The many issues around the implementation of online learning caused Avan Fathurrahman to decide to continue visiting his pupils.
By
Runik Sri Astuti
·5 minutes read
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Avan Fathurrahman
Gaps in the online learning system during the COVID-19 pandemic period have caused students in remote villages to be left behind. To help them catch up, Avan Fathurrahman, 41, is visits his pupils one by one despite the high risk of being exposed to the virus.
While students in major cities are using sophisticated technology to learn during the pandemic, those in remote villages, such as the students of SDN Batuputih Laok 3 state primary school in Batuputih, Sumenep regency, Madura, can only resign themselves to their situation. Far from possessing laptops or computers, even smart handheld devices are beyond their reach.
Some of their parents indeed own such devices, but their technology is already far behind. As a result, students cannot rely on these technologies for online learning. “Certain parents once intended to borrow money only to buy smart cell phones. But I dissuaded them because it was not a solution to the online learning problem during the pandemic,” said Avan, a teacher at SDN Batuputih Laok 3, when contacted on Friday (30/4/2021).
The distance learning method has many requirements, including smooth internet access. Sadly, many villages don’t have this. Moreover, students’ parents cannot afford to buy internet credit.
It takes a long time to learn to use internet applications like Google Meet.
The problem is worsened by the fact that the people where Avan has been teaching since 2015 are mostly technologically illiterate. It takes a long time to learn to use internet applications like Google Meet. Furthermore, many parents are illiterate in a conventional sense as well, which makes it nearly impossible for them to assist in their childrens’ education from home. Many have to work on farmland daily. “Some philanthropists once offered to buy smart phones for all students. But their parents declined. They insisted on being visited to have their children taught in person,” said Avan.
The many issues around the implementation of online learning caused Avan to decide to continue visiting his pupils. He tours the village, going from door to door to teach students at least three times a week.
He teaches subjects, gives assignments, corrects previous assignments and acknowledges students’ performance. The government’s appeal for distance learning has had to be disobeyed. As a teacher, the master’s graduate from Muhammadiyah University Surabaya feels responsible for providing guidance to his students. Health considerations certainly remain prioritized. Avan is grateful that his area is a COVID-19 green zone, or one with a low risk of transmission.
Initially, Avan, as the sixth grade homeroom teacher, was only visiting his students. But on the way to his students, he began dropping in on students of other classes living nearby. “So I think I just check their condition at the same time and give some simple lessons,” he said.
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Avan Fathurrahman teaches students at SDN Batu Putih Laok 3, Sumenep, Madura, East Java.
In a day, he can visit seven students’ houses. When the weather is favorable, he can reach 11 to 12 houses. He starts from home in the morning, traveling about 40 minutes over a distance of some 20 kilometers. His motorcycle is a reliable vehicle for traversing narrow village paths. Nonetheless, when it rains and the road is muddy, Avan must walk to students’ houses.
Although several schools have begun in-class learning, Avan continues to visit his students. A number of students do not go to school because their parents cannot accompany them.
Literacy activist
Amid his busy teaching schedule, Avan has spared time for literacy activity to stimulate children’s reading interests. He began by writing children’s storybooks to present local wisdom and Islamic teachings.
He wrote several books while teaching at a primary school located on Raas Island from 2010 to 2015. It took 11 hours by boat to reach the school, so he seldom went home. He had plenty of time to write there.
Avan has also voluntarily managed public literacy movements, among other initiatives. “The majority of village primary school students haven’t received a kindergarten education. Consequently, they aren’t yet familiar with forms of letters and numbers.”
To make them more motivated to read, Avan sometimes reads the stories aloud.
Storybooks serve as an interesting and exciting mode of learning, especially for children who have recently entered school. To make them more motivated to read, Avan sometimes reads the stories aloud.
Avan often goes around the village to introduce storybooks and tell stories to children. Avan’s capability of telling children’s stories has earned him many acknowledgements, one of which came from the regional library of Sumenep regency.
Avan also cooperates with a radio station in his town to share stories. He often tells them at social events, such as in orphanages. “The reading interest of children in villages is actually no less than that of their urban counterparts. However, they frequently face the constraint of the minimal availability of quality reading books,” he said.
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Avan Fathurrahman tells stories in front of children to stimulate reading interest in Sumenep, Madura, East Java, April 2021.
As a teacher and literacy activist, Avan realizes that in-class education cannot be replaced by distance learning. During the pandemic, he is determined to keep applying tactics for the sake of catching up with the delayed lessons, as well as promoting children’s reading interest.
Avan Fathurrahman
Born:Jan. 15, 1980
Wife:Fadilatun Naila, 28
Education:
- First degree, Pedagogic and Teachers’ Training College (STKIP), Bahasa Indonesia Department
- Master’s degree, Muhammadiyah University Surabaya
Occupation:
- Teacher at Batu Putih Laok 3 state primary school (2015-present)
- Teacher at Goa-Goa 1 state primary school on Raas Island (2010-2015)
