Not every school is the same ...
Brian Cox, Contributor, Jakarta
Every parent wants a good education for their children. But what does that mean for you? Society now relies upon the school to provide a large share of formal education.
By the time a child graduates from school, he or she could have spent well over 20,000 hours in the company of their teachers! That is often substantially more time than the child will spend with his or her parents!
The choice of who spends all this time with your child, and what influence they have on your son or daughter, is yours.
To the casual observer, all schools may appear to be fundamentally the same. Sure, some may have better facilities, some may have a different student uniform, but all schools teach the same things, right?
Absolutely not! Every school has a particular purpose and every parent would be wise to determine what that purpose is so that a compatibility between parent expectations and school offerings can be achieved.
Education is about acquiring knowledge, developing understanding and taking action. Knowledge must have a context; the context will establish our understanding which will determine our action. Contexts are determined primarily by what we believe.
A good school will encourage a sense of wonder and excitement of discovery. It will view the universe and all that occurs within it as something to be joyfully explored. It will want to develop creativity, initiative, perseverance, dedication and passion. It will want its students to be relational young people who care. It will see its students as potential agents of positive change in society. It will seek to help its students to develop a worldview that values people and encourages respect for the views and opinions of others. At the same time it will help students to be clear about what they believe and why they believe it rather than just having a blind acceptance of every whim and idea.
It's not enough to help students to develop ideas; they must also know appropriate actions to consider. In addition, they must be equipped with the skills and abilities to take such actions. Education must provide knowledge, which must produce realistic understanding, which must lead to helpful and positive action.
Whilst studies in geology may give an understanding of why tsunamis occur, it will not engender compassion within us for those who suffer as a consequence. Science may attempt to theoretically explain how man came to reside upon the earth but cannot give us an answer to the question "why are we here?" History may tell us about major acts of genocide but it won't prevent us from repeating the action.
It's what we believe that ultimately guides our lives. Faith is a very important factor in education. Schools must help their students to identify some of the key issues of life, such as: "Who are we?", "How should we live in relation to one another?", "What is our purpose in life?"
A failure to address these issues and then to equip young people to live lives that are fulfilling, purposeful and responsible is to leave them awash in a sea of meaninglessness.
Jimmy Carter was probably not the most memorable president that the Unites States ever had, but he is probably the most humanitarian ex-president. He says,
"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something ... my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference."
Education, properly understood and practiced, has the potential to positively transform people, cultures and civilizations. Take time to carefully choose a school that will support your family in a meaningful way. (The writer is presently the Headmaster at Sekolah Pelita Harapan.)