The story of an alternative school<\/p>\n
Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
With his fur hat always perched on his head like Robinson Crusoe,
\nthis bespectacled gentleman is invariably the center of attention
\nwhen he speaks in a seminar.<\/p>\n
As a story teller, Machidus Sururi Ibnoe Sayy seems to know
\nevery trick to keep the audience glued. However, there is also
\nsomething else that makes the audience all the more curious about
\nhim: his controversial decision not to give his children formal
\nschooling.<\/p>\n
\"I will not send my children to school as long as our
\neducation paradigm remains as it is today,\" said Kak Wees, as He
\nis affectionately called, during a seminar on story-telling and
\neducation in Yogyakarta early this month.<\/p>\n
Kak Wees says that education in Indonesia has failed to
\ninculcate the ability to think critically in children. Schools,
\nhe says, have detached children from their cultural roots and
\nturned out graduates that lack independence and creativity.<\/p>\n
His youngest child, Hamdi, 7, does not go to school while the
\nhis elder brother has only elementary school education.<\/p>\n
\"They learn with me at home,\" said Kak Wees, who himself only
\nhas an elementary school diploma. When you visit his house in
\nSewon, Bantul, however, you will occasionally hear his children
\nspeak English with their parents.<\/p>\n
Few actually know that Kak Wees is, in a way, an expert in
\neducation. This is because he is better known as a rather
\nbohemian artist normally to be in the Ismail Marzuki Cultural
\nPark in Jakarta. In 1980 and 1981, he earned awards as the best
\npoetry reader from the Jakarta Arts Council, and in 1982 the same
\narts council named him the best prose reader. Among children, he
\nis known as a riveting story teller. In 2001, the All-Indonesia
\nAssociation of Journalists (PWI)'s Yogyakarta chapter named him
\nas its choice of best story teller.<\/p>\n
He may be Indonesia's only professional story teller. For him,
\nstory-telling is not merely telling a story to other people but
\nit is also the world's oldest medium of education, devoid of any
\npretensions that the story teller is a Mr. Know-It-All. When
\nlistening to story-telling, children learn to appreciate
\nliterature, become more mentally mature, strengthen their
\nspiritual relationships with the story tellers, who may be their
\nown parents, and develop their powers of imagination, things that
\nhelp boost the creative sides of mind.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many have now forgotten that story-telling is a
\nmedium of education. To preserve this oldest educational medium,
\nKak Wees and his wife, Lusiana Sabariah, set up the Indonesian
\nStory-Telling House Institute (LRDI) in 1991. It is hoped that
\nthis institute will help give birth to a new crop of story
\ntellers and initiate more story-telling activities to foster
\nchildren's creativity.<\/p>\n
As he feels deeply concerned over Indonesia's disorderly and
\ncommercial education system, and its failure to turn out people
\nwho are able to think for themselves, Kak Wees, his wife and his
\nfriends set up \"an alternative school\", called the Village
\nInstitute and School for Autonomy, in January 2003.<\/p>\n
The school aims to develop children's cognitive capacities and
\nskills.<\/p>\n
This educational experiment is housed out in the Madrasah
\nIbtidaiyah, an Islamic elementary school, in Sorogenen hamlet,
\nBantul, Yogyakarta. \"Our concept is based on education that is
\nsupported by 3 pillars, namely education at home, at school and
\nin the community,\" said Kak Wees, adding that he had been invited
\nto South Africa to put this idea into practice.<\/p>\n
Under this concept, a child's educational experience spans the
\nperiod from when he wakes up until he goes to bed every day. His
\nparents and his community are his teachers. The local community
\nnear the school (the Sorogenen school) has also jointly agreed to
\nrestrict when their children can watch the television. They keep
\na tight watch over TV programs, including commercials advertising
\nfood product for children.<\/p>\n
When at home, a child will, for example, be required to do
\nsome household chores, such as washing the dishes, and will also
\nbe familiarized with his parents' work. In the community,
\nchildren are encouraged to visit places such as handicraft
\nstudios and engineering workshops close to where they live.<\/p>\n
Every day, before lesson begins, children will be asked to
\nrelate their experiences in the community.<\/p>\n
\"They will play and learn at the same time,\" said Kak Wees. It
\nis in this context that efforts are being made to ensure that
\nthese children keep in touch with their cultural roots.<\/p>\n
Unlike formal schools, this institute offers low-cost
\neducation that integrates learning from elementary to the
\ntertiary levels. A child will take five years to complete his
\nelementary schooling. Within this period he will be required to
\nhave acquired a good knowledge about himself, his family and his
\nenvironment.<\/p>\n
Then he will spend four years on his secondary schooling.
\nDuring this period, he will be introduced to such lofty ideas as
\nnation-building and respect for diversity. As regards skills, it
\nis expected that a participant will be capable of producing
\nthings on his own.<\/p>\n
\"After completing his secondary education, he will stay away
\nfrom school for one year. During this time, he will improve the
\nskills he has acquired and think more deeply about his future
\nprofession,\" said Kak Wees, who earned a citation from the Ashoka
\nFellowship in 1988 for his innovations in community empowerment
\nthrough story-telling.<\/p>\n
The final educational level available is the \"multiversity\"
\nlevel. At this level, participants only have to gain more
\nknowledge about the subject he wishes to focus on. Then, he takes
\nlectures on the theoretical aspects of this chosen subject for 2
\nsemesters. When he completes this level, he serves an
\napprenticeship in a company, and is also required to submit a
\nweekly report on what he has done during the week.<\/p>\n
Although this alternative school is still at the inception
\nstage, it has attracted significant interest.<\/p>\n
\"When establishing this school, I had regard to Santiniketan
\n(India), Ki Hajar Dewantara, the founder of the Taman Siswa
\nschool, the theater and the scouting movement,\" said Kak Wees.
\nMany of his friends have commented that his school resembles
\nthose that Paulo Freire and some other thinkers established.<\/p>\n
\"I've never read their books although I obtained copies of
\nthem afterwards from my friends,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Despite his many achievements and his hectic life as a story
\nteller, a speaker at seminars and a guest lecturer at a number of
\nuniversities abroad, Kak Wees remains modest and hospitable to
\nall.<\/p>\n
Kak Wees is also spiritually devoted.<\/p>\n
\"I really wish I could be like a tree. It sincerely generates
\noxygen for all human beings regardless of their religion or
\nethnicity,\" he said. He has learned this wisdom through the
\neducation provided by nature, rather than a formal school.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-story-of-an-alternative-school-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}