Teaching Model of the Algemeene Middelbare School A-1 Eastern Literature Major (AMS A-1) in Solo, 1926-1932

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the development of the teaching model used and developed at the Algemeene Middelbare School A-1 (AMS A-1), majoring in Eastern Literature. The AMS A-1 in Solo in the Dutch East Indies was a unique historical phenomenon in colonial education. The teachers at this educational institution, which was created by the colonial government in 1926, developed an interactive teaching model inside and outside of class. This article uses the historical method to analyze its development and influence on the students. Teaching outside class was a new concept in the early 20th century in the colonized Indonesian archipelago, because the learning process usually only occurred inside classes and laboratories. The AMS A-1 senior high school students were invited on annual field trips to visit the temples their ancestors built, forming their cultural heritage. The goal of this model was to see up close indigenous cultural heritage, which they normally only knew from their textbooks, to dispel traditional myths about the places, and to further the bond between student and teacher. Besides that, it created a certain pride when learning about this heritage. This learning activity implicated the growth of Indonesian cultural nationalism, which became a means to push back against colonialism. The AMS A-1 institution thus became a boomerang for the Dutch colonial government.