Teaching methods bore students

There are various factors that hamper teaching. The Jakarta Post interviewed students to comment on their problems at school. Next week, we will ask people about the World Cup and sports-related issues.

Maria Agustin, 17, a student of state high school SMU 37 in Tebet, South Jakarta. She was born in Jakarta and now resides in Menteng Pulo, South Jakarta.

"Most teachers in my school fail to make their subject interesting. Instead, they bore students. Even in some interesting subjects, they fail to attract the students' attention due to their way of teaching. For example, some teachers always ask us to take notes while they read from a book.

Few teachers can teach in a creative way. Students usually like teachers with a sense of humor very much as they make the subject entertaining.

But, the most important thing for us is that teachers master their field. Once they have done that they can make difficult things appear easy."

Fitri Lestari, 17, a second-year student at Bunda Kandung Senior High School in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta. She lives near the school. She is one of the top ten students in her class.

"In general, the curriculum at present is hard to understand. The material of each subject, especially English, is too complex and difficult.

I think the content is not at all suitable for the students. If the current curriculum was changed, I hope the new one would have less material but be more in-depth.

Worse, some teachers are not willing to help their students understand the subject material. They fail to pay serious attention to the students' problems.

As a result, my classmates are not motivated to study and often chat in class."

Naufal Nurramadhan, 7, is in the first year of an elementary school in Serpong, Tangerang.

"I like to go to school as I have many friends there. There are some who are naughty, but they are mostly good.

I also like my lessons, but sometimes I get bored because my teacher is angry if I ask questions, therefore I am scared to ask questions if there is a difficult lesson. I prefer to ask my mother rather than my teacher.

I like stories about dinosaurs. I also read stories about Pokemon, and Doraemon."

Neneng, a student at a vocational high school in Serpong, Tangerang:

"What we study in school is not really useful for getting a job.

I don't know whether it is because there are too many subjects to learn. I don't feel that the lessons in school are too many or too heavy. I just wonder if they are all useful for me in the future. I don't know.

Many high school graduates are unemployed now. They seem not to be ready to face challenges in the working world or not to be able to meet the requirements set by companies.

Besides conventional lessons, schools could teach their students how to improve their self esteem in order to find a job if they decide not to go to university."