The prestigious international school has designed a holistic education program to help children prosper even in uncertain times. Its integrated learning philosophy aims to address the learning needs of the students: emotional and social aspects, ethics, and academics — all of which have become more relevant than ever to prepare children for the future.
Sinarmas World Academy (SWA), a private international school in South Tangerang, boasts a unique and comprehensive philosophy of holistic education, which helps the students thrive and encourages them to make connections with other people and environment with critical thinking.
Holistic education is an innovative learning philosophy, encouraging young learners to engage in their community and their surroundings. Unlike the conventional approach, which is typically practiced inside classrooms for academic purposes, holistic education emphasizes the student's growth and aims to activate the learner's personality, including intellect, emotional and social aspects.
The experimental learning will help young students understand that they can make a difference and that they can help solve real world problems, which will encourage them to become a lifelong learner.
The coronavirus pandemic, however, has forced people across the globe to face an uncertain future.
“We’re working remotely because we don’t want our children to be exposed to this pandemic that the entire world is suffering from now,” said Alex N, the Co-Principal of MSHS SWA. “We get together in different Google Meet channels, have trivia quizzes, and also come up with virtual assemblies every week – and we have fun. Students should just enjoy a celebration of learning. That’s the way we empower them.”
Despite the difficulties of remote lessons, SWA has successfully adapted to virtual learning and its students have proven that they can thrive and bring positive impacts to society.
Since December, the Diploma Programme (DP) students, between Grade 11 and Grade 12, have conducted a virtual class for the students of SDN 35 Dompu state elementary school in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB). Every Saturday morning, they teach English and the Arts as well as launch fun projects to try to engage with the students in an online class. SWA students have also sent books, drawing supplies, musical instruments and other items that are used in the sessions. The project is a collaborative effort organised under the Creative, Action, Service (CAS) programme.
The community school has around 134 students and 14 teachers, located in a rural village in NTB, with limited access to facilities, technology and the internet. As distance learning is not then possible for every student there, they still go to school and join in-person classes on alternating days, all the while following social distancing protocols.
The weekly classes have reportedly increased the participation of the remote pupils and motivated the elementary school teachers. The enthusiasm has affected the SWA students as well. Recently, SWA students have initiated to raise money to build toilets at SDN 35 Dompu, which will improve school facilities and the learning experience.
“Our students have used their skills and knowledge to empower and help others in various communities,” said Elma Moeloek, the CAS coordinator. “They are determined to share their advantages in having received access to top-quality education and technology. With the pandemic affecting all of us globally, they become even more aware of the needs of other people.”
Elma also cited other volunteer work by her students, including donating eggs/face shields to workers, providing milk for children of scavengers in Bekasi and raising money for flood victims in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and seeing through the work on the ground jointly with a local organization there.
On top of that, SWA students have demonstrated the importance of a curious mind and enthusiasm to follow their passion. This has led to world-class accomplishments. A group of SWA students became the first Indonesian winners in the global robotics competition, Canada’s World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2020.
Another student group received the Distinguished Honorable Mention Award at the 2020 Ocean Awareness Contest in the musing category for their original song titled Hidden Life, which highlights coral bleaching and the destruction of the wonderful marine world.
Other achievements include victories in the National Science-Mathematics Competition, the 2020 Virtual Wushu Championship, the 2020 Southeast Asian Mathematical Olympiad (SEAMO), and the 2020 Korea UCC (User-Created Contents) Contest in the video category. SWA aims to implement six aspects into its balanced holistic educational approach: cognitive capability and intelligence, physical strength, technological and artistic ability, environmental and social awareness, spiritual and moral elements, and gratification. At SWA, education goes beyond the classroom. Students are involved in activities that provide them opportunities to connect and interact with the real world. They might handle a science project requiring the students to contact professionals and raise money for social causes. The most important aspect of holistic education is to develop empathy and raise awareness on social issues, which will encourage SWA students to find solutions to real-world issues.
A case in point is the funding secured by three of its grade 10 students at the Middle Years Program Student Innovators last year. The event, organized by the Swiss foundation International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a platform for students across the globe to hone their skills and propose innovative solutions to address the world and social issues.
The three students — Rania, Chris, and Leon — have been selected and have secured US$10,000 in funds.
Rania and Chris shared concern on plastic pollution, although the two students have different approaches to the problem. Rania studies how mushrooms can decompose plastic by transforming polymers into biodegradable products. These products can be incorporated into agricultural activities and used as an alternative food source. Her goal is to help humans.
“Through this research, I hope humans can be one step closer to eliminating plastic waste," said Rania.
Chris, on the other hand, seeks ways to turn the plastic waste into energy. Chris, who is the Vice President of research student group Bio Builder, is inspired by synthetic biology and bioengineering. To make power plant fuels out of disposable plastic, he is researching plastic biodegradation and biological fuel cells.
"Most of the Indonesian rural areas are experiencing electricity supply difficulties. However, there is a lot of plastic waste,” Chris said. “Through this research, I hope that plastic can be the energy source that can provide electricity in a cleaner and sustainable way while reducing plastic waste in a rural environment using applied technology."
Another grant winner, Leon, wants to preserve the Javanese language. His concern for local culture, especially the endangered local languages, has prompted him to develop a language learning application named SIJI, which is also the Javanese word for “one”. The app features the old script of the Old Javanese language, or Kawi.
“Through SIJI, I hope to preserve Javanese culture and its writing system. Using iOS, learning is fun and easy. I hope everyone can use it, including non-Javanese and non-Indonesian people who want to learn Javanese, characters and its arts behind the language," Leon said.
It goes without saying that students at SWA have the opportunity to achieve academic excellence and set out on a leadership journey to become future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
These traits and skills are not honed in merely one or two years, but it has to be taught as early as possible in an integrated curriculum. In SWA, holistic learning applies from early childhood education to high school. The students, then, will learn how to be a lifelong learner who can face unexpected problems in an unpredictable world.
“Our students learn to be independent. They learn to be more adaptive. When they’re facing a problem that they don’t know what the answer is, they just have to try [to figure it out],” said Kelly, the Co-Principal of EYES SWA. “Our mindset is to equip our students with an ability to solve problems, whatever that is.”
Moreover, the K-12 school has always committed to helping students seeking admission to top-tier universities with single-digit acceptance rates. Last spring, a SWA graduate, Vijjasena, was accepted and got scholarships at the most selective universities: Princeton University, Columbia University, Yale University, and Dartmouth College.
To get into the Ivy League colleges with single-digit acceptance rates, applicants must not only have academic achievements, but also demonstrate a proactive attitude and leadership as well as perform acts of community service. To stand out in the applicant pool, students are also expected to be active in school clubs or extracurricular activities, which will also allow them to explore their interests and boost their unique strengths.
The academics, soft skills and a sense of agency to give back to local communities have been the core aspects in holistic education at SWA, which will help students choose their paths forward as future leaders and innovators.
“We teach our students these skills and values which are beyond the academic purposes or what are required by the school. Social activities and aspirational learning to keep our kids engaged,” said Alex. “It's part of our mission to introduce the importance of contributing to society.”
