Parents hope children will understand politics

Parents hope children will understand politics

Annastashya Emmanuelle, Contributor, Jakarta

The ongoing Annual Session of the People's Consultative Assembly
(MPR) kicked off on Aug. 1 and will end on Aug. 10. Many
Indonesians have shown interest but others have ignored it.

Jakarta's teenagers show a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the
event. Most of them claimed to have lost hope or faith in the
country's legislators and the government in general.

The constant struggle of power, resulting in continuous
bickering among politicians, only leads to more confusion said
the students. They considered the country is in great need of
leaders who are genuinely concerned about improving the wellbeing
of the people.

Parents, however, hope their children can increase their
knowledge of politics through both the civic and public
administration subjects -- which serve as an introduction to
politics in general as part of the Indonesian education
curriculum.

They even encourage schools to increase the focus on these
subjects, either in class or through extracurricular activities.
They hope their children will be able to appreciate different
opinions whilst having an opinion of their own.

"We hope with a broader political education, we would be able
to have mature, knowledgeable young people with a high degree of
integrity and who can lead the nation in the future," said Irawan
Sugito, whose youngest child is still in high school.

Kusmawati Soedarsono, whose youngest son is still in the third
grade at Don Bosco High School in East Jakarta, holds a similar
opinion.

"The civic and state administration subjects in high school
are sufficient to introduce political education to our children.

"If they are really interested in politics, they can study
political science at university or join organizations related to
political parties.

"High school students should not be taught raw politics. After
all, education in high school is more an introduction rather than
anything pragmatic.

Various activities, including the election of student
representatives and debates in some schools, have also been
implemented to stimulate students on their organizational skills.

Yoseph Kusuma, whose daughter is studying in the first grade
at Belarminus High School, Central Jakarta, has a similar
opinion.

"So far, the school has done enough to provide political
education. There are debates held here for those who are
interested, and the civic and state administration subjects are
currently enough.

"It's important for students to have some basic knowledge of
politics so they know how to position themselves."

Emmawati, whose daughter just graduated from SMU 8 state high
school in South Jakarta, emphasized the need to exercise
democracy through both subjects.

"The current civic and state administration subjects are still
inadequate and unable to provide a thorough knowledge of politics
for children, particularly because it is not accompanied with a
creative teaching style, debates or, for example, excursions to
the MPR or the House of Representatives (DPR).

"So far, children have easily been influenced with statements
made by politicians because they do not have adequate knowledge
to make their own assessment."

But some parents still object to the idea of their children
taking part in street rallies as it is time consuming and
potentially dangerous.

Although not all children show an interest in politics, a
sufficient knowledge of the conduct of a government as well as
the rights and duty of a citizen must be introduced in their teen
years, said Roy Boedikoentjara, whose youngest son just graduated
from high school.

"A lack of interest in politics could be caused by the lack of
a proper introduction both in school and at home," Roy said,
adding that the current political situation, tainted with short-
term political motives and tacky bickering, might cause teenagers
to get the wrong perception of politics and completely loose
interest.

Arief Rahman, an education observer, said schools must break
away from the mind set of emphasizing the importance of grades
while forgetting the importance of developing the mentality and
attitude of the students, which was the essence of education.

Students should be accustomed with plurality, because living
as a political being is about living harmoniously within rules.

"Politics should be based on morals, therefore, the most
important thing is to prepare the students to enable them to
become responsible and trustworthy future leaders," Arief said.