Schools leave a lot to be desired

Schools leave a lot to be desired

JAKARTA (JP): The teaching of reading, writing and arithmetic,
known as the "three R's", at primary schools still leaves a lot
to be desired.

This frank admission came from Djauzak Ahmad, the director of
elementary education at the Ministry of Education and Culture,
yesterday during a seminar to review the way the three basic
skills are being taught in the nation's schools.

While blaming teachers for their rigid teaching methods,
Djauzak said parents are equally responsible for making sure that
their children master the three basic skills properly.

He told the seminar participants yesterday that the majority
of elementary school pupils now lack good reading, writing and
arithmetic skills because of rigid teaching methods and incapable
teachers.

Teachers, he pointed out, lack creativity and tend to adopt
the teaching methods "passed down" by a higher authority.

They merely teach for the sake of achieving a predesignated
target, with no regard for the process of education itself, he
said.

"I believe teachers should find their own ways of teaching the
3R's -- the basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic --
and should not try teaching the children something they don't
even understand themselves," he said.

Djauzak pointed out that the structural-analysis-synthesis
(SAS) teaching system which is regulated by the ministry is
merely a guideline. "Whether they want to apply it or not is
entirely up to them."

The first step in the SAS learning-to-read system is the
teaching of sentence structures.

Djauzak admitted that he witnessed many cases where teachers
were incapable of solving the problems designed for resolution by
their pupils.

He deplored the declining quality of teachers nowadays, saying
that the once popular and prestigious Institute for Teachers'
Training and Education (IKIP) is now regarded as a "third class"
university.

Djauzak, who recalled many nostalgic memories of his younger
days when he struggled his way to become a teacher, admitted that
although the country no longer has "the highest regard" for
teachers, "the situation was worse several years ago".

He said higher salaries are among the incentives needed to get
teachers motivated and dedicated enough to do their job well.

The burden of ensuring that children master the "three R's"
should fall on the shoulders of parents as well, Djauzak
insisted.

Elementary students should be well on their way to mastering
the these basic skills by the time they complete the first grade
and for this, parents or families should be the first to
encourage children to enjoy reading, writing and arithmetic, he
pointed out.

"Instead of watching TV the whole day, parents should try to
set an example by reading more," he insisted.

Karlina Leksono, who was also a speaker at the seminar, said
the most effective way of teaching her two primary school
children the basic concepts of the 3R's is by playing simple
games and solving problems together at home.

She admitted, however, she found difficulty in teaching her
children the concepts of modern mathematics taught by their
teachers at school.

"I use a totally different method -- arithmetic -- which was
taught to me when I was small, but after I taught my child the
`old' method, which is actually far more understandable to him, I
was scolded by his teacher."

The government decided to revert to arithmetic this year to
replace modern mathematics as a subject in the curriculum for
primary schools. The return to arithmetic, which was phased out
in the 1970s, was decided upon after it was found that the
teaching of modern mathematics or "new math" had been
ineffective.

Arithmetics is a part of the more general field of mathematics
and consists of the most basic concepts of numbers. Mathematics
comprises not only the more complicated concepts of numbers, but
also includes geometry, algebra, trigonometry and other sub-
disciplines. (pwn)