Students with positive tendencies

I read with great interest Ms. Ida Indawati Khouw's article published in The Jakarta Post on Nov. 12, 2000 entitled Teenagers just want to have fun.

Indeed, being a parent of a newly grown child, it has been our continuing concern how our fifteen-year old son spends his spare time over the weekend as well as after school. His leaving school at six in the morning and getting back from school between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. over the past three months had been explained by preparations for a great and exciting teenager event, namely "Pangudi Luhur Fair 2000 -- Kingdom". Despite our hardest efforts to keep an open mind (and open ears) for our son's eager explanation about the commitment each student had to have in the organization of this event, time and again we ended up arguing with him about him coming home late, not concentrating on his studies enough, etc etc.

On the big day, however, a series of pleasant surprises awaited us. The students had literally "converted" the school into a medieval castle; the grids of the entrance gate decorated to appear as windows of the castle -- in fact, an imaginative and inexpensive solution for a ticketing booth, the replica of a moving bridge placed at the school's entrance, with pools at the two sides, artistic wall paintings, pillars of the corridors shaped into bolts covered with inexpensive paper giving the impression of bricks, decorated with a "torch" made of plastic Aqua bottles cut in the shape of flames, with a red light ball inside, giving an artistic touch to the entire atmosphere. The huge stage at the extreme end of the school yard was decorated with the roofs of a castle. The fact that it was equipped with sound system fit for an international rock concert was no less magnificent, and the performance of "PL Cheers", a result of three months' hard practice, invited a huge applause from the audience.

We were amazed to witness the creativity, artistry, discipline, entrepreneurship, initiative, organization, diligence, courage, responsibility, politeness, gentleness of these high-school students as they went about performing their duties, without an apparent command from a particular person. At the end of a particular event, after the crowd had left the scene and after the spotlights had gone out, parents who came to fetch their sons were witnesses to a moving sight; a group of boys gathered in front of the empty stage to say grace, and to thank all who had contributed to the unprecedented success of the two- day event attended by a record of total of 16,400 teenagers.

In conclusion, I would like to agree with Ms. Ida Indawati Khouw: yes, teenagers just want to have fun. The question is, do we, parents, let them do so? Do we trust them enough to express themselves, to do something positive on their own, or do we kill their initiative at the very core by lamentations, arguments or ignorance? Do we make enough effort to understand their tendencies, their wishes, their dreams? And if so, how do we support them to make these become a reality?

I believe that these questions need to be asked not only by parents, but also by teachers and educators. After my initial skepticism, I have come to think of "PL Fair 2000" as a great example of how teenagers should be encouraged to take responsibility -- while having fun at the same time. If given such trust and opportunity, many boys and girls would be able to find that new positive identity that they are all in the process of seeking at this age.

MARIANA M.G. WAROKKA

Jakarta