October 28th was Youth Pledge Day commemorating the burgeoning spirit of nationalism in a bunch of visionary youths in the days of yore, long before our republic was officially born. It is a day when we expect the country’s young of today to be filled with similar ardour and to reflect on what wonderful nationalistic things they could do for the betterment and unity of this country.
It is in effect a day when we remind them to get off their backsides and start assuming the role of future leaders of this motherland of ours as wise, patriotic and responsible citizens. After all, if the youths of the old days could get together and come up with an incredible pledge of one nation, one people and one language, surely our bright, super-connected and sophisticated youngsters could achieve even more amazing feats in our efforts to create a better future for the whole country.
Kudos to those who try to revive the ‘Indonesia Unite’ spirit and stir pride in and love for the country in our hearts, even though the zeal only lasted as long as Twitter’s trending topic. At least there is a real effort there for breathing new life into that concept called ‘nation building’, which our present leaders seem to be oblivious to.
We have a government, yes. We also have lots of noisy and narrow-minded politicians. But where is that drive for nation building, that original pledge of uniting together in order to chase a common dream?
Even as we demand much from our young people, time and time again we fail in giving them the tools they need to build this country and the means for them to become strong, responsible and mature adults with integrity and capable of critical thinking. Which is a good education. Or rather, lack of it.
I only need to look at the younger members in my family and follow their painful struggle to get through their schooling to see how far the country’s education system is from serving them during their most critical years. For decades now this country’s education system and curriculums had undergone countless (and often mindless) chopping and changing depending on which education minister was in power, leaving the teachers confused, the pupils stressed out and the parents out of pocket with having to dole out so much money to pay for constantly-changing text books and mounting school paraphernalia.
Schools become a place not of learning, but a crucible to pass exams. But even that, the average state school cannot deliver. Instead, a schoolchild’s regular day would consist of getting up at the crack of dawn to make it to school before seven in the morning (because otherwise their presence on the road supposedly worsens Jakarta’s traffic situation), finishing in the afternoon, after which they attend a ‘les’ or ‘bimbel’ (‘bimbingan belajar’ or after school lessons) where the parents pay an arm and a leg for extra tuition so the children could understand the stuff they should have learned at school but for some reason didn’t, or at least not enough to help them pass their national exams.
(Rich parents opt out of the state school system altogether a fortune for private schools where their children get better quality education and learn to speak English better than they do Bahasa).
And what is exactly that they learn at school? Peeking at my niece’s schoolwork, it’s basically everything. And nothing. In the sense that they learn a lot of subjects but, because there are so many of them, none of significant depth. No wonder they need to have extra lessons. It must be hard to make sense of any of them unless they have somebody to help go over and point them to the right answers.
This I think is where the problem lies. Education is all about being able to give the right answers so you could pass your exam. That’s why cheating becomes a big issue come national exam time. And it is not just the students who cheat, but also teachers who could also leak answers so that the school would have a good passing rate.
The good thing is the government is beginning to catch on with the idea that education should be about nurturing inquisitiveness, creativity and critical thinking in the young, and not just rote learning or memorizing a set of formulas. Young minds are to be encouraged to ask questions, discuss among themselves and conduct their own research thus making the learning environment a productive and enjoyable one.
The problem now is the teachers and their own lack of the required teaching skills. It looks like they too are badly in need of a good education: more so than their students. Is it any wonder that there hasn’t been any significant advance in nation building. After all, what good nation could be built based upon ignorance?
(Desi Anwar: first published in The Jakarta Globe)
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tsw
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... Salah satu cara memupuk rasa nasionalisme adalah dengan mengatakan "Saya orang Indonesia" atau kira-kira dalam bahasa Inggris "I am Indonesian". Cara ini saya dapatkan beberapa tahun lalu, saat saya bekerja sebagai supir pribadi di negara tetangga. Mirip dengan negeri kita tercinta, negara tempat saya bekerja itu juga bervariasi penduduknya ada Cina, India, Melayu, Pakistan, Philipines, dll. Namun yang membuat saya kaget, majikan saya (yang memang Chinese), tidak mau dibilang Chinese. "Please dont say Chinese. We are Bruneians." Saya terhenyak. Betapa tingginya nasionalisme mereka! Nah, tentunya kita pun dapat berbangga mengatakan "I am Indonesian"! |
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