Nowadays, becoming smart is not enough for students. They must also become problem solvers.
Being a teacher also poses a separate challenge. Technology advancement and the changing of times force teachers to assist students to become individuals who are not only smart in memorizing and obtaining high grades. In the learning process, students must also be shaped into problem solvers.

That is the core of the discovery learning strategy the teachers received in the Pelita Guru Mandiri (PGM) training held by the Tanoto Foundation in Kuantan Singingi District. After several sessions of PGM training, the teachers realized the importance of active participation by the students and that the teachers should also be aware of the ability of each student.

The teaching learning activity also requires an environment that can facilitate the participants’ curiosity. The critical attitude and curiosity of the students should be nurtured so that they continue to develop. This kind of environment is named discovery learning environment in which the students can explore and discover new knowledge and skills properly and sustainably.

For the teachers to be able to apply the discovery learning strategy, there are several stages of the training that the participants have to undergo. In the PGM program, first the training is conducted by local facilitators. After that, the local facilitators give facilitation and training materials to participating teachers at school cluster level. The intention is of course so that the teachers can implement the active, innovative, creative, effective, and joyful learning activity in their respective classes.

SDN 025 Talontam in Riau Province has started the implementation of the discovery learning strategy. The results have started to show in the rising activeness and creativity of the students. The teachers also become more creative in utilizing the simple teaching aids, which materials can be found in the surrounding environment.

Through Pelita Pendidikan, Tanoto Foundation supports the efforts to improve quality of education in rural areas, particularly in North Sumatra, Jambi and Riau. One of its activities, Pelita Guru Mandiri, focuses on building teachers capacity so they can carry out teaching and learning process that is active, creative, innovative, and enjoyable for students. Pelita Pendidikan also includes provision of scholarships for teachers to complete their Undergraduate Degree.

Childhood is the best time for laying the foundation for creativity. To help honing the creativity of the children of employees in Medan, the Tanoto Foundation held the 2014 Tanoto Foundation Art Competition recently. Joy clearly radiated from the faces of 80 children who participated in this activity. The Event Committee was also happy because the number of participants soared to almost 100%. During the same event last year, the participants were 46 people.

This arena for creativity that has been held since 2012 promotes different themes such as quality and productivity. These themes are expected to give the children an illustration and understanding of their parents’ business world. As soon as the competition started at 9.30, the children immediately drew enthusiastically. Based on the participants’ enthusiasm, the objective of honing the creativity while at the same time giving a happy time to the children seemed to have been achieved. At 12.00, the Committee made a decision on the winners of the competition although at first it was not easy to choose the best participants. This was because the quality of the participants was equally good.

After a discussion, the Committee finally decided on the competition winners for two age groups. For 5-8 age group, the first, second, and third winners were Gracellia with the title ‘Quality of Palm Oil’, Charles with the title of ‘Uniland Building’, and Adivanti Kamal Abgary with the title ‘Palm Oil Truck’. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd runner-up titles were awarded to Nabila with the title of ‘Palm Oil Plantation’ and Farah Zharina with the title of ‘Palm Oil Factory’.

The 1st up to 3rd winners of the 9-12 age group were awarded to Hubert Federico the title ‘Continuous Improvement’, Carrisa Felicia with the title ‘Quality Productivity Cost’, and Winola Princesa with the title ‘Activities in AA Plantation’. Meanwhile, the 1st and 2nd runner-up titles were reached by M. Sultan Nazwan with the title ‘Palm Oil Transportation’ and Monaria Septiani with the title ‘Uniland Building,’ respectively.

Those who have not participated in the competition this year should not worry because the Tanoto Foundation Art Competition will be held again next year. See you in 2015!

Forest fires in different areas in Indonesia, particularly areas in Sumatra, have become a serious problem for Indonesia. The resulting losses are rather difficult to calculate as they affect most aspects of life. Health problems, a complete halt in transportation modes, and near extinction of several types of fauna and flora could be linked to the effect of forest fires. In Riau alone, the resulting losses are estimated to reach Rp 20 trillion per year.

Of course this problem cannot be resolved only by the government. There should be cooperation between the government, private sector, and members of the communities to overcome impact of forest fires. One of the private sector parties that has been actively mobilizing efforts to overcome forest fires is PT Riau Andalan Pulp & Paper (PT RAPP) which is also one of Tanoto Foundation’s corporate partners.

PT RAPP has actively been supporting the community since 2008 to become the agent for overcoming forest fire problems. This is carried out by facilitating the establishment of Community for Forest Fire Prevention. CFFP is a group of community members with the main function of reducing the risk of forest and land fires as well as participating actively in case of disasters.

PT RAPP has facilitated the establishment of 32 CFFP with total members of around 480 people in various areas in Riau Province. A total of 62 training activities was carried out to provide knowledge and techniques of fire-fighting to the members. In addition, PT RAPP also gives equipment and supplies for putting out forest and land fires to each CFFP.

The establishment of CFFP is expected to help coordination among all involved parties, namely the community, companies, and government. If undertaken intensively, such coordination can accelerate the process of overcoming problems brought by forest fires. CFFP is also expected to support the crucial involvement of community members and be the front-line guarding troops in preventing forest fires.