FOR FOCUS ISSUE-PRESCHOOL

Sudibyo M. Wiradji The Jakarta Post Jakarta

Helping kids to be creative through Si Komo

Though there is a growing interest among upper-class parents to send their children to preschools with a Western curriculum, there are still a few schools offering specifically Indonesian curriculum that continue to receive a good response from the public.

Among these are the preschools under the umbrella of the Mutiara Foundation and the Mentari Foundation. The foundations run play groups and kindergartens where children not only play while learning, but also savor the pleasure of recognizing some initial aspects of Indonesian culture at an early stage.

While such animal characters taken from Western culture as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse decorate most play groups and kindergartens, the preschools run by the foundations feature a komodo dragon popularly known as Si Komo, a central character taken from children's tales written by Seto Mulyadi, the founder of the foundations.

Basically, a Western curriculum and the curriculum offered by Seto Mulyadi, better known as Kak Seto, both allow children to be creative and active so that they will grow and develop.

"Preschools should be pleasing places that offer children alternatives in activities," said Kak Seto, who chairs the foundations and the National Commission on Children's Rights.

The preschools managed by the foundations also provide a variety of traditional Indonesian games, such as ular tangga (snake and leather).

"The games not only stimulate the children's creativity but also make them emotionally and spiritually better," he said. "With these games, the children are expected to be proud of becoming an Indonesian, which allows them to appreciate their own culture and helps promote their sense of patriotism and nationalism."

The rapid growth of the Kak Seto preschools is partly the result of the fact that parents agree with the schools' educational principles, which encourage children, blessed with their respective skills and potentials, to grow and to be themselves.

"Our guiding principle is based on the belief that all children are basically intelligent, creative and superior. And so we just provide fertile soil for the superior seeds to grow," Kak Seto said.

Based on these principles, all children are treated equally. "Children are like flowers in a park. There are all different kinds of flowers, like orchids, roses and sunflowers, and they all have a right to grow and develop."

Therefore, all of the facilities at the preschools allow the children to exercise their basic rights, such as their right to play, grow, develop, listen to stories, express themselves and to be proud of themselves, he said.

All of the activities at the preschools go back to Kak Seto's idea that preschools should be operated in the "best interest of the children". To be true to this idea, the preschools and their teaching methods please the children because the schools put the emphasis on allowing children to play cheerfully and creatively.

"While playing, children will unconsciously learn about many things, such as manners, socialization, expressing gratitude, disciplines and, in many cases, reading, writing, drawing and arithmetic," Kak Seto said, adding that 80 percent of the time at a preschool should be spent on playing and the remaining 20 percent for preparing children for elementary school.

Play sessions for children are held inside and outside, where the children learn about nature and the environment. "The important thing is they are encouraged to create things, such as movements, drawing, songs or expressing ideas," he said.

The work of the preschools is inseparable from the active role Kak Seto, as an educator, scientist and psychologist, plays in conducting research on children.

Initially, Kak Seto established a play group called Istana Anak-Anak(Palace for Children) in 1975 in the Taman Ria Senayan Park, five years after joining the late Pak Kasur, the former host of a children's TV program, as an assistant.

Kak Seto's play group was moved to a more strategic location in Monas Square in Central Jakarta before he set up the Mutiara Foundation in 1982, in response to the growing demand for play groups and kindergartens using Kak Seto's educational system.

Due to the increasing demand for preschools, Seto began cooperating with other parties to establish more preschools under a franchise agreement. The play groups and kindergartens under the management of Mutiara Foundation spread throughout Greater Jakarta and to areas outside of Jakarta, including Cirebon and Bandung in West Java, East Kalimantan and South Sulawesi.

The growing demand for schools prompted Kak Seto to establish the Mentari Foundation in 2000. This foundation also runs play groups and kindergartens, including Istana Kak Seto in Plaza Atrium Segitiga Senen, Si Komo Children Center in Kebayoran Baru Jakarta, Taman Keluarga Si Komo in Mal D'Best Cikokol Tangerang and Taman Bermain Kreative Kak Seto in Cirebon, West Java.

To date, the two foundations run nearly 30 play groups and kindergartens in the country.

Compared to preschools that use a Western curriculum, Kak Seto's preschools offer relatively cheaper schools fees. Admission fees range from Rp 3 million to Rp 4 million per child, depending on the location. The monthly school fee is between Rp 125,000 and Rp 200,000 per child.

Because play is emphasized, teacher at the preschools are people who can "smile and who love children".

"Certainly, the teacher should be good at telling stories," Seto said.