Indonesian education -- in need of the human touch

Indonesian education -- in need of the human touch

Simon Marcus Gower
Director
Research and Development
Harapan Bangsa School
Tangerang, Banten

As Indonesia commemorates its National Education Day on May 2,
there are those that would portray education in this country as
lurching from crises to crises. The questions that linger over
religion in schools, over the apparent need for reform of much of
the education infrastructure, and the persistent fears of moral
decay being extended by under performing schools all suggest a
chaotic condition.

Every nation of the world that seeks the civilizing benefits
of a system of education experiences and must try to overcome
such challenges and problems. This is only right and to be
expected.

For education to be of value and relevance it has to be in a
state of flux. If education is in stasis, then it truly is the
nursery of chaos and moral decline.

Education has to be dynamic and in an endless cycle of
metamorphosis. As such education becomes a critical facet and
asset to society. It has to reject the status quo and live in the
future tense.

But for education to aspire to this dynamism there is one
critical factor that needs to; that must be looked after,
maintained and encouraged to take on the burden and great
responsibilities that are intrinsic to any human endeavor that
incorporates ideals of altruism and supporting the needs of
others.

The greatest resource that any education institute has,
whether it is a kindergarten or a university department, is its
human resource.

This is perhaps where Indonesian education most needs
development. The teachers, the lecturers, the principals, the
university deans need to be nurtured, supported and encouraged to
be real and deeply committed educators.

They need to be valued and appreciated for the great gift that
they can give to a nation; but without proper backing they may be
left to become uncommitted, complacent and even become part of
the problem rather than the solution for education.

It can be easy for teachers to become cynical and under
committed when and if they are not valued and appreciated. But
real teachers find their own value and appreciation for what they
do. The kind words and compliments of others merely becomes the
icing on the cake.

But real teachers can rarely be molded or created by teacher
training colleges. Too often teacher training colleges become
centers of extended brainwashing in which real creativity and
originality is only marginally allowed to seep through.

The ever-changing nature of education demands that teachers
are people that can handle change. They cannot be set in their
ways. They must be willing to adapt and improvise.

Often, though, regrettably teachers that have been "run
through the mill" of teacher training end up jaded and divorced
from powers of originality and creativity. Often, the best
teachers are rarely trained or molded, quite often they are born
to teaching or graduate to teaching from life's great university
of experience.

Personal qualities and characteristics are critical for
teachers -- these would include a love of people and a love of
knowledge and learning but also the ability to communicate and
share.

Many countries now suffer from shortfall in the number of
qualified teachers they have to supply to their schools. A quite
common response to this is to attempt to attract "non-teachers"
into teaching. This is perhaps a novel approach but it is also an
entirely valid approach. Many "non-education" people can bring a
depth and quality of experience to the classroom and this
knowledge and experience can be highly valuable and beneficial to
students.

For example in a school in the United Kingdom the headmaster
and his board of governors supported the introduction of people
"returning to education" to become teachers. Consequently this
school employed a "new" teacher of 42 years of age.

This "new" teacher had previously run his own small business
and had been a farmer in Scotland. He was employed to teach
economics and geography and he quickly became one of the most
liked and respected teachers within the school. His depth of real
world experiences made his classes lively and successful for the
students who consistently enjoyed higher grades -- not least
because they were highly motivated by their teacher.

This "new" and untypical teacher was a success because of his
experiences and his character. He held a depth of appreciation
and understanding of his students and genuinely wanted to
encourage them to achieve the best possible results. His
character and personality and openness of mind allowed him to
become a real teacher.

Indonesia commemorates its National Education Day on May 2
because that was the birth date of a visionary figure for
Indonesian education. Suwardi Suryaningrat envisioned education
as a tool of empowerment. Education as a means for students to
realize their own abilities and be given the opportunities to
explore and develop them. Suwardi saw the vital role of the
teacher in this scenario and defined it as being one of a guide
helping the students along their own paths to fulfillment.

His vision, then, was very much one of teaching and educating
with a human touch. Teachers are there to humanely and
encouragingly bring out the best in their students. This is a
vision that has perhaps been sidelined by too many people in
education in this country.

Too many educators possess characteristics of stubbornness or
wish to exist as dictatorial controllers. For education to really
grow and flourish in Indonesia it is essential that educators
have a deep and abiding human touch to all that they do.
Education should not be about controlling our young people; it
should be about altruistically helping them to meet the
challenges of the future.

If educators in Indonesia can truly aspire to high ideals of
altruistic education, we can reach a point where we may truly
celebrate the education day of Indonesia and celebrate successful
education results that will help build this nation.