All over the world, managing a schools can be a real challenge<\/p>\n
Simon Marcus Gower, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It seems as though the management of schools, and the
\nschooling system, in Indonesia is constantly facing problems and
\ndifficulties: It is not achieving standards; that it is not
\npreparing students for the world of today; and even that many
\nschools are the subject of malpractices and corrupt and collusive
\nbehavior that forms an obstacle to progress.<\/p>\n
It is very easy, and quite common, when considering matters of
\ndifficulty to exercise negativity that only makes matters worse.
\nWe should have a breadth to our thinking that allows us to
\nrealize the nature of our problems and apply a realistic and
\npositive approach to finding solutions.<\/p>\n
Perhaps too often we permit ourselves to wallow in the realms
\nof negativity that undermines the chances of solutions being
\nfound. It is true that there are problems for education in
\nIndonesia but it is equally true that there are significant
\nproblems for education in countries all around the world and
\nbeing aware of this can help understand the problems being met
\nand assist in the realization that they are not unique.<\/p>\n
People have a tendency to apply the mentality that \"the grass
\nis greener on the other-side of the fence\". For example, people
\nin Indonesia will consistently look to Western countries as an
\nexample of a good place for schools and schooling.<\/p>\n
But a shallow and simple analysis of the Western approach to
\nschooling and school systems should not be allowed to bring
\npeople to the naive conclusion that all is well in education
\nthere and all is not well here in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Examples can be found in this system of education of
\ninstitutes in which children have access to outdated, ill-
\nequipped and insufficient libraries. School libraries can often
\nbe found that have encyclopedias that are thirty or forty years
\nout of date and books that are in terrible need of repair. School
\nbuildings can be found that are decrepit and effectively falling
\ndown.<\/p>\n
Worse still many schools in this system of education are
\nplaces of danger and great concern for the students attending
\nthem. For example -- many schools are known to be places of risk
\nat which there is the danger that children are going to be
\nexposed to drugs and drug taking. On top of this when visiting
\nsome schools within this school system, to enter in to the school
\npremises it is necessary to pass through a metal detecting device
\nwhich most of us would only recognize from airport security
\nsystems.<\/p>\n
In short, it is possible to see that schools can be places of
\ngreat concern for the health and welfare of the students
\nattending them. Conditions such as this have to be gravely
\nconcerning and would perhaps leave us with feelings of great
\ndismay and disappointment for the condition of our schools.<\/p>\n
The conditions being described above are in fact conditions
\nthat maybe encountered in schools in the United States of
\nAmerica. Of course, these are worst case scenarios; these are the
\nvery worst of conditions that can be experienced at schools
\nthere. It would be wrong to think that all schools in America
\nsuffer from conditions such as this; but it is the fact that
\nthese awful conditions do exist.<\/p>\n
Many people in Indonesia would quite easily and quickly look
\nto America as a model for education that this country could and
\nperhaps even should follow; but perhaps they would not be quite
\nso quick to see the kind of problems that America too faces in
\nits education system. We do have to be realistic and honest about
\nthe problems that exist in bringing education to people through
\nthe schooling system.<\/p>\n
Criticisms that schools are not providing the right kind of
\nformula to prepare students for the life that lies ahead of them
\nare consistent throughout the world and represent the nature of
\nthe challenge of bringing education to people for the twenty
\nfirst century. There is a growing recognition throughout the
\nworld that the model of education that is applied in schools
\nneeds to be, practically, constantly updated and improved.<\/p>\n
Again, in Indonesia the following thoughts would probably be
\nseen as familiar and an area that does need to be addressed here:
\nSchool students are consistently under pressure and stressed out
\nby the need to perform in school. They are most often required to
\nsimply regurgitate the knowledge and answers that the teachers
\nrequire of them.<\/p>\n
They are most typically required to not to \"rock the boat\".
\nThey are basically required to do as they are told; not to think
\nbut simply accept what is given to them and not to question
\nauthority. The single aim is that they do what is sufficient and
\nrequired of them to pass the necessary examinations.<\/p>\n
This kind of approach to education would, most likely, be seen
\nas something that is not really acceptable and that is, in
\neffect, part of the problem not part of the solution for
\neducation in 2004. And yet those observations of a school system
\nthat simply requires students to not \"rock the boat\" and do as
\nthey are told and not question are based on an examination of the
\nschool system in the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n
It can, then, clearly be seen that problems and challenges
\nremain for even the most \"developed\" of nations and their school
\nsystems. Indonesia is experiencing difficulties in rendering its
\nsystem of education but this is understandable and, in a very
\nreal sense, it is right. Problems and challenges are,
\neffectively, at the heart of all education systems and schools.
\nBut the hearts and minds of many should be involved in seeking
\nsolutions and rising to the challenges.<\/p>\n
The writer is Executive Principal of the High\/Scope Indonesia
\nSchool. The opinions expressed above are personal.<\/p>",
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