07/12/2018 UPH Fest
In addition to welcoming the new students, the 25th UPH Festival was also filled with programs for High School students and teachers. On the 15, 16 and 18 of August 2018, there were two classes of Teacher Seminar for High School teachers; one of them brought the topic about ?Make Way for I-Generation?.
This seminar is filled with tips for teachers in dealing with their students who are part of the I-Generation, or the Z-Generation, which are also known as the post millennial generation. This seminar was presented by Jiska Kristianto, an expert of the hospitality industry.
This session was opened with an introduction to the characteristics of Generation-Z, which might be quite known among teachers and educators. However, in order to learn the ways which can be used to face and deal with students with the Gen-Z characteristics, these teachers have to see from various field?s perspective in order to enrich their knowledge and skill.
Interestingly, in this session, the teachers are given tips from the hospitality perspective. According to Jiska, the term hospitality can be understood as ?warm-hearted and generous in receiving?. From that definition, we can understand that a good host always have to give the best quality of service, encouraged by the motivation to always be generous and warm-hearted.
?Imagine if you teachers are the host while you?re in class, and the students are your gust. Surely, when you are giving them the friendly and generous service, it doesn?t mean that you are lower than them. Because, if the principals of hospitality are applied correctly, the result would respect which you all gain from your students,? said Jiska.
She also added two important points in hospitality: good appearance and effective communication. Aside from that, before applying the principals of hospitality to the Gen-Z, teachers must know the positive and negative traits of this generation which might include the lack of ability to communicate verbally, egocentric and individualist, as well as the tendency to have a low EQ. On the other hand, teachers are encouraged to enhance the positive traits of this generation. Jiska mentioned a number of these traits such as the ability to fit new positions in various field of work, how they are very fitted to work in big companies and their rather high IQ.
?This knowledge is very important for you teachers, because maybe one day you might have a future leader of a huge company, future businessman or woman, and other important profession inside your class,? said Jiska.
Through this seminar, teachers are able to widen their perspective and knowledge about hospitality, which can also be applied in other field aside from the hospitality industry such as the education field.
This seminar has gotten positive responses from teachers coming from various school around Jabodetabek, some of them also came from Bandung and Cirebon. For about three days in total, the participants of the Teacher Seminar ?Make Way for I-Generation? have reached 108 people in number.
Following is a testimony from one of the teachers who participated in this seminar:
This topic is really great especially for people like me who don?t really have any background in pedagogy. Honestly, I do find difficulties in dealing with students from the millennial generation. Through this seminar, I become more assured about what my school chooses to do with students of the millennial generation. Some of the things we?ve done are already in line with the tips given, but we can also use other tips, and there are many new things that we can apply to our school. For me, UPH has given us teachers a really appropriate content for us teachers. (Ms. Prima, Vice Head Master and English Teacher, SMA Tunas Mulya, Gading Serpong)
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