Kids learn animals best when it is entertaining

Features - July 02, 2002

Wahyuni Kamah, Contributor, Denpasar, Bali

For children, learning all the science and academic stuff about animals can be tough, boring and uninteresting.

But if the subject is presented the way the Kindness Club of the Denpasar-based Yudhistira Foundation in cooperation with the World Society for the Protection of Animals introduces it to elementary school students in Bali, the children will certainly love it, staying attentive until the last minute.

The humid classroom on the third flood of SD Saraswati elementary school in Denpasar did not stop some 50 fifth graders from enthusiastically following every explanation of their guest teacher of the day.

In front of the classroom, a video player and a TV set were placed, while in the corner, white boxes were neatly arranged.

That day, it was the turtle lesson.

"Anyone ever eat turtle meat?" asked Yudha Bantono, the guest teacher from the club. In the learning process, he was assisted by an officer from Yudhistira Foundation and one of the society's volunteers, Kim.

Some students raised their hands.

Then, Yudha energetically started explaining many things about turtles, the need to save them and how. In the process, he tried to attract students by using visual aids and acting skills.

The students thoroughly enjoyed his teaching style.

In the question-answer session, the class turned into a noisy room as several students raised some interesting questions.

"Why do turtles lay eggs on the beach?" a student asked. "Why do turtles walk so slowly?" asked another.

Yudha gave his full attention to the students and answered each question. Any students who asked especially good questions received a small round turtle sticker from Kim.

Next was the game session, where the students were divided into groups and were told to work together on certain topics. During the discussion, they raised more questions, arranged pictures into an interesting story and created dialogs based on those pictures -- all about turtles, of course. Again, those who answered correctly got stickers.

Then, there was a puppet show. Each student got a box containing a number of small, cotton animal puppets. From previous classes, the students had already had puppets of cows and dogs, so they knew how it would be with the turtles.

Just like a dalang, or puppet master, Yudha told the students about a poor turtle whose life and habitat were destroyed by humans. He also asked the students to sing along.

The students were also encouraged to participate actively by creating dialogs while playing with the puppets in front of the class or placing small flags on the world map to mark turtle habitats. Correct answers were rewarded with stickers, and those with wrong answers were never ridiculed.

Entertainment was also part of the program, and a film about a child saving a turtle was shown to the enthusiastic students.

In the process, the students might have even forgotten that they were actually learning a lot about something new, all due to the teacher's presentation.

"It is nice. I really enjoy the class," said Putu, one of the students.

Before going home, the student who earned the most stickers received a certificate.

"I also ask them to make poems about animals and to make a collage out of those," Yudha said, adding that at the end of the class, he collected the poems and read the most interesting ones to the students.

The animal classes have been ongoing and will conclude in November. The teaching subjects include 10 different animals such as horses, cows, dogs, turtles and primates. In the end, the program aims to reach 560 students in seven state-run elementary schools and three private schools in Denpasar and Badung regencies.

Fifth graders were selected to take part in the program because they were not yet busy preparing for their sixth-grade exams.

"The objective is to introduce animals to children and encourage them to love and respect animals," Yudha said.

The program is never boring, and the students eagerly look forward to each class.

"They even remind me by phone two weeks before the class," said Yudha.