In several instances accompanying Minister of Primary and Secondary\nEducation Abdul Mu\u2019ti while receiving guests from government and private\ninstitutions, I sensed there are so many hopes pinned on the world of\neducation. Those who came expect educational institutions, particularly\nat the primary and secondary levels, to produce graduates who are not\nonly intellectually smart but also have character, noble morals, love\ntheir homeland, are anti-corruption fighters, disciplined in traffic,\nfree from drugs, and have a culture of clean and healthy living. They\ndid not only come with hopes but also brought supplementary books or\nlearning modules containing various materials. Among the interesting\nsupplementary books is one about creating a clean and healthy living\nenvironment in schools. This material aligns with the Ministry of\nPrimary and Secondary Education\u2019s programme to make schools a safe and\ncomfortable \u2018second home\u2019. In fact, to support this programme, Minister\nof Primary and Secondary Education Regulation Number 6 of 2026\nconcerning a Safe and Comfortable School Culture has been enacted.<\/p>\n
As part of a safe and comfortable school culture ecosystem, it is\nimportant for education units at every level to develop clean, green,\nand hygiene (CGH) material. CGH material is relevant for instilling\nawareness among the school community about the importance of caring for\nthe environment. By making the environment clean, green, and healthy,\neducational institutions are helping to address the problem of global\nwarming. Global warming occurs due to an increase in the average\ntemperature of the atmosphere, earth, and oceans as a result of human\nactivities that trigger the greenhouse effect. The impact is climate\nchange and disruption to the global ecosystem, threatening human\nhealth.<\/p>\n
The problem is that schools generally do not have sufficient land.\nChildren also find it difficult to find open spaces to socialise and\nplay. As a result, they feel bored if they stay at school for too long,\nespecially if the school environment is not clean and healthy. That is\nwhy CGH education is absolutely necessary. Making schools\nenvironmentally conscious can be achieved in simple ways. One is by\nplacing plants on the front terrace of the classroom. Although it seems\nsimple, many schools have not done this, even though it can make the air\nfeel fresh and the environment green.<\/p>\n
CGH education does not have to be understood as an independent\nsubject. This is because the material structure in the national\ncurriculum is already bloated. The alternative is that CGH material can\nbe inserted into relevant subjects. What is needed is a CGH\nsupplementary book or learning module. CGH material can also be taught\nauthentically, such as a teacher bringing in bins labelled for dry and\nwet waste or organic and inorganic waste. The teacher simply explains\nthe types of waste briefly. Subsequently, the children are invited to\nhunt for rubbish and put it in the correct bin according to its\ntype.<\/p>\n
Through authentic learning, environmentally conscious education\nmaterial does not have to be taught in the classroom. Children can be\ntaken on a walk to observe environmental problems occurring in and\naround the school. According to Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, this\nlearning model is called a constructivist paradigm. Through this method,\nchildren gain real experience, namely observing the environment,\ndiscovering the problems faced, and actively participating in\nformulating solutions. Children will find alternative answers from\ncollaborating with their friends.<\/p>\n
One of the important pillars of the deep learning approach is joyful\nlearning. Learning CGH material by taking children on a rubbish hunt is\none practice of joyful learning. There will certainly be many\ninteresting incidents discovered during the CGH learning process. If a\ncigarette butt is found, for instance, the school community will ask\neach other why there is still a smoking culture in an educational area,\neven though schools are zones that must be free from cigarettes.\nSimilarly, when scattered rubbish is found, the school community can\nremind each other. If CGH material learning is carried out correctly and\njoyfully, it can certainly build a culture of clean, green, and healthy\nliving. CGH material learning can also be done through extracurricular\nactivities, such as skills in using waste as a base material. As a\nfacilitator, the teacher can explain that dry waste types like plastic\nand paper are difficult to decompose. One way to deal with this is to\nuse plastic and paper as materials for various types of crafts. For wet\nwaste, children can learn to make compost that is beneficial for plants.\nMinister Abdul Mu\u2019ti stated that through a deep learning approach, for\nexample regarding waste utilisation, every teacher can teach students to\novercome the waste problem with reduce, reuse, recycle, and\nreproduce.<\/p>\n
Extracurricular activities in health can also be used as a medium for\nlearning CGH material through a handwashing with soap movement. The\nculture of handwashing with soap is important to instil from an early\nage. Children need to be convinced that washing hands alone is not\nenough, and that they must use soap to be cleaner. Through this\nlearning, children gain experience on the correct way and the important\ntimes to wash hands with soap. The important times to wash hands with\nsoap are before eating, after defecating, before holding a baby, before\nwiping a child, and before preparing food. The culture of handwashing\nwith soap may seem trivial, but it has many benefits. One of them is\nthat it can prevent the threat of diarrhoeal diseases, according to data\nfrom health agencies.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/environmentally-friendly-education-1782946221", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }