MIMPI helps students get dream school<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Megamendung, Bogor<\/p>\n
Pink Floyd's front man Roger Waters sang \"We don't need no
\neducation\" in the 1979 hit Another Brick in The Wall, which
\ninspired millions of angst-ridden teenagers all over the globe.<\/p>\n
Almost two decades later in 1998, director Robert Rodriguez
\nused the song for his teen flick The Faculty.<\/p>\n
While the impact of the song was not as strongly felt as it
\nwas 20 years ago, it still sounds appropriate even now.<\/p>\n
Except for those enlightened students who have encouraged
\nthemselves to continue schooling and study hard, formal education
\nis still daunting for the rest of them.<\/p>\n
Many people struggle through their school years, trying to
\nfind out just how on earth trigonometry will make their future
\nbetter.<\/p>\n
Aiko Senosoenoto, the chairwoman of the advisory board of
\nBuddha Dharma Indonesia (BDI), said many teenagers were becoming
\nmore and more unwilling to go to school.<\/p>\n
\"In many provinces, the number of school dropouts has
\nincreased. In most cases, it's not because they can't afford the
\ntuition fee -- they just don't like it. Many students want to
\ndrop out during junior high school, thinking they can still find
\njobs and money without getting a degree,\" said Aiko, who is also
\nan abbot and chairwoman of the prominent local dance company
\nEksotika Karmawibhangga Indonesia (EKI).<\/p>\n
Concerned with the problem, Aiko and BDI used school as the
\ntheme of this year's annual Buddha youth meeting called Reaching
\nthe Independent Inspirations of Indonesian Youth (MIMPI).<\/p>\n
\"MIMPI is aimed at educating young people to be brave, to aim
\nas high as possible in their dreams,\" Aiko said.<\/p>\n
Last year's MIMPI theme was political parties, a kind of
\nsimulation where participants established their own parties and
\njury then chose who had the best party.<\/p>\n
This year, some 600 participants aged between 13 and 30 from
\nall over the place gathered together early this month for a week
\nat the Sadaparibhuta Vihara complex in Megamendung.<\/p>\n
Three months earlier, they were asked to submit a proposal of
\nan ideal school, complete with curriculum, profiles of the
\nteachers, the management and financial outlook.<\/p>\n
Out of the 66 proposals, three were chosen to be realized
\nduring the Mimpi meeting at Megamendung.<\/p>\n
The first school was the Creativity Intelligence School, which
\nencouraged its students to be creative and not afraid to change
\nthrough classes, such as music and drawing.<\/p>\n
The second one was a writing school called Bengkel Tiga Jari
\n(Three-finger Workshop).<\/p>\n
The last one was called the Baby Face School, which was aimed
\nat producing young positive thinkers.<\/p>\n
Throughout the week, the principals and their teams from each
\nschool ran a campaign to attract students, find investors and
\nalso teachers.<\/p>\n
After that, school began, with students attending classes as
\nthey usually would, from morning to afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"We helped them find teachers and bring them here,\" said Aiko,
\nreferring to the famous names ranging from puppeteer\/singer
\nSujiwo Tejo to actress Lola Amaria.<\/p>\n
At the end of the week, the \"government\" or jury from BDI
\nchose the writing school as the winner.<\/p>\n
\"It was the most specific and focused school. It taught a
\nskill that's important in developing one's self-confidence,\" Aiko
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The school is also unique because its principal, Agus Priyono,
\n26, had not finished high school, saying \"it was monotonous\".<\/p>\n
He had worked at BDI, and later found a job as manager of a
\nwayang suket (grass puppet) group.<\/p>\n
\"But when the group demanded better management, I couldn't
\nprovide it because I was not educated. I'm also not confident in
\ndating girls,\" he said.<\/p>\n
As for writing, Agus said he found that many students were
\nweak in thinking systematically.<\/p>\n
\"And I think writing is a media which helps a lot in our way
\nof thinking and solving problems,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He, however, stumbled upon the fact that writing was
\nintimidating for many students. Agus got an enrollment of only
\n105 students out of the 600 participants.<\/p>\n
\"Therefore, I wanted to motivate my friends, and myself, to
\nwrite more,\" he said.<\/p>\n
After the program, he said he would take a high school
\nequivalency test and study at college, or at least take some
\ncourses.<\/p>\n
\"I also want to put together some programs for back in my
\nvillage, to help those illiterate farmers to read and write. A
\nlot of times, they suffer financial losses because they don't
\nread the paper. They plant cloves, for example, not knowing that
\nthe price has dropped. I want to help them.\"<\/p>\n
And what about Agus' fellow participants?<\/p>\n
According to the head of the organizing committee, Aman
\nUtario, the kids are high-spirited, especially those from outside
\nof Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But will the students leave the program with a greater
\nappreciation for school and a greater willingness to study?<\/p>\n
One of the participants only smiled when asked that. But then
\nagain, the students are not the ones to be blamed if school turns
\nout to be boring rather than inspiring.<\/p>",
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