Rhaka at Joglo Preschool’s School Outing; at Taman Kelinci, Semarang, Central Java Province, Indonesia; Noir, Noir’s Mother, Rhaka, Vya, Vya’s Mother, and Kenken’s Mother; Joglo Preschool Documentation.
Before my internship at Joglo Preschool, I was thinking if I want people to learn about non violence, I will have to organize a lot of workshops. That could become tiring, even though there would be some fun too. In conversation among the teachers in Joglo Preschool, I learned that there are three approaches to introducing creative problem solving in the classroom. One can 1) organize workshops, 2) integrate creative problem solving into daily class activities, or 3) into the curriculum. So I learned that I can look for opportunities to use the other two approaches: integrating non violence into daily activities and into the curriculum. Seeing how the curriculum and daily activities work in Joglo Preschool made me realize that what we do here is a miniature world doing cultures of peace. The teachers, parents, and children are actually doing it.
One day, the children were running and screaming, circling around a blue table. I stepped inside and stopped the kids running. Wiwit and Ninok stopped the children and asked three of the children to sit down. A child tapped a pencil against the table. He complained to his friend, pointed at the child and said, “You!” The child responded angrily, “Why me?”
A child who was not sitting entered and interrupted as a child who was sitting told a story. Then, Wiwit asked the children to clean up first before continuing the story.
After the children finished, I asked the children to tell me about the earlier incident. One said, “I want to hear from you.” Another said, “I want to hear too!” They took turns telling stories until one child interrupted. Then I said, “We want to hear our friend’s story to the end.”
I help the children sequence the stories. One child’s building had fallen on another children’s building. One child said that another child was “like a girl.” The first child then ran, feeling himself being chased by the second child. The second child ran too, feeling himself being chased by the first child. Then they were running in circles. Other kids came in and got into a relentless chase. They wanted to stop the chase.
After the story was over, we laughed together. One child commented, “Why do I feel like everyone is chasing me?” Then the child continues the activity.
I have been involved in helping children to sequence stories. There is one child who dominates the conversation. I asked the friend to listen to another friend who had not spoken. Then I mirrored what the children said and sorted it out.
In the Children’s Creative Response to Conflict (CCRC) book it is stated that “every conclusion must be approved by the narrator before proceeding with others.” I help conclude the story. Then I asked the children, “Does what I conclude match what happened?”
The presence of adults is important because there are cognitive functions of children that need to be supported by adults. I don’t know if children are able to record, make a series of stories, and conclude the whole story. That is an opportunity for me to try next.
The event was unique and new to me. Children can be proactive in solving problems. It’s a lot different from the situation I’m used to seeing in Indonesia, where adults dominate and determine solutions for children that are actually not appropriate. I think adults pass the distress they have on to their children through what is considered a “quick solution”. We as adults need to learn from children through play and curiosity. That includes stopping and being a good listener.
From that story, I became convinced that peace is possible. I recognize creative approaches to conflict that are appropriate even for children. As adults, most of us forget to play and become curious. Finding a solution is fun and full of laughter.