Undergraduate / Teaching English and Computer classes (Chevening leadership essay) [2]

Dear contributors ....

1. Chevening is looking for individuals that will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

I previously taught English and Computer classes in Junior High School 49 Jakarta. In 2012, I was assigned to lead a team of three teachers to coach students to participate in the 2012 International Thinkquest Competition. It was an online project learning competition. The school won an international competition in 2009, so winning another international competition after three years of no international championship obtained would be very great. Prior to our first meeting, I had identified all things necessary, such as the number of groups made, the real world problems/ themes, the suitable couch/ teacher for each theme, and the couching mechanism. So, the meeting was about breaking down the tasks, assigning the person in charge for each task and setting up timetable and milestones. Few things happened, such as unmotivated students that slowed down the group progress and busy teacher, but those things made us talk deeper, closer, and more meaningful. Gratefully, we won the Outstanding Entry that Finished in the Top 10% category, in which 5,624 teams from 2500 schools of 50 countries joined the competition.

I started working in Buahati Islamic High School, a new-born school that combines memorizing Quran with national curriculum and full day with boarding school system, in 2015. This is my second year, and I was promoted as the Vice Principal. Leading a team of 13 wide-ranged teachers, 79 wide-disparity students, and the demands of national testing, I learn that combined curriculum takes great teachers, simpler but holistic modules, and compact programs. I identified the teacher into high, middle, and low performers based on the performance indicators. I appreciate high performing teachers by giving them stretch assignments, rewarding them professional development opportunities, gaining input from them about process to be improved and allowing them to work on school project teams or task forces. As for the middle performers, couching is the way. Whereas the low performing teachers, I address them through conversations about things that have been observed, their feelings, what is expected and what needs to be done. Yet, The 79 students are varied widely in intellectual quotient (IQ), emotional intelligence (EQ) and spiritual intelligence (SQ). Sometimes, the teachers were annoyed. There came I persuaded them that if the teachers were not strong enough to relentlessly make difference- then who did. I recognize that teachers are what make great school. Few actions, I have taken resulted in a more positive and productive learning environment that demonstrates respect and sensitivity and ensures student achievement.

Scholarship / Chevening Question about Chosen Universities and Future Plan [2]

3. Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for future.

I propose to take MA Creative Writing at three universities. They are University of Birmingham, Newcastle University, and University of East Anglia. I chose those three universities in accordance with the programs they offer, their rank, and living cost. MA Creative Writing in those three universities offers a wide range of subjects across discipline before specializing in fiction, screenwriting, poetry, or playwriting. The optional modules are interesting as well. They vary from Contemporary American and European Cinema, Writing for Children and Young Adults to the Writing of Crime/ Thriller Fiction. They rank 1st, 2nd, and 5th sequentially in the Complete University Guide 2016 based on entry standards, student satisfaction, research quality and graduate prospects.

Majoring in English Education, I completed my bachelor degree in the University of Indraprasta PGRI, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia. Starting to work in Junior High School 49 Jakarta in 2006, I taught both English and Computer classes, and was thrust to develop the school website as a content writer, designer, and administrator. Being a content writer for the school website, I had been introduced the challenging world of writing and journalism. I took photos, conducted interviews, covered school events, and presented them in written forms in news stories, feature articles, or documentaries.

When I taught computer animation, I found it easy to teach animation and less easy to teach the students how to write storyline of their animation movies. There are many potential factors contributed to movie's success, yet great story and/or the quality of the script are always behind it. Thus, teaching computer animation is teaching story writing simultaneously.

I wish to proceed to a career of further study in the area of prose fiction/ the novel and screenwriting. One vital purpose of prose fiction/ the novel and screen writing have been to allow the authors to write any theme-the underlying idea, the principle and the concept, whether as primary or minor themes, they would like to develop and wish to convey to the readers/ viewers. Themes are unforgettable. They leave the readers/ viewers with something to think about after the story ends or the movie are over. This may raises to public awareness and social action.

I currently work as English teacher at Buahati Islamic High School. The students are teenagers aged 15 to 18. During the years, I did many counseling sessions. The circumstances gain my attention. I am concerned about 'unhappy teenage life'. Improving the quality of teenagers' awareness towards their unique phase of life by encouraging them to do something meaningful through prose fiction/ the novel and screen writing has shaped the upcoming days and this will color my future.

Undergraduate / Teacher Networks - Chevening essay [2]

2. Chevening is looking for individuals with strong networking skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your networking skills and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future.

People are connected to each other directly or indirectly via screens. Yet, the world that is worth experiencing is with other human beings in the real world. Networking is about making connections and building enduring, mutually beneficial relationships. I like to hear people with different views of the world and get to know their side of the story. Hence, I was a new comer, when I was assigned as the person in charge of Professional Development Program focusing in upgrading computer literary among teachers at Junior High School 49. Having leadership thrust upon, I first recognized that the fellow teachers vary from 35 to 55 year-old and only few of them were motivated. That time, I learnt that the most influential person was the 48 year-old Vice Principal. Those teachers listened to the Principal and listened more to him. I know that people will never forget how you made them feel. So, I seek to deeply understand him and his perspective. As a starter, I asked him many things. I was sure there was something I could learn from his broad experience. I followed some of his words supplely. By time, I discovered the Vice Principal was at the first row attending the computer training program and since then, the sessions were fun, on fire and effective in which the fellow teachers' computer literary was upgraded by 40%.

Teachers' computer literary is important. In 2010, Junior High School 49 joined Thinkquest.org. The site facilitated both students and teachers to think, create, and collaborate globally in the online project-learning platform. In Thinkquest.org, the teachers were recognized as facilitators. The action encouraged other schools to join as well. As the follow up action, my fellow teachers in DKI Jakarta province established Thinkquest DKI Jakarta Facilitators Forum. It was an organization where teachers and/ or facilitators brainstormed, socialized, and prepared teachers to project learning among schools across DKI Jakarta and abroad. In this forum, I was appointed as secretary.

Numbering around 46,000 alumni worldwide, Chevening Community offers me huge opportunity to connect to world's leaders and influencers and to greater understand the interrelated fields between politics, business, the media, civil society, science and technology and contribute to social cohesion through intercultural dialogue, understanding and collaboration. This enriches the creative work I will write in the form of prose fiction/ novel and screen script. Moreover, these creative works are in need of sufficient connections to have an insight into the industry by professional editors, publishers, producers, and sponsors. According to the Creative Economy Report by the UN in 2013, "creativity and culture have a significant non-monetary value that contributes to inclusive social development, to dialogue and understanding between peoples." I believe in the moral importance of fiction and literature. Through novels and screen scripts, I would like to widely and deeply introduce the exotic cultures of Indonesia which vary greatly in different ethnic groups as for cultures belong to world society and simultaneously grow economy sectors in income generation, job creation, and export earnings.

Scholarship / Gemi, nastiti, ngati-ati is Javanese philosophy my mother has always said to me CHEVENING Leadership [4]

I have answered 4 questions of Chevening Scholarship.
Could you please help me revise or edit. I am really appreciate. Thanks

1. Chevening is looking for individuals that will be future leaders or influencers ...

Gemi, nastiti, ngati-ati is Javanese philosophy my mother has always said to me. These three words serve as a local wisdom and have been echoed through stories and talks since I was a little. Gemi means thrifty. Nastiti means prudent. And Ngati-ati means careful. These powerful words have led me to invest in self-mastery, develop teamwork, collaboration, and communication skills, and inspire me to be ready for the time when it comes. Hence, my first leadership experience came from being group leader in the 46th Indonesia Independence Day Celebration stage performance during elementary school where my friends and I helped each other prepare all the necessary things. I first seek to understand what we had and what we could do. Next, I broke down the tasks, offered to the suitable person, and synergized our movement in which within the time it allowed us to uncover new possibilities through openness and creativity.

After my bachelor's degree graduation, I worked at Junior High School 49. During which I was assigned to develop English and IT clubs and proudly motivated my student to achieve 2nd rank in Storytelling Competition - DKI Jakarta Province level.

In the desire to serve my country, in 2012 I with my fellow teachers and students participated in the 2012 International Thinkquest Competition. As the head of both English and IT clubs, we won the Outstanding Entry that Finished in the Top 10% category, in which 5,624 teams that equal to more than 2500 schools from approximately 50 countries joined the competition. Thus encouraging our students and fellow teachers bringing up Indonesia on the world stage.

My work experience with public school and private educational institutions has taught me one big thing that leadership is to serve others, to empower others and to inspire others to learn as I learn to continue growth and improvement and renew ourselves physically, spiritually, mentally, and socially. Having more than 10 years of work experience, I have sorted the meaning of leadership into lead-to lead people is to influence them to move, ladder-to climb the ladder is to foster initiatives and give birth to leaders, and ship-to navigate the ship is to show the way to success. Therefore, recently in Buahati Islamic High School, a new-born school that combines memorizing Quran with national curriculum and full day with boarding school system, I was promoted as the Vice Principal to lead team of 13 wide-ranged teachers and 79 wide-disparity students. To overcome this challenge, I followed the Lead-Ladder-Ship principle. During the first three months, we managed to simplify the module, improve students' leadership and other constructive characters in student council diverse programs and activities and collect Rp.100,000,000-tuition fee in two weeks before the Mid Semester 1 Test took place.