'You cannot rely solely on schools'

SURABAYA (JP): "You cannot expect schools to provide moral education to your children. That responsibility is ours as parents," said Nunung Jonathans, a mother of two. Her sons, Matthieu (first grade junior high school) and Damien (forth grade elementary school) have been attending Sekolah Ciputra (SC), an expensive private school, for the past four years.

She said her sons enjoyed the facilities at the exclusive private school.

They study in air-conditioned classrooms. They are given many interesting and challenging activities to do, besides the numerous sports they can participate in. The school is equipped with a comfortable and sophisticated library. On top of that, they often taken on excursions.

So, what is lacking in a school like that?

"My children are becoming like the bourgeois," said Nunung.

She told The Jakarta Post that one day her son asked her why they did not have a more expensive car.

That was because, among the cars picking up the students after school, her car was one of the oldest and least expensive.

She also said that some students were chauffeur-driven to school while being escorted by security guards.

She said one of her son's classmates came with four suitcases for a two-day school excursion.

"I prepared a bag pack filled with things my son might need for the two days. When he returned from the excursion, he complained that they were insufficient, but it was not that he did not have what he needed.

"I asked why his friend had brought four suitcases. He said one was for clothes, another for shoes that matched the clothes, another one for food, and the last one for toiletries," Nunung said.

When Nunung sent her sons to SC, she did not expect them to start behaving this way.

"But children get influenced you know, and school is the perfect place for that."

So she spends time educating her children on social and moral values at home.

"It is not fair to expect everything from the school. No matter how good the school is, and SC is relatively good, the parent's role is very essential. SC will not succeed in creating students with a balanced personality -- as how the school claims it will -- if at home, parents spoil their children."

A mother, who asked for anonymity, disclosed that at meetings with the school management and teachers, parents sometimes behaved arrogantly.

One father became angry because he could not accept a warning letter for his son's constant tardiness, she said.

"My house is in Sidoarjo, far from this school. I have paid a lot to this school. I cannot accept the school blaming my son for coming in late," she quoted the man as saying.

She cited another example where parents, who were invited to attend a formal meeting, came in casual outfits, including overalls. They might have come directly from the golf course, she said.

"It wasn't respectful to the school's management and teachers as they were in suits and ties," she said.

School fee

The school fee is comparatively high.

Nunung paid Rp 18 million in total as admission fee for her two sons. She pays a monthly school fee of Rp 2 million. But she is not complaining about the cost.

"If you look at it in rupiah terms, it is very expensive. But it is still cheaper than sending your children abroad. Besides, the facilities and the high standard of education here make it all worthwhile. Also if there is a school excursion, you don't have to pay extra. You don't have to buy books. Textbooks and note books are provided."

She admitted that some parents were always complaining about the school fee as SC raised the fee every year.

Asked about the facilities, she said her sons can now access the Internet, speak relatively good English, enjoy a well- equipped library and are taught with audiovisual teaching aids.

"Good education is expensive, I understand that," she said.

What Nunung appreciates most is the effort by the school to always include the parents in their children's development.

"There is a monthly meeting for parents. Here, we exchange information and discuss the problems our children are facing, but unfortunately some parents use this occasion to complain."

Another mother of two, who asked for anonymity, said she preferred to send her children to another local private school.

Despite she being British, she said it would be better for her children, whose father is Indonesian, to mingle with common Indonesian children.

Her children attend a Christian elementary school in Rungkut, which is near their home.

"It is not only that international schools are expensive, they are also very far from my home. It is like traveling from east to west Surabaya to reach the international schools or Sekolah Ciputra."

She seems quite happy with her children's development. "They have adapted to the Indonesian way of life," she said. Her children can even speak Javanese.

Teachers in international schools may receive high salaries but may not be highly respected.

Some international schools put students as their top priority. So if students misbehave, teachers are not allowed to discipline them as they will complain to their parents, and the schools do not want to lose their clients.

Teachers at SC are sometimes required to spend more time after school hours for training.

According to Nunung, the SC uses alphabets when grading test scores at the elementary level. Nunung said this kind of evaluation often confused parents who were more familiar with numerical scores.

"Most parents want to see numbers, not alphabets. They rather see '90' than 'A' in their children's report cards."

Nunung, like the other parents, has complete confidence in the school.

"I notice that my children are now more self-confident, can do research in the library on their own, and even argue or debate in a polite manner."

-- Sirikit Syah