On 29 March, I visited Jahya and Siti at the Ideas Hub on Dover as part of College Connect. The team was preparing for the incoming crowd from the Junior School during their break time at 12.50pm. There are also groups of students from the Middle School and 2 parents volunteering to assist in facilitating.
According to Jahya and Siti, they can receive as many as 60 students at one time. Wednesday, for some reason, is a more popular day. Students will h
urry through their food and quickly make their way to the IDEAS Hub to continue to work on their creation or to find new things that will evoke their interest.
12.45pm: I look in the direction of the entrance. What I saw reminded me of the scene from the Walking Dead – The Zombie TV Series. Students standing in a row with both hands in fists, drumming the glass door and glass walls asking to be let in. I counted. There were a total of 29 of them. Thank god, it was a Thursday.
12.50pm: The door finally opened. They flew in, finding the spots where they could sit comfortably and working on whatever that was leftover from the day before or new ones recommended by the staff or parents.
Jahya was ve
ry busy with students drawing out laptops at the counter. Junior Schoolers and Laptops? Apparently, it is for coding! My jaw hit the floor when I heard they are coding. Siti was busy going around making sure the Middle Schoolers are doing their duties facilitating, helping others with their craft, and at the same time, ensuring that the safety measures were taken seriously.
Safety is very paramount at IDEAS Hub. Every nook and corner has either sharp tools or heavy equipment. It really takes much effort for Jahya and Siti, regardless of how busy, to keep emphasizing the safety reminder like a mantra.
Imagine 30, 60, or sometimes, more students busting in with all kinds of characters. I sat with 3 of them, cute as a button making a hairclip. “We just need to glue the ribbon to the clip. Simple enough.” However, the way they wanted it to be glued: how much glue to use? Was it too little or was it too much? Was the position secure enough? Would their mother like it? Would their father like it? Could they sell this? All 3 were talking at the same time.
They were cute as a button when we started, but ten minutes in and I could not wait to finish. Now imagine, all 30, 60, or more, doing the same thing with Jahya and Siti on a daily basis.
I asked them what their biggest challenge is. For Jahya, it is getting them to leave the place. Every day, he will have to coax, persuade and sweet talk them to leave on time. They will come up with all the classic excuses they can find in order to stay in.
Siti, on the other hand, has challenges in creating activities. Lots of factors have to be taken into account, such as the need to ensure that the activities continue to stay attractive and relevant.
1.20pm: Finally, all was quiet again. It was hard to believe that just half an hour ago, this place was tidy and proper. It was like a gush of the typhoon had passed the room. Jahya and Siti started resetting the place all over again for the next batch that would be coming in very soon.
I salute Jahya, Siti, and I am sure, Colin too (who was away in the Philippines at the moment) that, despite all the busy activities, their smiles never leave their faces.
My take-aways from these were:
- My newfound respect to my colleagues at the IDEAS Hub
- It is not easy to facilitate young students who have a short attention span and who can be very opinionated
- How I appreciate my peaceful and quiet office environment a lot more now than before
- I shared my experience as an event planner that Siti might want to consider adopting for her challenges with creativity
- L&D may want to consider partnering IDEAS Hub for a High-T programme on various craft and creativity for the colleagues.
Special thanks for hosting me to:
- Jahya Hufron, Ideas Hub Technician
- Siti Hani Rafiee, Programme Manager
written by Ann Ani, Professional Learning & Development team