Using school vacation time for introspection

Using school vacation time for introspection

By Aloysius Unditu

JAKARTA (JP): Arif Rachman is a firm believer that learning
does not stop the minute one steps out of the classroom, but is a
continual lifetime process.

Education can occur at any time and place, says the principal
of the state SMU 81 senior high school in Rawamangun, East
Jakarta.

Arif also uses modern media as a forum to educate. He hosts
the daily morning Islamic show Hikmah Fajar on private television
station RCTI.

Arif, 45, who is originally from Malang, East Java, is the
younger brother of Mien Uno, president of John Robert Powers
Modeling School in Jakarta. He once dreamed of becoming an
economist, but changed his mind after witnessing the reciprocal
communication between students and teachers during a student
exchange program in the United States.

Arif believes school vacations can also be a time for
learning.

He told The Jakarta Post recently his views on efficient and
effective use of time when school is out.

Question: What should school vacations mean for senior high
school students?

Answer: Well, I think vacations should have a special meaning
for senior high school students because it is time for them to
prepare themselves to enter their next life cycle. For those who
fail in the final year examination, the vacation means a
preparation period to improve themselves.

The bottom line is that the vacation is a time for students to
introspect and reflect on their life.

Our life consists of many cycles, ranging from planning,
executing, exercising, examining, introspection and reflection
stages.

A holiday means a preparation period to enroll in university
for final year students of senior high schools, for example.

It means a preparation period to enter into the second and
third years for other students.

Q: Do you think students and parents hold common perceptions
about the school vacation?

A: No, not all. Some think that vacation merely means escaping
from their daily routine in classrooms. Students like this do not
see vacations as part of the chain of their whole life cycles.

Q: Why?

A: Because most headmasters of senior and junior high schools in
Indonesia do not give clear explanations to students about the
best ways to spend the vacation.

It is important to stress that spending the break in effective
ways should be "socialized" in Indonesia, or at least it should
be explained that vacations are a time for introspection.

During the introspection period, students can prepare
themselves to improve their academic achievements by taking
additional training and courses. Some prefer to enhance their
religious beliefs by attending a short religious course, like
Pesantren Kilat for Moslems, and retreats for Catholics.

Other students experience global cultural diversity by joining
an overseas homestay program. There are also students who take
internship programs in government and private corporation
offices.

But some junior and senior high school students do not have
these activities, partly because their parents are not aware of
the programs.

Effective ways of spending the vacation do not have anything
to do with the finances of the parents.

I know some children of my fellow senior high school teachers
who go to work during the vacation, and students from the upper-
class who just stay at home doing nothing except watching videos
and laser discs, and making phone calls to their friends. But
there are also students whose parents are rich who participate in
tours of tourist sites.

I believe that spending vacations in effective ways should be
popularized among parents and students in Indonesia. If possible
we should make it like a "culture" or a way of life, so that
parents whose kids prefer to stay home during vacations would
feel embarrassed.

Q: Why don't school principals do that?

A: Because the principals do not gather together the parents and
the students before the vacation. At my school, I gather together
all the parents before the students receive their report cards. I
tell them to prepare programs for their kids during the vacation.
I also help the parents to make a future plan program for their
children.

Q: But making plans like that may be something exclusive to
educated, well-off families...

A: No. It does not have any relation to the level of their
education. You know, a farmer's family, living at the foot of
Burangrang mountain in West Java, must send the kids to junior
high school in the nearby town of Purwakarta. During the
holidays, the boy must go home. When he is home, he will face his
daily rural routine, like getting up early in the morning,
helping his parents in the field. That poses no problem.

Perhaps students who live in big cities with limited
activities will have problems with what to do during the
vacation. But I observe that most students living in Jakarta are
very creative in spending their vacations.

Q: How about students who help their parents, for instance, at
their food stall?

A: That is very good. If the students have enough time to help
their parents in a food stall or a kiosk, the process of
improving relations between them takes place.

The parents trust the children and the children feel that they
are needed by their parents. Although the advantage is not
scientifically proven, the students will find an added value in
such activities.

Q: Some students take job training program in government
institutions and private firms. Is it in line with education
goals?

A: I think all regular programs aimed at developing particular
skills or enriching one's knowledge are always much better than
doing nothing.

Students appear to be forced into taking these programs.

No. The schools do not force them to do so. But the students
have to apply the business and management knowledge they obtain
in school, how to cope with the daily business activities in
offices.

Q: What lessons do they learn from such a program?

A: The program assesses three dimensions -- the cognitive,
affective and psycho-motoric dimensions. The cognitive dimension
assesses the students' economic knowledge, the affective
dimension appraises their entrepreneurial attitude and the
psycho-motoric dimension evaluates skills to deal with the
customers and communicate with people.

Q: But not all students spend their time effectively...

A: Well, there are some, but the percentage is small. For
example, out of 48 senior high school students in Jakarta, three
would maybe fall into this category. Students like this are
usually delinquent, skipping school and having no goals.

Q: Does your school put on any special programs during the
vacation?

A: SMU 81 offer four programs for the upcoming vacation:
homestay, retreat, pesantren kilat and umrah (mini haj
pilgrimage) for the first and second year students. Students in
the third year receive preparation programs to go to college.

But the programs are not compulsory because some parents have
arranged a better program for their children.

Q: Are these annual programs?

A: Yes. The teachers participate in making the program a success.

Q: Does your school organize the homestay program?

A: No, we do not organize it but we encourage students to take
part in it.

Q: How good is the program?

A: Very good. The homestay program provides cross-cultural
awareness for students. You know, while they are away from home
and live with a family overseas, they will find their own
identity, and their nationalism will improve. In addition, they
will gain a more objective perspective on their hometown.

Q: The homestay program has turned into a lucrative business...

A: Yes, I think it's okay for people to make business out of the
homestay. At present, more overseas institutions are increasing
their homestay programs in Indonesia.

Q: What about the roles of teachers in the program?

A: The teachers are the organizers. They organize cooperation
programs with the Armed Forces for the leadership program, with
the School of Psychology of the University of Indonesia for
personality development, with a priest for the retreat program,
and with the mosque's youth group for the pesantren kilat
program.

Q: All the programs sound good, but in reality there are not many
school which have qualified programs like yours...

A: That's right. The most important point here is how to
socialize the effective ways of spending holidays. The media are
encouraged to promote it.

It is also important to note that the entertainment and
recreational aspects of spending vacation time should not be
ignored.

Q: It might be difficult to achieve both recreational and
educational goals simultaneously during vacations...

A: That's why the recreational aspect of holidays should be
well incorporated in the students' heart, otherwise bad
impression will perpetuate in their life.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to say about students
spending their holidays effectively?

A: There should be a political will from the government to
aggressively plan regular programs for senior high school
students by providing legal guidance, excellent facilities and
youth centers.

It is also worth noting here that senior high school teachers
should not only busy themselves preparing lesson plans,
examination and the learning-teaching process, but should provide
sophisticated co-curricular programs as well.