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Jakarta teachers, students to step up their basketball game with Jr. NBA
The Jr. NBA collaborates with the Jakarta Education Agency in designing a basketball curriculum that will be implemented in some 4,500 public and private schools across the capital.
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Slam dunk: Thousand of physical education teachers across Jakarta gathered on Nov. 27 and 28 to join a curriculum workshop conducted by the Jr. NBA and Jakarta Education Agency. (The Jakarta Post/Courtesy of NBA)
F
or Muas Ramdhan, a physical education (PE) teacher at Nizamia Andalusia elementary and junior high school in Cipayung, East Jakarta, there is always something new for him to learn and apply to his lesson plans, despite having 10 years’ experience.
And when he joined thousands of teachers from across Jakarta in a curriculum workshop for PE conducted by National Basketball Association (NBA), he paid attention to a small but unique detail he could use in his lessons.
“[I got to learn] several basic positions, all with animal names such as kangaroo or giraffe. I think they will motivate elementary school students to participate more [in class],” said Muas, who is also a basketball coach.
“I learned about the fundamentals of basketball as what they [the NBA] taught first was how to perfect the basic techniques. So, the kids don’t need to immediately perform [advanced moves]; they have to learn the basics first.”
Those seemingly small details Muas focused on are part of the Jr. NBA curriculum, which will be implemented in around 4,500 public and private schools across Jakarta. The curriculum is the first program conducted in Southeast Asia in which the NBA collaborated directly with regional governments to develop a PE program.
To have the opportunity to learn directly from experts was also something that Yonas Ado did not want to miss. A teacher of 20 years who has spent the last eight years teaching PE, he was motivated to gain a deeper understanding of the sport so he can pass the knowledge and skills on to his students.
“The materials they covered were very good for our self-development as teachers, allowing us to improve the way we teach basketball,” said Yonas, who teaches at Jatinegara Kaum 01 state elementary school. “[This also means] that we can now teach our students the right way with the basic techniques.”
