There are qualities that stand out in Juliansyah, an elementary school teacher who now carries the responsibility of serving as a Local Facilitator for Teacher Professional Development (TPD): a passionate spirit for learning and humility.
For Juliansyah, learning is not a way to prove himself, but an ongoing effort to give the best for his students. Behind this spirit, however, he remains a humble person.
When he first joined the Local Facilitator Training for Teacher Professional Development under the KREASI Program, he felt awkward being among school supervisors and principals.
“I felt like I was just an ordinary teacher,” he said modestly. Yet it was precisely this humility that became his strength. His great curiosity became the main fuel that drove Juliansyah to continue absorbing knowledge throughout the training.
Juliansyah’s openness enabled him to clearly grasp the essence of the learning process. One valuable lesson he gained was that creative teaching does not always require sophisticated technology.
“It turned out I was very wrong. The new insight I gained was that creativity starts from how we understand children’s world and make use of what is around us,” he said.
This realization changed his perspective: literacy is not merely about introducing letters, but about ensuring that children understand what they read through the right approaches, such as teaching phonological awareness.
The KREASI Program serves as a space that values the sincerity of every educator. Juliansyah welcomed the dynamic training methods.
“One of the most memorable impressions from the activity was that every day we were grouped differently with different group members, so the atmosphere each day became more colorful,” he explained. For him, every colleague is a teacher, and every discussion is an opportunity to share with one another.
The supportive and inclusive training environment made Juliansyah feel comfortable expressing his views. His courage to actively participate in the forum grew from his desire to share ideas for the advancement of education.
“The safe and non-judgmental environment made me feel appreciated, so I felt confident to speak up,” he said.
Juliansyah’s enthusiasm reached its peak on the third day of the training, when the facilitator demonstrated an interactive storytelling method. That moment became an important turning point for him.
“When the facilitator told a story using such an exciting method, I immediately pictured the faces of the children in my class. Wow, Aufa and Robi would definitely be happy and want to come forward to act out Boya if I used this method!” he recalled.
For Juliansyah, this training was not merely theoretical, but a source of practical skills. His belief that the right methods can increase student engagement made him eager to apply the technique in his classroom.
Now, Juliansyah has returned to school carrying valuable lessons with him. He brings not only new teaching methods, but also a renewed spirit to continue growing for the future of the nation’s children.
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KREASI (Collaboration for the Education of Indonesian Children) is a program to improve the quality of education by strengthening literacy, numeracy, and character education. KREASI in Ketapang is managed by Save the Children and implemented by Majelis Dikdasmen PNF PP Muhammadiyah, with funding from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), as well as support from the Government of Ketapang and Indonesia’s Local Education Group, led by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) and the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag).
Writer: Afriyandi Nur Huda| Editor: Andika Ramadhan | Photo: Afriyandi Nur Huda/KREASI/Majelis Dikdasmen PNF PP Muhammadiyah/Save the Children