Muthahhari enlivened by classical music<\/p>\n
By Rikza Abdullah<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): Muthia and her colleagues from various parts of
\nthe country find a fresh but challenging learning environment in
\ntheir new school here as they are exposed in the classrooms to
\nbaroque classical music while listening to their teachers
\nexplaining lessons in English with visual aids.<\/p>\n
\"Listening to all our lessons in English, except those on
\nIndonesian and Arabic, is challenging to us but we continue to
\nfeel relaxed and fresh the whole school day because the music
\nhelps reinvigorate our spirit,\" she said here earlier this week.<\/p>\n
Headmaster Yusuf Bachtiar said that music, according to the
\nquantum teaching and learning method, is part of the requirements
\nfor creating a conducive environment.<\/p>\n
To create physically conducive conditions, the Muthahhari
\nSenior High School has equipped each of its classrooms with easy-
\nto-move chairs, a centralized sound system, black and white
\nboards, an air-conditioner, an overhead projector, flowers and
\nvisual aids. All the walls are painted brownish red, a color that
\nis said to stimulate the blood flow.<\/p>\n
Listening to music during the learning process in the
\nclassroom is deemed important to balance the activities of both
\nsides of the human brain. Because most communication in the
\nclassroom is conveyed in verbal and written forms, the learning
\nprocess activates the left side of the brain, which is
\nresponsible for logical, sequential, linear and rational
\nthoughts . Meanwhile, music will activate the right side of the
\nbrain, which can recognize non-verbal messages like music, art,
\ncolors and space.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the learning process raises blood pressure,
\nintensifies brain waves and increases muscle tension, while music
\ncan help reduce all of these. Musical works that are most
\nsuitable for accompanying students in their learning are those
\ncomposed by Sebastian Bach, Handel, Pachelbel and Vivaldi, whose
\nrhythms are synchronized with the heartbeat.<\/p>\n
\"The relaxation brought about by the music, therefore, will
\nhelp students to continue to concentrate on their lessons,\"
\ncommented deputy headmaster Asep Durahman.<\/p>\n
He said that to create a conducive environment for learning,
\nMuthahhari also engineers the psychosocial environment of the
\nschool by, among other things, developing warm relations between
\nteachers and students, respecting the privacy of students and
\nrecognizing the strengths of individual students.<\/p>\n
The students' weaknesses are not disclosed publicly, so that
\nthey will not feel disgraced. Teachers, therefore, keep the
\nresults of the students' exams confidential and do not announce
\nthem on notice boards.<\/p>\n
A positive competitive environment is created through
\ncelebrations for students who have notched up outstanding
\nachievements in the academic or other fields. Thus, the self-
\nconfidence of students' can be developed.<\/p>\n
Shulhu Khoiriyah of the third grade said students are also
\nallowed to eat snacks or have a drink in the classroom.<\/p>\n
Yusuf said Muthahhari has chosen to adopt the quantum method,
\nwhich was first introduced by Bobbi DePorter and Mike Hernacki in
\nSan Diego, the United States, in the 1980s, because it combines
\nvarious methods in order to optimize learning results.<\/p>\n
\"Besides the quantum method, we are actually also employing
\nthe role-model and riyadhah (spiritual exercise) methods,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Under the role-model method, stories about certain religious
\nfigures or scientists are narrated to students, so that they can
\nbe used as models of achievement. Teachers are also encouraged to
\nact as role models for their students. Also under this method,
\nstudents of the second grade are given an opportunity to visit
\nprofessional persons, whose positions become their ideals, to
\ninterview them about their job descriptions as well as good and
\nbad experiences in doing their jobs.<\/p>\n
With the riyadhah method, students are expected to develop
\ntheir religious feelings together with their empathy for others.<\/p>\n
On Wednesdays, Muthahhari students are allowed to learn
\nsubjects of their own choice, which are not included in the
\nschool's curriculum. Some of them learn music and dance while
\nothers learn foreign languages.<\/p>\n
The teaching methods introduced by Muthahhari have apparently
\nencouraged parents to send their children there, so that the
\nschool was forced to close its doors to new enrollments in the
\nmiddle of May, long before state-run senior high schools had even
\nstarted enrolling new students. Because the number of this year's
\napplicants was so high, the school was also forced to open five
\nnew classrooms accommodating 35 students each, instead of the
\nthree originally planned.<\/p>\n
Realizing that a large part of its students come from Jakarta
\n(31 percent as compared to 25 percent from Bandung and 44 percent
\nfrom other parts of the country), Muthahhari is now opening new
\nclasses in the capital, where a new school complex will
\neventually be built, Yusuf said.<\/p>\n
Jalaluddin Rachmat. a co-founder of the school, said that
\nrecruiting teachers is a tough job because they must be able to
\ndeliver their lessons in English and satisfy the requirements for
\nteaching the quantum method.<\/p>\n
\"To select qualified teachers, we also allow students to
\ncriticize their performance openly,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Yusuf acknowledged that the costs to running the school with
\nsome 400 students is so high that it usually suffers a deficit of
\nsome Rp 300 million (US$33,333) a year, which is normally covered
\nby donors.<\/p>\n
\"We once wanted to ask for financial aid from the Islamic
\nDevelopment Bank and the Asian Development Bank but the complex
\nbureaucratic procedures for processing the application
\ndiscouraged us,\" he said.<\/p>",
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