'Students must learn morality by example'

'Students must learn morality by example'

JAKARTA (JP): Schoolchildren studying morality and religion
will learn through example, not theory, a legislator and several
teachers concurred yesterday.

Dr. Suko Waluyo, on the House of Representatives Commission IX
for education, said yesterday that students lack role models in
society.

"Pancasila and religion, which are expected to teach basic
morals to children, are school subjects. This means the students
must compete to get high marks. This is a kind of distortion
where morals should be adapted for practical deeds, not for
school marks," Suko said.

Ramlani, principal of the state-run junior high school SMP 177
in Bintaro, South Jakarta, said that the teaching of religion and
Pancasila is meant to help children tell the difference between
good and bad. "However, many teachers lack the ability to
analyze. They teach the two subjects as the textbooks describe,
without educational information coming from their hearts."

In a separate interview, Anggani, principal of the Islamic Al
Izhar elementary school in Cilandak, South Jakarta, said students
would gain nothing from being taught about morality or religion
without practical examples being set.

The three were interviewed in connection with the recent
brawls which claimed three lives in the capital.

Suko, Ramlani and Anggani were of the same opinion that
teachers teaching morality and religion should act the part in
daily life.

"Unfortunately, teachers have no time to digress from their
teaching plans because they have to complete their lessons as
required by the curriculum," said Suko, who is also a member of
the House faction of the Indonesian Democratic Party.

The teaching of Pancasila ethics, known as PMP, should not be
politically oriented, he told The Jakarta Post.

Suko and Ramlani said the teachers, the parents and the
students must work together to reduce delinquency, Ramlani said.
"Teachers should not let students hang around if a teacher is
absent. The students must be given other lessons to keep them
busy," Ramlani said.

Parents at home must also be alert to the things their
children see and hear on television, he said.

"Students must be aware of negative influences. They must not
drink liquor or take drugs," he said.

He also criticized materialistic parents.

Parents should remember three things in their own lives and
while bringing up their kids. "First is the head. This means that
they and the kids need science and knowledge. The second is the
chest which symbolizes morality and conscience. The last is the
stomach," he said. "If parents concentrate on the stomach, they
will ignore basic moral education for themselves and their kids."

Mustainah, the principal of the Islamic Al Azhar senior high
school in Kebayoran Baru, agreed that a good relationship among
teachers, parents and students will help curb student brawling.

"Parents always come if we summon them, no matter how busy
they are," she said, adding that the parents also call the
teachers if they see Al Azhar students loitering outside the
school.

Student brawls have become a common sight in Jakarta, making
many parents anxious about their children's safety when their
kids leave for school.

Endang Djuhara, a father in Ciledug, said that he lets his
youngest son Maulana carry a motorcycle chain in his schoolbag
for "self defense".

"My son often returns at 9 p.m. due to fights with the
students at a neighboring school, SMP 31," he said. Maulana
usually hangs around at a friend's house near the school during
the fights, which can last for hours.

A mother in Klender, Mrs. Suyatno, told The Post yesterday
that she was always worried about her son's safety.

"I ask him to call every time he has to come home late from
school. Fortunately my son's school, SMA 61, is one of the clean
schools, which never gets involved in street brawls," she said.

Another mother in Bintaro, Sri, said she worries every morning
when her first son goes to school. "He usually leaves school at
2:30 p.m. after getting additional class from school. I always
call the school or my son's close friends if he's not home by 3
p.m.," she said.

She said her son has a good friend, who is always picked up by
his driver after school. "I could not imagine how my son could
survive the dangerous routes if he were to go by public bus from
his school in Bulungan, Blok M, to Bintaro. A friend of my son
was stabbed by a group of students on a bus," she said.
(sur/anr/yns)