Providing superschools for all

Providing superschools for all

By John Phillips

This is the first of two articles on the definition of superschools and on how to foster such schools.

YOGYAKARTA (JP): In recent articles, Mochtar Buchori perceptively outlined some of the basic questions in education facing Indonesian society with the rapid development of "super" schools and, perhaps more importantly, the misconception about what constitutes good education.

He raised two important questions that Indonesia needs to answer in order to develop its school system for future challenges: (1) what is a "super" school and, are superschools expensive and so, by definition, exclusive; and, (2) who is ultimately responsible for educating our children?

I would like to suggest answers to these questions by looking at the problem in terms of how to achieve "super" education for all children.

The questions raised here about Indonesia are the key problems facing all international educational development, what do we mean by a "good" education and can any society afford "not" to provide it?

Answers have varied with shifts in educational philosophy as well as public sentiment about the appropriate goals of education as the perceived needs of society have shifted with changes in political, social, economic, and even spiritual environments in which the answers are rooted.

But, in one common definition good education is seen as providing the information processing, socialization, and technical skills needed by society and the individuals in it.

Obviously, educational systems have had to change considerably as the world has changed and continues to change at an increasingly rapid pace. It is precisely this pace of change in Indonesian society and in the world at large which is making it even more difficult to answer the question of what a good education (and "super" school) should be?

Buchori has provided a partial answer in his elucidation of the desires of Indonesian parents. This included fluency or literacy in English, and basic understanding of science and technology such as computers.

The real answer lies not so much in his list or even in the special features super/elite schools have used to attract students (such as superior facilities and instruction in English) as it does in the fact that what makes a good education comes from what the society believes it is.

That is, a partial definition of a good education is one which provides education to meet the perceived needs of those being educated.

Most educators know that this seemingly simple task is easier said than done, but they also know that meeting the current needs of the students is critically important to ensuring that learners want to learn, acquire basic learning skills, and become socialized -- things considered essential by most educational systems.

But few educational systems are current enough, flexible enough, and knowledgeable enough about learner needs to be able to actually deliver such basic education. The reasons schools fail to provide this kind of education are many, but in large part it is because educational systems have not been able to adapt easily to changes in society.

Ironically, one criterion of a superschool may simply be that the school is able to meet its most basic educational goals and that these goals are at least currently relevant to the lives of the children.

But, this is only a partial definition of the problem alluded to earlier. Rapid changes in society make it even more difficult to predict what the needs of our children will be in the future. For example, suppose voice recognition becomes a standard feature in computer software in the future, then why would one need to learn to operate computers the way that is in favor currently?

Education in a changing world is not just about what is useful now, but also what will be useful in the future.

A good example of this, as Buchori noted, is that many Indonesian parents want their children to become literate in English because, even though it may not be particularly useful to them now, they believe it is a key to gaining future access to international communication, business and technology.

Thus, educators must also include a future orientation in setting educational goals and devising instructional strategies.

But, who among us is able to predict the future with enough accuracy to be able to say what will be useful ten, twenty or fifty years from now?

Even though educational systems must be open and responsive to the current and future perceived needs of students, there must also be a means by which systems can train students to adapt quickly to the ever changing world.

In Indonesia as elsewhere, the flexibility needed to accomplish this means that school systems have to decentralize and educational decisions have to be made at the community level with input from "futurologists", people who make predictions about what educational needs will be.

It also means establishing solid minimum educational goals as well as more learner-centered, active learning methods and less emphasis on rote memorization or even specific information.

Finally, it is no secret that the current Indonesian curriculum is deficient in teaching the critical learning and thinking skills needed by all people to adapt quickly to a changing environment even past their formal education years.

Another piece of the "super" school puzzle is that superschools are ones that concentrate on teaching students the skills and the attitudes they need for continuing learning.

Finally, superschools are not necessarily the ones with better facilities, the most modern equipment, or the most fashionable curricular content.

These things may be desirable and beneficial, but they do not constitute a superschool. Instead, a superschool is one in which a committed and farsighted educational system empowers local communities to make crucial decisions, and dedicated educators teach avid and voracious learners with the full backing and support of involved parents and the local community.

In short, superschools are readily available and relatively inexpensive.