Right education for building a democracy<\/p>\n
By A. Chaedar Alwasilah<\/p>\n
Democracy is like a raft. It never sinks, but, damn it, your
\nfeet are always in the water. -- D.W. Brogan, The Free State.<\/p>\n
BANDUNG (JP): The fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union
\nwas perceived as a symbol of supremacy of democracy over
\ncommunism. The contemporary world witnessed these historic events
\nwith astonishment and now believes democracy is the most valid
\nform of government.<\/p>\n
Democracy enhances the development of human potential in
\nvarious aspects, through equality of access to education and
\nactive participation in all walks of life. The trend is
\nparticularly evident in recent years.<\/p>\n
At home, Soeharto's downfall last year marked the beginning of
\nthe democracy era. Indeed not until May 1998 did the Indonesian
\npeople gain independence from their own ruler. It took years of
\nhardship, suffering and incessant struggle to drive him to step
\ndown, yet there will be more years of trouble and effort ahead of
\nus to maintain democracy as the sole teaching and the very
\nfoundation for building the nation.<\/p>\n
Democracy presumes the existence of enlightened and rational
\ncitizens, respect for human dignity, equality and commitment to
\nwork together toward a common end. A theory says that these
\nvalues are truly in accord with the pillars of the state
\nideology, Pancasila, a genuine concept unearthed from the soil of
\nthe newly founded Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the concept was buried again for decades. The
\nbiggest agenda of the country on entering the third millennium is
\nindeed educating the bureaucrats how to exercise democracy.<\/p>\n
Why the bureaucrats?<\/p>\n
In Max Weber's framework, bureaucracy leads to antidemocracy.
\nIncreasingly complex problems of coordination and regulation
\ncause expansion of the state, as much as government becomes the
\nbiggest bureaucracy in the society. Weber alerts us to the
\nantidemocracy potential inherent in the ruling bureaucracy,
\nnamely the ruling group aspiring to maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n
How is education for democracy carried out? First of all, in
\ndemocratic countries all citizens are entitled to basic
\neducation. The government should provide them with basic
\neducation. Second, the sustainability of democracy is assured by
\ndint of education, namely basic education for all and lifelong
\neducation, both of which should be promoted in a democratic
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
The burning question is: Have all the citizens received basic
\neducation yet? Unfortunately, the answer is negative.<\/p>\n
In 1997 alone, according to data from the Ministry of
\nEducation and Culture, the school-age population, ranging from
\nelementary to high school levels, was 52.7 million, while the
\nnumber of school dropouts was 17.5 million. Now, as the country
\nendures social conflicts and economic collapse, many more youths
\nwill swell the number of school dropouts. The statistics tell us
\nthat so far the government is not able to provide citizens with
\nbasic education, thus indicating democracy is not fully exercised
\nyet.<\/p>\n
Lifelong education suggests the completion of formal education
\nis not the end of education. It presupposes the formation of a
\nlearning society, one where ongoing learning activities will be
\nbroadly embraced. Opportunities for lifelong education should be
\nmade available to the greater number of citizens as part of the
\nright to education, and not be restricted to a few.<\/p>\n
To be successful, lifelong education must be based on basic
\neducation during which students will have acquired basic learning
\nand language skills to enable them to make good use of available
\nopportunities of continued learning. Outside school walls, there
\nconstitutes a lifelong learning laboratory in which democracy is
\nlearned and exercised. It is in this laboratory that the values
\nof dignity, equality, mutual trust, appreciation of others'
\nbelief and culture and freedom of expression are observed.<\/p>\n
The goal of education for democracy is essentially to enhance
\nthe human qualities imbued with the values mentioned above, i.e.,
\nto make those values internalized in the citizens, so that they
\ncan fully participate in all aspects of life, including
\ndemocratic decision-making at all levels that will lead to
\nequality, justice and peace.<\/p>\n
How should the goals above be operationalized in the
\ncurriculum? The content areas of education for democracy include
\nthe following.<\/p>\n
* Information and knowledge on democratic principles, various
\nforms of democratic governance, political institutions and
\ndemocracy in practice, democratic ways of life including
\nnonviolent conflict resolution, dialog and consultation,
\ncollective decision-making and cooperation.<\/p>\n
* Attitude and values to be inculcated to promote democracy in
\ndaily life. This comprises mutual trust, belief in human dignity,
\nequality, freedom of expression, recognition of other's rights,
\nespecially of minorities and the deprived, belief in
\nparticipation, cooperation and the need for sharing and caring.<\/p>\n
The upcoming general election under Habibie's administration
\nwill be his greatest lesson on democracy to all the citizens of
\nIndonesia, and the whole world as an eyewitness. High school
\nstudents, as well as other citizens, will go to the ballot to
\nexercise long-awaited democracy. The nation has learned a lot
\nabout democracy but, unfortunately, there have been no good
\nteachers. Unless the general election is carried out fairly,
\neducation for democracy held in the classroom will contribute
\nnothing to political maturation at home.<\/p>\n
What skills are to be taught to students? To practice
\ndemocracy, they should have skills of expression and
\narticulation, dialog, consultation, participation, teamwork and
\ncooperation, negotiation, decision-making and peaceful solution
\nof problems. Education for democracy is a continuing process;
\nappropriately introduced at all levels and forms of education
\nthrough an integrated approach or through special subjects. These
\nskills are to be taught not by civics or social studies teachers
\nalone, but teachers of all school subjects. Those skills are
\nessentially communication skills instrumental for transferring
\nand developing knowledge.<\/p>\n
Teaching democracy across the curriculum entails
\nreconstructing textbooks, with major emphasis on the value of
\nbuilding challenges to student's thinking rather than emphasizing
\nonly factual information with indoctrinating overtones, a common
\ncharacteristic of textbooks during the New Order.<\/p>\n
Basic to developing democratic ethos and attitudes is
\nreflective thinking as the means through which curricular
\nelements are unified. Teachers transfer knowledge to their
\nstudents in democratic ways, where students are free to
\narticulate their opinion and even to disagree with the teachers.
\nBoth teachers and students agree that truth is never final and
\nalways negotiable.<\/p>\n
Developed in the classroom, reflection is extended to social
\nproblem solving. In other words, reflective thinking is the
\ntesting of conclusion through application. Once they are taught
\nthe meaning of Pancasila democracy, for example, the students
\nwill critically observe whether the 1999 general election is
\ncarried out fairly. And if it is not, like those during the New
\nOrder period, Pancasila will not be perceived as a valid form of
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Language teachers play major roles in developing communication
\nskills for "doing" democracy. Verbal skills are particularly
\nessential in developing competence for engaging in dialog,
\nnegotiation, teamwork, cooperation and collective decision-
\nmaking. Indonesia is culturally rich in languages, religions,
\nmusic, arts, literature, dance and games. These constitute
\nthemes, topic, and materials to be adopted and adapted for
\nteaching democracy. It is in diversity that democracy counts a
\ngreat deal.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lecturer at Bandung Teachers Training
\nInstitute, West Java<\/p>",
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