Overcoming My Difficulties in Handling Pupils with Separation Anxiety During Their First Week of School as a Teacher Assistant at TKK Trimulia HITS.

(1)

i

Maranatha Christian University

ABSTRACT

Dalam Tugas Akhir ini, saya melakukan analisis masalah yang saya hadapi ketika melakukan program magang di TKK TRIMULIA HITS, yaitu kesulitan saya dalam menangani anak-anak yang memiliki kecemasan untuk dipisahkan dengan orang tuanya (bersekolah sendiri) selama minggu pertama di sekolah. Objek yang saya observasi adalah anak-anak kelas Nursery Fantastic Fish (NFF) di TKK TRIMULIA HITS.

Berdasarkan analisis saya, masalah ini terjadi karena anak-anak yang tidak familiar dengan guru-guru atau staf sekolah, jumlah kelas yang terlalu besar dan saya yang tidak memiliki kemampuan dalam mengajar anak-anak. Hal ini juga memberikan beberapa dampak negatif kepada anak-anak, yang pertama adalah anak-anak tidak mau pergi ke sekolah dan aktivitas yang sudah dibuat oleh para guru pun tidak dapat berjalan sesuai yang telah direncanakan.

Saya menyampaikan tiga solusi yang berpotensi untuk menangani masalah ini. Solusi pertama adalah saya akan mencoba bekerja sama dengan orang tua untuk menemani anak-anak mereka di kelas pada minggu pertama. Solusi kedua adalah saya akan mencoba untuk berbicara kepada pihak sekolah untuk mengurangi jumlah kelas yang terlalu besar. Dan solusi yang ketiga adalah saya akan mencoba memperkenalkan rutinitas-rutinitas di sekolah kepada anak-anak. Setelah

(2)

iv

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

From 28th July 2015 until 25th August 2015, I had my internship in TKK TRIMULIA HITS. My position was as a teacher assistant. My duties were to help the teachers in the class, accompany the pupils, and help the teachers to prepare the material. I helped the Nursery Fantastic Fish (NFF) class, which has 24 pupils and 2 home teachers.

The pupils in the NFF class are three to four years old. For most of them, NFF class is their first experience to go to school, so they are not ready

enough to be in the new environment which they have not known before. This condition can make them feel anxious. Based on the article Don't send

children to school at four, warn experts (n.d.), it is stated that four years old

(4)

2

and Haser (n.d.), it is said that on the first day many children cried “...First week passed with crying children and separation anxiety” (para. 25). I believe this topic is important to be discussed because according to Akdağ and Haser (n.d.), “The first day of the class has long lasting effect on students. When students experience a positive first day, they have positive attitude towards both the course and the instructor, feel more motivated, and even have higher grades. On the contrary, students with negative first day experience feel less motivated even when the instructor behave kindly throughout the course” (para. 2). The quotation made me concerned about this problem because this problem is usually should be handled by all the teachers. The same condition happened during my internship. The pupils in NFF class did not want to go to school and felt afraid to be separated from their parents. Therefore, in order to make this problem easier to be handled, I chose this problem to be discussed in my paper.

B. Identification of the Problem

1. Why did the pupils have separation anxiety in their first week of school in TKK TRIMULIA HITS?

2. How did the separation anxiety affect the pupils?

3. _{How can this problem be solved?}

C. Objectives and Benefits of the Study

(5)

3

school in TKK TRIMULIA HITS. I will try to find the best solution to handle the pupils with separation anxiety. Therefore, not only I but also the teachers in TKK TRIMULIA HITS and the readers of this paper (people who want to do an internship, students who want to be a teacher) will know how to solve this kind of problem. I hope this paper can inspire those who have the same problem I have experienced.

D. Description of the Institution

Based on Trimulia’s Website (n.d), it is said that Sekolah Kristen Trimulia was founded by Rev. Caleb Tong on June 1st, 1972. This school’s vision is to become an excellent Christian educational institution, which prioritizes Faith, Integrity and Knowledge. The mission of this school is to provide Christian based education which is holistic, integrative, and transformative, through the development of professional sources and current facilities. Sekolah Kristen

Trimulia has Love, Integrity, Responsibility, Discipline, and Hope as its

values.

(6)

4

that they established the Senior High School on Jalan Gardujati number 51. Because of the increasing number of students, in 1988 the location of the Junior and Senior High School was moved again to Jalan Dr. Djunjunan No. 105. Nowadays, Sekolah Trimulia has changed their school program to become a “HITS” program (Holistic Integrative Transformative School) which uses English as the language of instruction.

At the moment, TKK TRIMULIA HITS has 8 classes, 2 pre nursery classes, 3 nursery classes, 3 kindergarten-1 classes and 3 kindergarten-2 classes with 2 homeroom teachers. Therefore, it has 35 teachers who are led by Ms. Santy as the principle.

E. Method of the Study

I did both library and field research for doing the study. I collected theories from reference books and electronic sources. As for the field research, I observed the pupils in the school and I put the observation data in my daily internship journal.

F. Limitation of the Study

(7)

5

G. Organization of the Term Paper

This paper begins with an Abstract, a summary of the paper in Indonesian. It is followed by of Declaration of Originality, Acknowledgements, and Table of Contents. The main content of this paper consists of four chapters. Chapter One is the Introduction and is divided into seven parts. The first part is

Background of the Study, which describes why I want to discuss the problem. The second part is Identification of the Problem. This part consists of three questions that I should answer in the next chapter. The third part is Objectives and Benefits of the Study, explaining the purpose of the study and some benefits, not only for me but also for the readers. The fourth part is

Description of the Institution, which describes TKK TRIMULIA HITS. In the fifth part, Method of the Study, I mention how the study was done. The sixth part is Limitation of the Study; presenting how I limit the subject of

(8)

14

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

After doing the analysis of the problem, I find that there are three causes of my difficulties in handling pupils with separation anxiety during their first week of school in TKK TRIMULIA HITS. The first cause is the pupils were not familiar with teachers and school staffs, the second is the class size was too large and the third cause is I had no experience in teaching pupils. This problem also caused two effects. The first is the pupils did not want to go to school and the second, the activities in the first week did not run in order. I try to propose three potential solutions to solve the problem. The first potential solution is I will cooperate with the parents to stay in the class, the second is the school should reduce the class size, and the third is I should introduce school routines to the pupils.

After studying these three potential solutions, I decide that the best solution to handle pupils with separation anxiety during their first week of school is

(9)

15

far from the class but still in the school area. Hopefully, by doing this, the pupils can feel secure at school and the parents can leave their pupils in the school by themselves. In the first week, I will also introduce the routines. I will never give up on telling the same things to the pupils in order to make them remember and feel confident at school and make it easier for them to learn. Lastly, I will try to tell the principal to add more teachers. In order to minimize the cost, the

additional teachers can only come in the first few weeks to help the home teacher handle the pupils in the class. I hope that doing these three potential solutions can reduce pupils’ separation anxiety and make the students enjoy being at school, especially on the first few days.

(10)

REFERENCES

Printed Sources

Gibbs, O. E., & Kennedy, V. R. (1993). Preschool and kindergarten discipline. California: The association of christian schools international.

Schulman, N., & Birnbaum, E. (2008). Practical wisdom for parents. Vintage Books.

Shoor, M. L. (1995). A handbook for first year teacher. Englewood: Greenwood. Stronge, J. H., Tucker, P. D., & Hindman, J. L. (2004). Handbook for qualities of

effective teachers. Alexandria: Association for supervision and curriculum

development.

Electronic Sources

Akdağ, Z., & Haser, Ç. (n.d.). Experiences of First Day of Teaching. The Online

Journal of New Horizons in Education , 25-31.

Barnes, C. (2015, August 13). 5 Routines You Must Establish and Maintain. Retrieved from The Determined Teacher:

(11)

Fit? Nieer , 1-12.

Higgins, J. (2014, October 28). Does class size matter? Research reveals

surprises. Retrieved from The Seattle Times:

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/education/does-class-size-matter-research-reveals-surprises/

Preparing your child for preschool. (n.d.). Retrieved from babycentre.:

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a554854/preparing-your-child-for-preschool#ixzz3kSY6CmSP

Reinen, K. B. (n.d.). Early childhood teacher. Retrieved from How to Organize for the First Day of Kindergarten: A Guide For New and Veteran

Teachers: http://www.earlychildhoodteacher.org/how-to-organize-for-the-first-day-of-kindergarten-a-guide-for-new-and-veteran-teachers/

Sejarah Trimulia. (2013). Retrieved from Sekolah Kristen Trimulia:

http://www.sekolahtrimulia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=art icle&id=4&Itemid=5

Stewart, D. J. (2012, January 6). The importance of a predictable routine in

preschool. Retrieved from Teach Preschool:

Overcoming My Difficulties in Handling Pupils with Separation Anxiety During Their First Week of School as a Teacher Assistant at TKK Trimulia HITS.

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A.

Background of the Study

B.

Identification of the Problem

C.

Objectives and Benefits of the Study

D.

Description of the Institution

E.

Method of the Study

F.

Limitation of the Study

G.

Organization of the Term Paper

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

REFERENCES