Drawing a Helicopter

Yayasan Pendidikan Harapan Papua believes in critical thinking: inviting students to explore alternatives they can discover themselves instead of rote learning: providing the answers to students to memorize and recall the information.

One way to develop critical thinking is by creating through observation. The photo above is taken at Sekolah Lentera Harapan in the village of Mamit. During “transportation week,” where children learn about modes of transportation, a teacher takes his students to sit by the runway with their pencil and paper and wait for the helicopter to land. As soon as it lands, children begin sketching the helicopter. They then learn about the helicopter parts and what makes them fly and work together to create a simple poster on their classroom wall.

Just months ago, most of these children have never held a pencil in their hands. And yet, during this class, they were able to draw such detailed and immaculate images based on their observation. A testament that these students do not lack intelligence; they simply need education. May they continue to learn and grow in intellect and confidence to achieve their dreams.