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)