He did it with a fellowship from the university’s East Asian Studies Center, completing an inspiring internship with two Indonesian schools that have long facilitated these types of experiences for Ohio State students.
Sydney Hoang is a fellow primary education major who joined Johnson on the trip. Both had past study abroad opportunities fall through. Now, they finally got the chance to follow their curiosity. “I could easily learn through Google,” Hoang said, “but I knew just being there up close and seeing it with my own eyes would be really life changing.”
The internship brought Buckeyes to Bali. Johnson, Hoang and two more education majors from the Columbus campus spent six weeks together on the inimitable Indonesian island. It harbors both Bali Mandara public boarding school, which is committed to educating children from the island’s lowest income families, and Undiksha University, which fosters future teachers.
The Buckeyes blended right in. They observed classes and helped plan lessons. They sang along with songs and joined activities. They confronted their “preconceived notions about how to teach and manage a classroom,” Johnson said. “And as different as everything is, they still talked about the same theories of education. It was fascinating. We built a lot of relationships with current and future educators.”
They formed fun relationships outside of school too. Their driver spoke English and often invited them to family dinner. They got invited to dance at street festivals too. They tried to truly ingrain themselves, and Johnson said they were “taken in with open arms. It’s just the culture there, and it was remarkable to me. They're so gracious and kind. It's a great sense of community.”
It's that kind of accepting community Johnson and Hoang hope to create as future educators. With their student teaching stints starting this autumn, they picked the perfect time to take in new perspectives. “I’m excited about bringing the different learning styles and activities I saw there into my classroom,” Hoang said. “They really do prioritize collaboration. I learned some project-based learning techniques I could do with my students.”
The impact goes further than their future classrooms, though. Johnson and Hoang had their whole worldview changed. They saw students from poverty learn and live alongside students from royalty. They made traditional offerings before meals. They tried homemade remedies to relieve stomachaches. They heard firsthand what hopes and dreams are held by people on the other side of the planet. “We saw the real Bali — how the people live, the different perspectives they have there,” Johnson said. “It’s just not something that a university in Ohio can replicate.”
That’s why Hoang’s family had to go see it for themselves. They vacationed altogether in Indonesia for a week after the internship ended. It might not be the last time Hoang plays host in another hemisphere. “I’m thinking about teaching abroad one day,” she said. “This experience opened my mind.”
As for Johnson’s family, they clearly know the kind of teacher he can be. But they couldn’t have possibly known how much more prepared he would become by voyaging abroad. Frankly, it was a welcome surprise to him too. “I was expecting it,” Johnson said, “but I don't think I was ready for just how much this experience expanded my worldview.”