An-Nisaa: Instilling values for leadership<\/p>\n
Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Banten<\/p>\n
\"Let those ...<\/p>\n
Have the same fear in their minds<\/p>\n
As they would have for their own<\/p>\n
If they had left a helpless family behind:<\/p>\n
Let them fear God ...\"<\/p>\n
-- The Holy Koran, An'Nisaa: 9, A. Yusuf Ali trans.<\/p>\n
Brilliant white buildings with turquoise trim rise behind the
\nsmall auto service shops that crowd Jl. Raya Jombang in Bintaro,
\nBanten. The spacious and cool halls inside ring with the animated
\nvoices and laughter of children.<\/p>\n
This is Yayasan Pendidikan Islam Ibuku (Islamic Education
\nFoundation of My Mother) An-Nisaa, the brainchild of husband-wife
\nfounders Rasyid Izada and Rosfia Rasyid.<\/p>\n
The school was established in 1995, initially as a
\nkindergarten with only 22 students. Ten years later, its
\nreputation spreading by word-of-mouth, An-Nisaa has expanded to a
\nstudent body of 840 and offers preschool to junior high school
\neducation.<\/p>\n
\"I was approaching retirement in 1995 when I saw a moral and
\nspiritual crisis brewing in society,\" said Rasyid, formerly an
\neconomist with Bank Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"It was a crisis caused by those of the upper echelon seeking
\npower, money and personal wealth without guilt, shame nor moral
\nreflection, and it aroused in me a great concern as to what will
\nbe the future of Indonesia. What would the national condition be
\nin 10, 20, 30 years?<\/p>\n
\"The condition then was so far from the example set forth by
\nour founding fathers, I was compelled to correct it, to do
\nsomething of national value, but what?\"<\/p>\n
Rasyid homed in on education as the means to instill the
\nspiritual and moral values necessary to generate true leaders,
\nand in consultation with his wife Rosfia, a life-long educator,
\nthey decided to open a kindergarten.<\/p>\n
\"By university or senior high school, a student's character is
\nalready set -- we realized we had to start at a young age, during
\ntheir formative years,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Formerly a senior high school teacher at the renowned Pangudi
\nLuhur Catholic boys school and an informal religious advisor who
\nprovides dakwa -- real-life applications of the Koranic text --
\nRosfia obtained a certificate in toddler and childhood education
\nin preparation for the school.<\/p>\n
\"We had a plan, but now, what to name the school?\" said
\nRasyid.<\/p>\n
Rasyid wanted to build the school in the memory of his mother,
\nwhom he had lost when he was but five or six months old, so An-
\nNisaa -- taken from the Koranic Letter of An'nisaa that expounds
\non the attributes and behavior of women -- was the only apt
\nchoice.<\/p>\n
\"We wanted to give students a spiritual and moral foundation.
\nAnd the moral spine of a family is typically the mother, who is
\nthe closest to children and has the most influence on them
\nthrough daily interaction,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The school logo also stands testament to this ideal, with a
\nsilhouette of a mother figure leading a daughter and a son to a
\nmosque -- which had a historical role as the center of a
\ncommunity, with governmental, social and educational functions.<\/p>\n
While An-Nisaa is an Islamic school, Rasyid is careful to
\nunderline that it is not a religious school.<\/p>\n
\"Our mission is to provide students with the skills they need
\nto survive in the world and succeed as individuals and so lead
\nothers,\" he said. \"Our motto is that it is a sin to leave the
\nnext generation without education, without moral values.\"<\/p>\n
An-Nisaa is based on select components of the national
\ncurriculum and employs the active learning method, monitoring the
\nstudents' development through the intelligence, emotional,
\nspiritual and adversity quotients. The last is a measure of an
\nindividual's ability to face challenges as opportunities.<\/p>\n
Its teachers are also expected to be role models by applying
\nthe values they teach. With classes kept small -- junior high
\nclasses have a teacher-student ratio of 1:24 with a target of
\n1:17 -- teachers are able to provide individual attention to
\ntheir students.<\/p>\n
\"We have also incorporated the Living Values Activities
\neducational series to teach universal values,\" said Rosfia, such
\nas appreciating all living things, basic hygiene and being kind
\nto others.<\/p>\n
One unique program at An-Nisaa is the Orientasi Dunia Kerja
\n(ODK, orientation to the world of work), a work experience
\nprogram under which students and supervising teachers spend three
\ndays in a particular field, getting hands-on experience in what
\n\"working for a living\" entails. Previous programs have taken
\nstudents to the \"classrooms\" of rice paddies, factories and
\nbookstores.<\/p>\n
The school also has a cultural week that provides a platform
\nfor cultural exchange through joint activities between An-Nisaa
\nand foreign schools.<\/p>\n
\"Just recently, our students took part in JJS' weekend camp
\nand enjoyed it very much,\" said Rasyid, referring to the Jakarta
\nJapanese School. \"They get along like peers, and you can see
\ntheir sense of self-worth grow as they realize they are equals,
\nthat people are the same everywhere in the world.\"<\/p>\n
\"Some of our students explained what we mean when we say
\nAssalaamu'alaikum in greeting -- 'God bless you' -- and it is
\nthis kind of exchange that is the first step to understanding.\"<\/p>\n
Parents are also an active part of the school, participating
\nfield trips, on an ODK program and other events, and the An-
\nNisaa's distinct teal uniforms were designed by the parent-
\nteacher association.<\/p>\n
An-Nisaa is preparing to send off its first graduating class
\n-- and some of the students have been at the school since the day
\nit opened its doors -- with anticipation and anxiety. Most
\ngraduates are expected to enter private or national-plus senior
\nhigh schools in Jakarta, but this is no easy task for non-Jakarta
\nstudents, as many top-notch schools in the capital have a 5
\npercent enrollment quota for students from \"outside\".<\/p>\n
Opening a senior high school is still out of reach, but the
\ngreat hope is that An-Nisaa's students will carry their knowledge
\nwith them and pass this on to the following generations.<\/p>\n
As Rasyid said, \"We hope we have been able to provide them
\nwith the building blocks to true leadership, the kind needed to
\nstand up for one's beliefs, have faith in their rights as human
\nbeings and in so doing, to lead the nation.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/an-nisaa-instilling-values-for-leadership-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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