I got to know the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) in 2008, I learned adjective names and games to lighten the atmosphere, which I applied in my teaching at the public elementary school. But I couldn’t apply it freely, even though the children responded so well. Games are not common in school. The other teachers thought games were strange. They didn’t understand that learning could be fun by mixing presentations with small group discussions and Light and Livelies that allow children to move and re-focus.
I also used the games in the “To Be Smart” After-School Lessons, which I established in 2007. I recruited teachers to teach at To Be Smart based on their participation in AVP. This gave us a common understanding of violence and nonviolence. At To Be Smart, children got closer, the gap between boys and girls reduced, and school achievement increased. Their grades increased; they won competitions. That was possible because young people learned as whole people.

Then in 2009, I learned about early childhood development from Nadine Hoover. I joined a training session at Miftahul Huda Tondomulyo Kindergarten. Then I was able to join a comparative study tour to Tunas Baru Kindergarten in Barak Induk, Langkat, West Sumatra. This was a long journey: a two-hour flight to Jakarta, a five-hour flight to Medan, and a six-hour drive to Barak Induk.

I continued to struggle, until finally in 2010 I left the public school. I decided to learn to accompany young children and youth development at Peace Place integrating the AVP approach. In 2011 we held the first international AVP training at Peace Place, followed by a training in early childhood learning activities. The traditional Javanese Samin community moved a traditional Joglo building for a school, in appreciation of our role in defending their mountain home from mining. In July 2012, I opened a preschool with four students. One of them was Ninok’s daughter who is currently in 6th grade. One was my nephew’s child and the other two were children from the neighborhood. Since then, we have been developing an AVP approach that supports quality early childhood education.

Joglo has only retained Nanik and Ninok as the teachers. For someone to teach at Joglo, their family must support and encourage them. We only pay around US$100 / AU$135 per month. In Indonesia, teachers usually arrive and depart with the children for only a couple hours per day. At Joglo, we arrive before the children to prepare play spaces that match activities with the theme, and stay after to document development, develop educational plans and materials, and study nonviolence skills, child development, and thematic knowledge. We also spend twice as much time with the children to cover the activities we know are important. And we welcome children regardless of economic background. So our program costs much more than people will pay, and we cannot generate the funds needed to retain teachers. In addition, teachers apply the AVP approaches in our daily lives, make personal changes in our families, and introduce AVP in our circle of family and friends.

We are seeking new teachers or interns, but it is not easy to find someone who wants to work this much. Since Wiwit graduated with a psychology degree, he is learning to teach at Joglo Preschool while looking for an internship in direct assistance to children with special needs, such as in a clinic. He hopes to gain experience assisting children with special needs. As a teacher intern at Joglo Preschool, Wiwit read the teacher’s handbook and eight-week orientation. He looks for activities related to the principles and agreements or the theme of each week. Wiwit prepares toys for the outdoor learning centers. We offer Wiwit the opportunity to practice his ideas and share his experiences during teacher meetings. Wiwit took on the role of observing children and creating Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for several children with special needs. He practices finding the right words when interacting with children and parents. Now he has begun to take on more teaching responsibilities such as calling the children to the circle, stopping, opening, and some of the game times. For the main activities, Wiwit still shadows another teacher. He keeps a timesheet to direct his focus.

I will continue to work on how to recruit new teachers or teacher interns in order to stabilize the work at Joglo and free our time to further develop and document our work, especially on how to support children with special needs.