street food in Surabaya (like the sate ayam, a type of grilled meat served with peanut sauce, and the lontong, a rice cake that can be served in a soup or with sauce), from our experiences as education students and their aspirations as IBM students, and from our Instagram accounts to their crushes and love life.”
Although we had different insights and reflections from this educational trip, our experiences had a single theme—growth. The trip gave us opportunities to immerse ourselves in a different culture and appreciate it. The trip allowed us to encounter experiences that strengthened our understanding of ourselves and of the people around us by interacting with the unfamiliar.
As CDE student Jenny de Vera said, “Going to Indonesia was an unequaled experience. Each encounter was an incomparable lesson that I will surely go back to as I continue in my journey as an educator.”
This internationalization effort of SED not only gave us a glimpse of what to expect as we face the forthcoming ASEAN integration. More important, it affirmed that the UA&P brand of education prepares its students well to meet the demands of the international job market.
– With inputs from Jenny A. de Vera, Clarice Angelica V. Medenilla, Ericka Louise T. Miranda, Frances Ira C. Pineda, Sarita Kimberly C. Son, and Krizia P. Yao. To know more about the CDE program, click here.
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