Putting emphasis more on learning

Putting emphasis more on learning

By Mochtar Buchori

JAKARTA (JP): It has been said that a good teacher is one who
constantly and continuously studies or learns. The moment
teachers stop learning, they begin to decline in their teaching
competence.

When they stop reading anything related to their teaching
functions, then they will no longer be capable of performing a
good teaching job. They will become dead wood.

This insight has now been accepted in many educational
circles, especially in relatively "enlightened" ones. The
complaint frequently expressed in these circles is that the
majority of our present stock of teachers are only sufficiently
prepared in methods of teaching, not in methods of learning.

The few theories of learning some teachers have received
during their training are usually related primarily to how
children learn. Most of them have never had a course on how
adults learn, and how communities learn.

Without sufficient skills in dealing with a vast variety of
leaning material, most teachers become lost when they are put in
a rich learning environment. They feel frightened. And they feel
too embarrassed to ask for help from the attendants. Most of them
just shied away from good libraries and other learning centers.

The end result of this situation is that the majority of our
school teachers stop learning once they begin to function as
classroom teachers. The impact of this condition upon the nation
is that the learning capability of the younger generation has
gradually become weaker and weaker. Only the best among them can
make some sense out of the wealth of information that has become
available in our environment. The majority of them cannot even
distinguish the important items from the trivial ones. At the
end, this very much affects the learning capabilities of our
nation.

If we want to stop this situation, and make the young
generation gain a greater learning capability and be capable of
dealing effectively with their problems, then we must teach them
how to learn from daily life situations. We must teach them how
to learn formally, non-formally, and informally.

Looking at the present condition pertaining to the young
generation, I think that basically there are three capabilities
the young generation should acquire with regard to learning.
These three can be reached through educational guidance, which
consists of three equal parts: (1) guidance in academic learning;
(2) guidance in learning to know the world of labor market; and
(3) guidance in understanding the process of socio-cultural
transformation that has been going on in our society.

Capabilities in academic learning is very important to make
the young generation digest all the information that comes into
their lives, build up their personal repertoire of knowledge, and
eventually acquire some wisdom in their life. Without these
capability they will never be really literate in their lives,
whether economically, politically, socially or culturally.

The capability to learn to understand the opportunities and
the dictates of the labor market is very vital for their economic
well-being. The majority of our young people today do not have
any knowledge about the intricacies of the labor market. Also
they are unaware of the existence of many pre-occupational
training opportunities. This has led in many cases to months,
sometimes even years, of frustrating job hunting, and the
acceptance of underemployment. This waste of manpower and energy
can be significantly reduced by providing the young generation
with capabilities in reading and interpreting available
information about the labor market.

The capability to understand the ongoing socio-cultural
transformation is very much needed to generate a positive
attitude toward the future. If I am not mistaken a very great
number of sincere young people in this country see their future
in very dark perspectives. They have no idea concerning the
possibilities that are still open in the future for this nation
and this country. Capability in deciphering the present, and
building images about the future are essential to fight against
loss of faith in the nation's capability to build up a better
future.

Can all this be done? This is a challenge that Indonesian
educators have to answer.

The writer is rector of the IKIP-Muhammadiyah Teachers
Training College.