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.