Kids selling Kijangs

Kids selling Kijangs

From Jayakarta

After a crash course in dancing at the Pangudi Luhur school,
our child was asked to perform at Auto 2000 on Jl. Radio Dalam in
South Jakarta. Parents were only told that the event was meant as
a tryout before a real show scheduled for December.

But what actually took place at Auto 2000 was a promotion
campaign for Kijangs. There were several contests -- singing,
drawing and ballet. We were forced to listen to innocent children
sing the Kijang hymn over and over. Some of them cried as soon as
they got on stage. It was a really horrible scene.

The performance did not start on time and there was no snack
provided for the children, although by 11:00 a.m children
normally begin to feel hungry. No souvenirs were presented to the
participating children. Even more saddening was that the crayon
(costing only about Rp 750) for the drawing contest had to be
returned, despite the fact parents had to pay a Rp 3,500
participation fee.

The headmaster should have known that it was nothing but a
promotion done by a conglomerate which exploited innocent
children. Don't be deceived by such a business promotion
strategy.

The Parents-Teachers Association must be reminded of the need
to be critical of anything detrimental to learning and teaching.

Name and address

known to editor