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.