National Education Training

Indonesian Education, Quo Vadis?

Re-initiate the Indonesian Education

Talking about education in this country, we do often face dead end. Many questions come to mind. Why does education in our country seem like doesn’t make any progress, never be better? What’s wrong with education in our country? Is the curriculum, the method, or the resource? Where will the education of our country be directed?

Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta tried to answer those questions. As an institution of assistance and education for Christian college students which is concern on effort to build college students’ social awareness toward issues exist in the society, Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta looks this national education problem as a social matter which is necessary to be understood and to be recognized by the students as a part of the society.

Through National Education Training program, Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta encouraged the Christian college students and the church young activists to put themselves in the society appropriately and to be able to give a real contribution in analyzing the issue and to provide the input of ideal education design. By the theme “Quo Vadis Pendidikan Indonesia? Menggagas Ulang Pendidikan Indonesia ” (Indonesian Education, Quo Vadis? Re-initiate Indonesian Education), Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta tried to open the participants’ insight to be able to understand, to recognize, and to analyze the educational issues exist in Indonesia.

Located at Wisma Sargede Yogyakarta, National Education Training Program is held on September 28-30, 2012. Thirty participants attended and participated in the training. This training program becomes the participants’ medium to exchange their ideas about educational issues in Indonesia. Supported by educational practitioners who actively criticize educational problems, the atmosphere of the discussion in each session in the training became more alive.

Beginning with the discussion about the mapping of Indonesian educational issues: How far does education form the character of the nation? This discussion which was guided by Darmaningtyas (practitioner in the field of education) went on excitingly. Darmaningtyas explained how national education reformations, both formal and non-formal, are really needed to form the national character and awareness. Many interesting questions colored that session. “The fragility of the nation is not caused by the low of nation’s wits, but the absence of national character and awareness”, explained Darmaningtyas, answered one of the questions of a training participant.

Then, how about the condition of education in Indonesia nowadays? The participants’ curiosity on the topic is answered in the discussion session with Bambang Wisudo (Executive Director of Sekolah Tanpa Batas). In this session, the participants were given a description of how the condition of Indonesian education nowadays is. Through a picture visualization, the participants’ mind is opened about phenomenon happen in Indonesian education nowadays, such us the school looks scaring, imprison, and the students look like uniformed robots who always have to be obedient to teachers’ command. Moreover, Bambang Wisudo said that primary education should be made enjoyable. The basic communication skill, such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing, have to be the main focus in the primary education.

Education is closely related to Human Resources (HR). In this session, Ariani Narwastujati, S.S, M.Pd (Executive Director of Stube-HEMAT) explained that one of the aspects that can be done for preparing HR’s strong character is through education. Some interesting questions from the participants colored this session. That there are many college graduates who are not ready to work is the phenomenon exists nowadays. Hard skill and soft skill aspects in the seekers’ selves are not maximized. Mostly, soft skill aspect is the constraint, how to interact and to work with other people is the important thing which is often overlooked by the seekers. “Certainly, increasing soft skill aspect in our selves is the important thing for you all, the degree candidates”, explained Ariani Narwastujati when she answered a training participant’s question.

Ki Hajar Dewantara is an educational figure who is not foreign anymore to our ears. His struggle in education and nationalism in his soul always inspires the youth. To learn and to keep digging about Ki Hajar Dewantara’s concept of education is one of our hopes to the participants. With Prof. Dr. Ki Supriyoko, M.Pd, the participants’ insight is opened to the society, means prioritizing the equity of education without leaving or sacrificing the quality.

The series of National Education Training event is more complete with the presence of Wahyaningsih (the master mind of Sanggar Anak Alam). In the Education Design of Sanggar Anak Alam (SALAM) session, Wahyaningsih explained that Sanggar Anak Alam is alternative school for children who love nature. The interesting thing from SALAM education design is the teaching-learning process in SALAM and the curriculum which more focus on food perspective, health, environment, and social culture.

Besides SALAM, formal school whose educational design is unique is SD Mangunan (Manguntapan Elementary School). With Prasena Nawak Santi (DED team) and Kartika Kirana (SD Mangunan organizer), the participants learned about how the education design in SD Manguntapan is. The learning process in SD Manguntapan focuses on sharpening children’s explorative, creative, integral, and communicative skills. The curriculum used is conformed to national curriculum, but there is addition in some typical subjects, they are Musical Education, Faith Communication Table Magazine, Reading Good Books, and Questions Box.

SALAM and SD Mangunan education design inspires the participants to be able to design an ideal education in form of participants’ follow-up training. The follow-up training was held with an action plan to the society with the material they had gotten during the national education training. Some participants were planning to renew Monday school curriculum in their church to be more attractive, some were planning to build a learning studio to assist children around their boarding house in learning and to help anyone interested in writing about national education issues to make a blog. It is simple, but it is a kind of real action to contribute in education.